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GUBERNATORIAL RACES PUT ED FRONT-AND-CENTER. Who are the education innovation and opportunity candidates? With 36 gubernatorial races at stake, and CER’s ED50 ramping up to serve you in the generals, your CER NEWSWIRE will highlight key races & what opportunity voters should know about each candidate from now until the final election day.

CALIFORNIA. In the Golden state, the front runner’s gold is clearly the teachers unions, who endorsed Lt. Gov and former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom because he says stuff like edreforms such as charters are an attack on public education. Antonio Villaraigosa believes in choice through charter schools, which earned him the endorsement of California charter advocates and some of their biggest financial backers.

But the State’s two leading Republican candidates are polling ahead of Villaraigosa. Businessman John Cox is pretty silent on education opportunity, and Assemblyman Travis Allen is a fierce advocate of educational choice. They are polling at 18 and 16 percent respectively ahead of Villaraigosa’s 9%.

GEORGIA. The winner of May 22nd’s Democratic primary, Stacey Abrams says educational choice is “diversion of funds to private schools” that “[undermine] our government’s responsibility.” (Hmmm, you mean the responsibility to educate kids which they can’t do in most states and communities, Stacey?)

The Republicans will run off Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp in July both of whom have supported education opportunity.  Kemp also supports military vouchers.

UNIONS GEAR UP (BRACE) FOR JANUS. The U.S. Supreme Court will deliver a decision in Janus v. AFSME sometime in June, and true to form, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is focused on how to mitigate membership losses that will be inevitable if the Court rules in favor of Janus. AFT says it will lose members (aww, darn) and is buying up advertising to scare people that this decision is terminal… for… exactly who? Imagine if those funds were given back to the teachers who can’t make enough money in the prime of their lives thanks to A) the policies they lobby for and B) the dues they extract.

GET THE DETAILS with the latest Reality Check w/Jeanne Allen with guest Colin Sharkey, EVP of the Association of American Teachers, the largest non-union professional association for teachers. Colin is uniquely qualified to comment on the case and its implications for the public sector and the teaching profession. Mark Mix, the head of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Fund, also talks about the case he helped to take all the way to the Supreme Court.

EXCEL IN ED PLAYBOOK. Shout out to the Foundation for Excellence in Education for producing the first-ever playbook for state policymakers defining the case for strengthening career and technical pathways through cross-sector partnerships. Let’s strive to help learners at all levels, particularly those ill-served by traditional schooling all these years.

STUDENT-CENTERED FUNDING IN NORTH CAROLINA? Could a new funding model mean greater impact, and more money going to teachers students and classrooms in NC? The NC budget includes a 6-7% pay increase for teachers and principals, performance pay provisions for additional bonuses, increases for all education related growth and even includes a provision allowing property tax dollars to fund public schools or public charter schools directly outside district lines.  Consider the impact of this on teachers, who recently took to the streets to protest what they get paid. If money flows to schools, the potential for more and better funding opportunities for teachers is enormous. Think about it!

JOIN US! Recognized for their accomplishments in ensuring the creation and advancement of opportunities and innovation across the education landscape, the 8 honorees for CER’s 25th Anniversary are change agents, innovators, and leaders of breakthrough options for learners at all levels. They will receive their awards and recognition for their unique accomplishments at the Center’s Silver Anniversary Summit & Celebration, October, 25 – 26, 2018 in Miami, Florida, “The Road to Innovation for ONE America.” Sit back and watch who’s driving opportunity & innovation!