Maybe liberal Democrats are accomplishing what conservative Republicans never could: Identifying teacher unions as a key obstacle to genuine education reform. “In the 60s, when I was in school, the California public school system was the gold standard–a national model that complemented our State’s image as a land of opportunity,” Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa writes on The Huffington Post. “Today, our schools rank in the bottom third among all states, we are out-spent by $2,400 per pupil, and we fail to graduate a full quarter of our students.”

“What happened?”

“Well, I’ve spent an entire career fighting to fund and reform our public schools–first as a teacher union organizer, then as an Assembly Member and Speaker, and now as a Mayor.

“In the past five years, I’ve partnered with students, parents, non-profits, business groups, higher education, charter organizations, school district leadership, elected board members, and teachers to engage in meaningful change.

“Along the way, there has been one, unwavering roadblock to reform: teacher union leadership.”(Bolding in original)

Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.

If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail mal.kline@academia.org

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