The winning candidates and ballot initiatives in Tuesday's election reflected voters' conflicting priorities and education philosophies, and reveal a nearly evenly divided electorate. Florida voters returned Jeb Bush to the governor's office by a healthy margin, but also approved Democratic challenger Bill McBride's pet initiative to limit class sizes statewide. Bilingual education was banned in a landslide vote in Massachusetts, but upheld by a slimmer margin in Colorado. And in California, voters gave a thumbs up to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposition 49 - which earmarks over half a billion dollars for after-school programs - and a $13 billion school construction bond, the largest statewide bond in American history. A major construction bond issue passed in Dayton, Ohio, too.
"Voters approve smaller classes, free preschool," by Lori Hovitz and Scott Powers, Orlando Sentinel, November 6, 2002
"English immersion plan wins over bilingual ed," by Anand Vaishnav, The Boston Globe, November 6, 2002
"Bilingual ban fails," by Eric Hubler, Denver Post, November 6, 2002
"After-school enrichment plan Ok'd, Measure to designate $550 million for activities starting in '04," by Suzanne Herel, San Francisco Chronicle, November 6, 2002
"Easy win for school construction bond, Measure to reduce crowding and fix aging classrooms," by Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle, November 6, 2002