Were you surprised when the Hillsborough School Board this week came out strongly against the property tax amendment?

The teachers union wasn't. The Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association put in a flurry of phone calls to Board members before a special-called meeting of the School Board on Tuesday.

"We were disappointed that they had not taken a position," HCTA president Jean Clements said. "Based on conversations that we had had with different Board members, we felt that a majority of them felt as we did that this is the wrong fix."

Echoing sentiments voiced by Board members, Clements said the downsides of the amendment outweighed the savings to taxpayers. After the vote, the teachers union immediately sent out an e-mail notifying its school-based representatives, calling the decision "courageous."

The Board voted 5-1 to oppose the amendment, bucking the don't-criticize-until-asked approach of many other government officials. Board chairwoman Jennifer Faliero opposed the decision, which she felt had become a partisan issue and was not appropriate to the office. Member Doretha Edgecomb was absent.