Schwarzenegger relished CTA deal, but it blew up in his face

[realFedUp]

Schwarzenegger relished CTA deal, but it blew up in his face
By Dan Walters -- Bee Columnist

Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Story appeared on Page A3 of The Bee

As he began to govern California two years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger faced a projection that the state budget, which had been wallowing in red ink, could have another $15 billion deficit, in part because he had unilaterally reinstated a $4 billion-a-year cut in car taxes.
Barbara Kerr had a budget problem of another kind. Schools were scheduled to get an automatic $4 billion increase in state aid in 2004-05 and Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association, worried that schools could take a big hit to protect health and welfare programs.

Thus was born the famous - or infamous - privately negotiated deal between Schwarzenegger and Kerr under which state school spending was reduced for one year by $2 billion with some sort of promise to restore it if state finances improved.
Schwarzenegger and Kerr staged a news conference at a Sacramento school in January 2004, just before the Republican governor was to submit his first budget to the Legislature, to trumpet the deal. It was, Schwarzenegger crowed, an example of how he would balance the budget through negotiations. Kerr blandly declared it to be "fair" but was clearly elated because one little-noticed aspect of the agreement would free up another $2 billion in restricted school funds for teacher salary increases to be negotiated.

Ultimately, however, the much-heralded deal proved to be a Faustian bargain for the governor, leading to a massive political rupture with the CTA. continued

[Cha]

1. It's always encouraging and

inspriring when something "blows up in swartzen's face".

Especially this "Faustian bargain" with the CTA.

Do you have a link? Please?

[realFedUp]

2. you can find Dan Walter's columns here

but you have to register to read them...
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/columns/walters/

[Cha]

3. Thanks!

I had already gone through the registration.