Educators Vote to Endorse Obama
Nearly 10,000 NEA delegates approve presidential endorsement

The National Education Association voted to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for U.S. president. Nearly 10,000 educators, representing the NEA’s 3.2 million members, officially endorsed Obama as part of the NEA’s Representative Assembly.

NEA’s outgoing president, Reg Weaver, said the following about the endorsement: 

"NEA’s3.2 million members, like most Americans, are ready for change. Barack Obama understands that a child is more than a test score, that schools need adequate resources, and that creating great public schools for each and every child is a shared responsibility. We need a president who understands that the strength of our country, the vitality of our economy and the health of our democracy depends on quality public schools. NEA members have shown today that they’re prepared to help put a friend of education in the White House, and get this country back on track."

The NEA made the recommendation to the delegates after carefully looking at where the candidates stand on key education issues.  The recommendation was made solely on the issues and answers to candidate questionnaires and not on party affiliation.  In fact, Senator John McCain, along with all the other candidates, was invited to complete a questionnaire and he declined.  Doing so eliminated him from the endorsement process.

For a look at where the two front runners stand log on to the following site. http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0805/candidate-comparison.html.  For more information on NEA’s campaign efforts log on to http://www.nea.org/educationvotes/index.html.