Disney's American Teacher Awards were created to give extraordinary teachers the recognition they truly deserve, but rarely receive. Teachers who find creative ways to stimulate curiosity, engage the imagination and pass the joy of learning on to each and every one of their students. If there is a teacher you would like to nominate call too-free 877-ATA-TEACh or log on at http://www.disney.com

THE BILINGUAL STIPEND REMAINS IN TACT

Even though the laws concerning bilingual education have changed significantly
this past year, the Contract remains in tact concerni9ng bilingual stipends.
Teachers with bilingual certification or credentialing who teach in a defined
bilingual setting are entitled to a $350 stipend each year and a $500 one-time
stipend upon receipt of the BCLAD or bilingual credential.

Those who teach in a structured English immersion (SEI) setting do not qualify
for the stipend because bilingual certification is not required in such
settings. The LDS, CLAD, or SB 1969 certifications are required for these
settings. However, there is no stipend offered in the Contract for this
certification.

STUDY SHOWS CALIFORNIA'S SPENDING ON EDUCATION IS LOW AS A PERCENT OF PERSONAL
INCOME

The California Taxpayers Association (Cal-Tax), a corporate lobbying and
research group, reflected the spending of the nation's high income states and
then reflected that California ranks 10th in K-12 education spending versus
the other 13 high income states selected.
Cal-Tax opines that states must properly by compared one to the other by
similar income level, and therefore they compared California's spending in
categories with 13 other high income states. They categorize state and local
government expenditures per $1,000 of personal income and reflected that
California spent in 1994-95:

3rd in total general spending
4th in welfare expenditures
2nd in police protection
1st in fire protection
1st in corrections
2nd in judicial and legal expenses
A sad 10th in expenditures for K-12 education.

These facts are important as public schools defend their share of the State's
budget. Lawmakers continue the illusion that California public schools are
adequately funded
The following chart disputes this argument. Cal-Tax ranked K-12 spending
versus high income states for 1994-95 as follows:

Rank State Percent of Total Expense in K-12 Education

1 New York 2 New Jersey 3 Delaware 4 Colorado 5 Virginia 6 New Hampshire 7 Maryland 8 Illinois 9 Connecticut 10 California

52.48 47.36 41.58 41.46 40.45 39.53 39.43 38.20 38.20 38.04