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Teachers were expected to hand Superintendent John Deasy a vote of no confidence on Thursday night, given a combination of genuine animosity towards his approach and arm-twisting from United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA).

But the margin was nothing short of astounding — 16,040 UTLA members (mostly teachers but also some other LAUSD employees), or 91 percent of the total ballots cast — voted against Deasy.

The vote was largely a symbolic one, although Fletcher said the union would be taking the vote of no confidence on Deasy directly to the Board.

According to the LA Times, Deasy dismissed the vote as “nonsense” even before the results were in.

Just over 17,000 UTLA members cast ballots, a bit more than half of the roughly 33,000 that were eligible to vote — roughly the same as the turnout of the last union-wide vote (to approve the teacher evaluation deal).

Additionally, 13,242 UTLA members (or 77 percent) voted for the so-called ‘Initiative for the Schools L.A. Students Deserve‘, which calls for a series of escalating actions against LAUSD.

“This will function as a roadmap for UTLA,” said union President Warren Fletcher at the vote announcement press conference Thursday afternoon, adding that “UTLA will tackle the issue of class size immediately.”

He added: “It’s time for us to use those dollars coming up from Proposition 30 as voters intended — directly for the schools.”

Before the recession, there were roughly 5,000 more teachers than there are today, according to figures released by LAUSD’s human resources division.

Previous posts: Commentary: “A More Transparent Union”, Teachers Vote on Deasy Tomorrow, Too, Commentary: “Backwards Mindset” in Union Initiative, April Vote Will Highlight Union Factions; Insurgents Aim for Union Takeover