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California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring Criticizes Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata's Real Education Record

                                                                                                                             CONTACT: Hector M. Barajas

                                                                                                            (916) 448-9496

(Sacramento) - California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring today criticized Senate President Pro-tempore Don Perata for his recent press conference rhetoric about protecting education funding.

 "Perata has advocated the gutting of Prop. 98, he has voted on more than one occasion to suspend Prop. 98 and he has been on the wrong side of other fights to save education funding and programs," said Nehring, a former school board member. "All the photo-ops and press conferences in the world won't change Perata's weak record on education."

 Nehring pointed to some key votes on education issues and statements from third parties about Perata's education record:

• Perata voted for SB 18x and AB 8x in 2003 which suspended Prop. 98 funding to schools by $1.1 billion, including the following cuts:
  • School library funding cut by $11.6 million; 
  • Instructional material funding cut by $103 million;          
  • Peer Assistance and Intervention Program funding cut by $21.7 million; 
  • Community college funding cut by more than $100 million.

• Perata voted for SB 1101 in 2004 which suspended Prop. 98 funding to schools by over $2 billion.

• Perata voted for SB 556 in 2003 that would have undercut the successful Class Size Reduction program in California schools - this measure was fortunately vetoed.
• Perata told the LA Daily News in February 2005 that, "It (Prop. 98) is an escalator without pause. Some people say you need more revenues, but I'm operating in the world of reality." (Yet, earlier this week, Perata called for increasing taxes on average Californians).

• The California Teachers Association has sent out mailers in Perata's Senate District which said: "Don Perata is breaking his promise to support funding for local public schools."

"Perata's recent ‘holier than thou' stance on education funding is simply revisionist history," said Nehring. "The truth is Don Perata has a track record of cutting education funding for our kids and now is using teachers and students as his soapbox to shout for more taxes on California families to get us out of the budget deficit he helped create."  

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