Education

State Journal: Raucous reception; Suit side switch

August 01, 1990 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

One morning during the annual meeting of the Education Commission of the States in Seattle last month, workshops were interrupted by the raucous strains of an organ playing such tunes as “Louie, Louie” and ''The Old Grey Mare.”

The music was local teachers’ less-than-friendly way of noting that Gov. Booth Gardner of Washington State had been selected as chairman of the ecs for the coming year.

While Mr. Gardner gave his inaugural address to the conference, several thousand teachers organized by the Washington Education Association rallied outside the hotel to denounce his policies.

Washington State teachers have been bitterly critical of the Governor for failing to support what they see as adequate pay increases at a time when the state has been running a budget surplus.

“No more hot air!” chanted demonstrators, to the backdrop of a giant balloon filled with just that.

Among those addressing the rally was Keith Geiger, president of the National Education Association, which the previous evening had cosponsored an elaborate reception for ecs delegates.

During his speech, Governor Gardner made only one subtle reference to the jeering crowd outside.

“Imagine today that there were 4,000 children--let me re-emphasize that--children outside the hotel chanting, ‘We want to learn,”’ he said.

A number of the state policymakers at the conference expressed the hope that, as has happened in Kentucky and other states recently, a court would strike down key parts of their educational system, thus clearing away some of the political obstacles to school reform.

Something similar is happening in Alabama, where several of the defendants in a school-finance suit filed by low-wealth school districts are trying to switch sides.

State Superintendent of Education Wayne Teague, Lieut. Gov. James E. Folsom Jr., and Speaker of the House James S. Clark say they agree so strongly with the districts’ argument that the state’s school-funding system is inequitable that they want to become plaintiffs.

But crossing that legal divide is not turning out to be easy. A judge last month declined to grant the officials’ request, instead setting a hearing for late this month on the matter.

Montgomery County Circuit Judge Mark Montiel questioned whether the state leaders had enough legally in common with the local districts, other than that they agreed with what the plaintiffs were saying.--hd

A version of this article appeared in the August 01, 1990 edition of Education Week as State Journal: Raucous reception; Suit side switch

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read