August 14, 2008
Teachers union's financial muscle
New York State United Teachers sent $2.3 million to local teachers unions on the eve of school budget votes this spring, according to the New York Public Interest Research Group.
The money presumably funded campaigns in favor of proposed budgets and union-backed school board candidates, but NYPIRG can't say for sure. School elections are regulated--not by state Board of Elections--but by Education Department, which does not require electronic campaign filings.
"The fact that the union is spending millions of dollars to push its own interest shouldn't be a surprise. But the public should know that," NYPIRG's Blair Horner told the Associated Press.
Since NYSUT's political arm, VOTE COPE, must file with the Board of Elections, NYPIRG was able to document the amount of money sent to locals during the first half of 2008, but it could not trace how the locals spent the money.
The Associated Press notes NYSUT's spending frequently pays off:
Almost $3,000 went to Lancaster, where the budget passed by 298 votes out of 2,298 cast; more than $2,000 went to Albany, where the budget passed by 320 votes out of 4,342 cast; and nearly $5,000 went to Massapequa, where the budget passed by 535 votes out of 5,325 cast.
The results mirrored most of the 92 percent of the state's 700 districts where budgets were approved, raising taxes beyond the rate of inflation. In the Hudson Valley's Arlington school district, the budget was defeated by 341 votes out of 5,101 cast. NYSUT sent $7,254 to that rural district serving 10,400 students.
"Spending a few thousand dollars on a school election is the equivalent of using a howitzer on a mosquito," said NYPIRG's Blair Horner.
NYSUT also spent $1 million on statewide media campaign urging votes to pass local school budgets.
We posted two version of NYPIRG's rundown of NYSUT campaign spending. The Excel spreadsheet can be downloaded here: A 38-page "pdf" version of the key data can be downloaded here:
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