Flush with cash from its newly imposed $5 national dues
increase, the National Education Association began spreading the wealth around at the most recent meeting of its board of
directors. With millions set to go to California and Michigan to fight voucher initiatives, the
destination of other money was, shall we say, educational.
* $500,000 to the Arizona Education Association to support
Proposition 301, a bipartisan measure to increase the state sales tax and target the revenues for education.
* $350,000 to the Massachusetts Teachers Association to
defeat two measures, Question 4 and Question 6. The first is designed to return state income tax rates to 5 percent from the
current 5.95 percent, instituted as a "temporary" increase in 1990. The second measure would
reduce motor vehicle taxes.
* $25,000 to the Arkansas Education Association to defeat
Amendment 4, which would reduce the state sales tax.
In addition, NEA will send $450,000 to the Washington
Education Association to support Initiative 732, which would require automatic annual cost-of-living increases to teacher
salaries statewide. It also bears noting that the Nevada State Education Association has qualified a
petition to institute a four percent business tax in the state. If the 2001 Nevada
Legislature fails to pass the measure, NSEA is free to place the proposal before the electorate as an initiative in
2002.
In all the debate at the NEA Representative Assembly over
the dues increase, one fact never came up: Ballot initiatives rarely appear in off years. NEA thus has more than $14 million
to spend on this year's initiatives, if necessary....