LOS ANGELES -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to extend the probationary period for new teachers failed to win voter support Tuesday.

With 85 percent of precincts reporting, 3 million voters, or 54 percent, opposed the measure, while 2.6 million, or 46 percent, supported it.

Schwarzenegger promoted Proposition 74, known as the teacher tenure initiative, as part of his once-ambitious agenda to reform California schools. Besides extending the probationary period for beginning teachers from two years to five, the measure also would have given school officials more power to fire bad veteran teachers.

Schwarzenegger said the measure would make teachers more accountable and free school districts from the procedural burdens they face in trying to oust underperforming teachers who already have permanent status. Teachers unions, who spent more than $50 million fighting Proposition 74 and two other initiatives, argued that it would make it harder to recruit and retain well-qualified teachers as the state tries to raise standards.

"The governor has a lot of fence-mending to do," said Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association, the state's largest teachers union. She said the governor should apologize for wasting taxpayer dollars and insulting nurses and other opponents.

The measure would have made California one of only three states in the nation in which teachers would have had to wait five years for protection from random dismissals. Senior teachers could have been fired after two consecutive poor performance evaluations.

Colin Brown, 28, a chef and bartender in Culver City, said he supports a "hard evaluation system for educators," but he wasn't persuaded Proposition 74 was the answer.

"We need motivated educators, and bureaucrats aren't helping anything," Brown said. "If they prove motivated, dedicated educators, tenure should be awarded quickly. Why should the best teachers worry about whether they'll be teaching tomorrow?"

Proponents of the measure said current law forces administrators to file a poor-performance evaluation and compile up to 150 pages documenting problems before poor teachers can be dismissed, which meant teachers were virtually guaranteed a "job for life" once they pass probation. Veteran teachers worried the initiative could leave them open to the changing whims of principals.

Margaret Fortune, chairwoman of the Proposition 74 campaign, said improving teacher quality would help the state raise student achievement levels. She did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press early Wednesday.