The National Education Association (NEA) gave $12 million to political groups in 2007, and almost all of them lean liberal.
Jeralee Smith, co-founder of the NEA's Conservative Caucus, said many teachers think they have no choice but to go along.
“I know so many people who think the way I do, but for whatever reason they keep feeding the monster," she said. “It’s basically a political machine to support a far-Left agenda.”
Some of the money comes back to haunt the teachers. More than $150,000 went to gay-rights groups.
“There are definitely groups that want to get into the classroom and indoctrinate kids with their values,” said Karla Dial, managing editor of School Reform News.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If public school teachers live in a right-to-work state, they can become a nonmember and request that their union fees not go toward political causes. In non-right-to-work states, teachers can claim a religious objection and request to redirect their union fees to a nonreligious charity. Visit the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Web site.
(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)
