Weingarten: AFT and Obama Agree on Education Issues

It took until the final question of the final debate before public education was raised in one of the presidential debates. When the candidates finally did address the subject, however, their responses showed that "there are stark differences between Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain on this important issue," according to AFT president Randi Weingarten, who noted that the comments at the debate have sparked a lot of conversation.

"Some observers have characterized Sen. Obama's comments about public education as distancing himself from teacher unions," Weingarten says. "But I believe, and I think the facts bear out, that Sen. Obama and the AFT agree on the vast majority of the most pressing education issues of our time.

"Sen. Obama forcefully reiterated his opposition to private school vouchers; the AFT also opposes school vouchers. Sen. Obama supports accountable, public charter schools; the AFT's New York City affiliate runs two charter schools, and the AFT represents teachers in 70 charter schools across the country. As we said after Sen. Obama's speech in Dayton, charter schools as a concept is not the problem.

"There is a problem when they are simply vehicles for profit, are used to undercut the public school system and are not held accountable. Sen. Obama has called for precisely the type of accountability that charter schools need. Sen. Obama expressed support for what he referred to as 'performance pay;' the AFT established a progressive policy on differentiated pay six years ago and has been a leader in developing professional compensation plans. And what we've heard from Sen. Obama in meetings during the campaign and in the Senate is that what he's looking for are different ways to fairly compensate teachers. That's precisely what the AFT addressed in our 2002 resolution.

"Sen. Obama's remarks about the school system in the District of Columbia were unfortunate and unfair to the students, families and teachers who attend, have children in and teach in D.C.'s schools. The Washington Teachers Union and its leaders want nothing more than to turn around D.C.'s struggling schools so that every child who attends public school can reach her God-given potential. And they look forward to working with President Obama to help achieve that goal.

"There will never be a time when we and the candidates we endorse will be in perfect sync on everything. We don't even achieve that in our own families. But this teachers' union is united behind Barack Obama's bid for the presidency. We know that he is the best candidate to advance our ideals not only for improving public education, but also for extending the right to healthcare to all Americans, putting our country on a firmer economic footing, and restoring our standing in the world."

October 16, 2008