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Contra Costa Times Teachers lead raucous rally lambasting governor's plans SACRAMENTO - The roar was audible from blocks away, the air electric with the chants of thousands of angry teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers. The massive rally filled the lawns on the south side of the State Capitol late Wednesday afternoon and overflowed onto sidewalks across the street, as teachers from Antioch, Mt. Diablo, Livermore and virtually every Northern California school district voiced their disdain for the governor's budget, his reform ideas and his plans for a special election this fall. "The governor needs to know that children are our special interest," said Lory Quam, who teaches at Concord's Pine Hollow Middle School. "How are we going to make our children keep (their promises) when the governor of the state of California, an action hero, does not?" Quam and 45 other Mt. Diablo teachers hit the road as soon as school let out, arriving in time to mingle with 5,000 Bay Area teachers on the Capitol steps. "It's budget time and it's pretty typical of (the California Teachers Association) to bang the drum for more spending," said Margaret Fortune, a former Sacramento area superintendent who heads the governor's Initiative To Turn Around Failing Schools, and who was heckled by the crowd as she tried to speak to reporters. Pleasanton superintendent John Casey attended the rally with about 60 teachers and staff members. "Certainly it's the responsibility of the education community to tell the governor what decisions he should make," Casey said. "We support the effort to get the word out about how the decisions he makes affects us." Pleasanton spent about $3,000 on substitute teachers for the afternoon. But other districts incurred minimal or no expense. "We worked a full day before coming," said Mno Grant Elementary teacher Sue Madrigal, part of a six-busload contingent of Antioch educators. "But our superintendent said we could leave as soon as the students left. Our schools are in need of support." San Ramon Valley district spokesman Terry Koehne said the district's elementary schools normally get out early on Wednesdays, and that middle and high school teachers were able to cover for colleagues who boarded buses early. Between 100 and 150 San Ramon Valley educators attended the rally, including superintendent Rob Kessler. Livermore schools juggled prep schedules to get teachers out early, said Livermore union president Keith Pickering-Walters. Acalanes schools simply started classes a half-hour early, so teachers could hit the road by 2:30 p.m. And Albany High School shortened its day to allow teachers to attend the march. "We want people to understand education is being short-changed by the governor's proposal," said Albany superintendent William Wong. One famous face was missing, however. Although the governor met with constituents at the Capitol earlier in the day, he did not attend the rally. "It's another political drill from the union's playbook," said Tiffany Moffett, spokeswoman for the governor's Coalition for Education Reform. "Any time you try to change the status quo, they pull out all the punches. Let's stop the heated rhetoric and discuss how we can make schools better." But "heated" did not begin to describe the rhetoric. One teacher lofted an Arnold Schwarzenegger mannequin -- its nose Pinocchio-like in length -- above the crowd. "Terminator" terminology festooned picket signs. And rock music rolled from the podium as the crowd sang, "Hit the road, Arnold and don't you come back no more, no more, no more." "We believe our governor made a promise and broke that promise," said Dean Vogel, secretary treasurer of the California Teachers Association. "And just the idea of calling a special election -- if you really want to take it to the people, step outside. We're here."
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