Schools Chief Honig Warns of Union Control of Board Members

State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig said Thursday that any union efforts to elect school board members who are controlled by a union “could be dangerous.”

“If a school board member, for instance, said he doesn’t want (union) agency fees, and the union says: ‘OK, we’ll replace you and get someone who does,’ well, that gets into the ‘I’ve-got-someone-in-my-pocket’ type of thing, and that gives you some problems,” Honig said during an Orange County appearance.

Majority Control for Public

The state schools chief said that majority control of school boards should be in the public interest and not dominated by “special interests.”

But Honig added that endorsement by teachers unions doesn’t automatically mean a school board member would always follow a union agenda. Nonetheless, Honig said, it is wise for the public to ensure diverse points of view on a school board by turning out to vote.

Honig made his comments about unions after his speech before a state conference of about 1,000 school principals.

The conference, sponsored by the Orange County Department of Education and UC Irvine, was held at the Anaheim Hilton and Towers hotel. It was titled “California Principals Conference for Academic Excellence in Effective Schools.”

Burst of Applause

During his luncheon speech, Honig drew a burst of applause when he charged that some teachers union officials seek confrontations with school management for the good of themselves or their union, and not for the good of education.

Honig said that ideally, teachers union officials and school administrators “should play the cooperative role, collegial role at the site level and should avoid stirring the pot for organizational (union) gain.”

He added: “I think the unions are right at a threshold right now. They’re going through an internal discussion about what they really want to do. There is a strong force within the unions that is organizationally oriented--(believing) that you make your mark as a union organizer or president or staff person by keeping things in conflict.

Another Faction in Unions

“(They believe) that by not cooperating (with school management), that’s the way you get members. And what they tap into is that severe resentment among teachers (who believe) society doesn’t care enough about them and they don’t make enough money. They are able to tap into that, and it’s not good for the teachers, it’s not good for us, it’s not good for anybody.”

Honig stressed, however, that there is another faction within the teachers unions. That faction, he said, believes that “we’ve got professional responsibility; we’ve got to be part of this reform movement. We’ve got to play ball, or it’s not going to work.”

Honig added: “So I think you’re seeing schizophrenia within the unions themselves over how far they go in each of these directions. I think the best thing we can do is offer them more participation. The more opportunities we offer for participation, the more we’re going to enhance that role within the unions themselves.”

Union Endorsements

In Nov. 5 voting, union-backed candidates won victories in districts including Tustin Unified and Huntington Beach Union High.

Commenting on those elections, Honig said: “I think the school boards should be public institutions, and you need public members on there. Many of the board members who were running weren’t necessarily union candidates. They were just people running who got union endorsements.

“If, however, the union thinks it’s got a board member in its pocket, then that could cause some problems.”