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 NEA
Asks Bush to Fire Education Secretary
by Ben Feller, The Associated Press, February 25, 2004
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The National
Education Association (NEA) asked President Bush on Tuesday to
fire Education Secretary Rod Paige for calling the union a
"terrorist organization."
Paige, who made the comment in a private meeting with governors
Monday, later apologized for a poor choice of words but
maintained the union uses "obstructionist scare tactics."
Reg Weaver, president of the union of 2.7 million teachers and
other school workers, said Tuesday that those members deserve
more than "unfair labels and mean-spirited apologies."
"We have heard from thousands of educators who came home from
their schools on Monday to hear themselves and their
professional organization referred to as 'terrorists' by the top
federal education official," Weaver said.
"Our members say that once again this national leader has
insulted them, this time beyond repair, with words filled with
hatred - and merely because they raised legitimate concerns
about the president's so-called 'No Child Left Behind' law."
Weaver's statement asks Bush "to express his regret to the
nation's educators and demand that Secretary Paige step down."
The Education Department and the White House had no immediate
comment. On Monday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said,
"The comment was inappropriate and the secretary recognized it
was inappropriate and quickly apologized."
Paige's words Monday startled members of his audience, triggered
outrage from Democrats and deepened the divide between the
country's top education official and its largest union.
Paige told The Associated Press in an interview that he made the
comment in jest.
"I was making what I now know was a bad joke; it was a poor
choice of words," Paige said. "I was referencing the
Washington-based organization in general, not teachers."
Yet Weaver said Paige's comments were pathetic, including the
secretary's explanation that he was criticizing the union
organization but not teachers.
"I can tell you what my first response was: Scary. That's really
frightening," said Diana Garchow, a special-education teacher at
Highland Elementary School in Bakersfield, Calif. "It's scary
that you can't voice an opinion in this country without being
called a terrorist. ... I don't care if it was a joke or what it
was, that was a totally inappropriate comment."
On Tuesday, Michigan's largest teachers union also called for
Paige's ouster.
"Secretary Paige is acting like a schoolyard bully, resorting to
name calling and insults. He needs to be removed," Michigan
Education Association President Lu Battaglieri said in a
statement. "Thousands of MEA members have served this country
honorably - and dozens are currently serving in Iraq today -
defending the basic American freedom to debate and to disagree.
The flap comes as the Bush administration faces increasing state
opposition to the No Child Left Behind law, widely considered
the most significant federal education act since Congress
approved its original version in 1965. The law, approved in
bipartisan fashion, requires a range of testing, teaching and
school-choice changes to help children succeed.
Paige spoke at length Monday about his agency's efforts to help
states and schools understand the complex law, but his feud with
the NEA is no secret. The union - a reliable supporter of the
Democratic Party - plans to sue the Bush administration over
funding of the law and wants changes in how it is enforced.
But Paige's language drew a rush of criticism, giving Democrats
election-year fodder.
"Secretary Paige and the Bush administration have resorted to
the most vile and disgusting form of hate speech, comparing
those who teach America's children to terrorists," said Terry
McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
A spokeswoman for presidential contender John Kerry called
Paige's remarks "inappropriate, particularly at a time when our
nation has experienced the devastation caused by terrorism."
Kerry's chief competitor, John Edwards, called Paige's words
"grossly offensive."
The nation's other major teachers union, the American Federation
of Teachers, said it was "unconscionable and irresponsible for
any public figure, let alone a U.S. Cabinet member, to undertake
this kind of name-calling."
But Gayle Fallon, the president of the AFT chapter in Houston
who knows Paige from his work in that city, said Paige was
merely being sarcastic.
"There were times when he'd pick up the phone and call and ask
me, 'How's my favorite terrorist doing?"' Fallon said. "The NEA
isn't militant enough to be a terrorist organization. They're
barely militant enough to be union."
Included in the 100-word statement that his staff characterized
as an apology was Paige's assertion that "the NEA's high-priced
Washington lobbyists have made no secret that they will fight
against bringing real, rock-solid improvements in the way we
educate our children regardless of skin color, accent or where
they live."
On the Net:
National Education Association:
http://www.nea.org/
Education Secretary Rod Paige:
http://www.ed.gov/news/staff/bios/paige.html
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