On November 3, we may or may not have a new president, and we know that this election season hasn't seen much action on the education front besides a bidding war on No Child Left Behind. But at the state level, there are a few races worth watching on election night if you're an education reformer. Here are three:
Bergeson versus Billings for Washington State superintendent. We've reported on this race several times (click here and here for more information). Moderate reformer Terry Bergeson, a former state union president, was snubbed by the Washington Education Association in a race that has focused on whether the Washington Assessment of Student Learning should be retained as a graduation test. The race has been marked by dubious accusations of misconduct against Bergeson and some of her top deputies.
Referendum 55, the Washington state charter school proposition. Voters in Washington rejected charters schools in 1996 and 2000, but this year's referendum - backed by a majority of the state legislature - looks like it may pass. Again, the WEA is pulling out all the stops in this race, with union head Charles Hasse lamenting the potential loss of the union's "collective voice" if voters allow charters with non-union teachers. "To weaken that voice is in the long run not in the interest of children," he told AP. His group has spent $350,000 to defeat the proposal, while the NEA has chipped in $500,000. The proposal has its own deep-pocketed supporters, though, in the form of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Gap, Inc. founder Don Fischer.
Martinez versus Castor for Florida Senate. Education hasn't been a huge issue in this race, which, like most national races has focused on Iraq, health care, and taxes. But as a former university president and state commissioner, Castor would undoubtedly become a leading Democratic spokesperson on education. She has already declared her opposition to high-stakes assessment, is opposed to ending social promotion, says the No Child Left Behind Act is not working, and doesn't agree with rating schools based on student achievement. "We ought to put those resources in teachers' salaries," she told the Palm Beach Daily News. Castor would be a reliable vote for union positions in the Senate and a vigorous advocate for the present education system's prerogatives. Democrats are hoping that Castor's high name recognition - it's estimated that her name is on the diplomas of hundreds of thousands of registered Florida voters - will push her over the top against former Cabinet secretary Mel Martinez.
"WASL nexus of race," by Lisa Pemberton and Heather Woodward, The Olympian, October 27, 2004
"Is 3rd time charm for charter schools?" by Peggy Andersen, Associated Press, October 25, 2004
"Voters weigh pros, cons of charter schools in battleground Washington," by Gregory Roberts, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 27, 2004
"Castor in the hot seat," The USF Oracle, October 27, 2004
"Castor touts nonpartisan approach," by Michelle Dargan, Palm Beach Daily News, October 24, 2004
"Class warfare," by Noam Scheiber, The New Republic, October 26, 2004