California Educator

February 09

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Budget cuts Continued from page 28 ing services, but still needed to make $2.3 million in midyear cuts. All school staff are taking furlough days, says Richard Gil- lis, president of the Moorpark Educators Association. “We accepted one furlough day to prevent a midyear layoff of teachers and to protect class size reduction,” says Gillis. “It was a tough call, but the right thing to do in the glaring ab- sence of much-needed political courage in Sacramento.” Many CTA chapters contin- Teaching outside the lesson plan. Grace had asked her teacher 100 times to tie her shoes. It wasn’t until the 101st APU offers: • 36 credential/master’s opportunities. • NCATE-accredited programs recognized by all 50 states and internationally. • A degree completion program in human development (HDEV) designed for future teachers. Become a better teacher, counselor, coach, or administrator. Call Click Email (800) TALK-APU www.apu.edu/education/tips graduatecenter@apu.edu time that she realized Grace didn’t care as much about her laces as she did about someone taking time for her. That’s the priceless gift of personal attention an educator can give. ue to work with local coalitions of all education stakeholders. In Yolo County, Marysville and Yuba City educators joined parents, school board and com- munity members in a Jan. 22 rally against the state budget cuts, noted Yuba City Teachers Association President Dina Luet- gens. “Yuba City schools alone could face an additional $6.7 million in cuts in addition to the $4.3 million in cuts that were already made this year,” said Luetgens. “As a result, class sizes in our elementary schools could increase dramatically, while electives could be elimi- nated in our middle and high schools.” Dan Evans, president of the Higher Education for GreaterWorks AZUSA | HIGH DESERT | INLAND EMPIRE | LOS ANGELES | MURRIETA ORANGE COUNTY | SAN DIEGO | VENTURA | ONLINE Santa Rosa Teachers Associa- tion, took part in a successful Jan. 26 education coalition news conference sounding the alarm about local impacts of state funding cuts. Sonoma County schools face about $20 million in midyear cuts and more than $31 million next school year. “As a result of these cuts, the number of students in class- rooms throughout the Santa 30 California Educator | february 2009 Rosa district could be dramati- cally increased — resulting in the elimination of 50 or more teaching positions,” said Evans. “Libraries may be closed and textbook orders postponed.” The active Fremont Educa- tion Coalition in Alameda County includes local teachers and a website with a script and phone numbers for calling lo- cal lawmakers to urge that they stop the cuts, raise revenues and protect Prop. 98 (for more information, vi sit www. fremontedcoalition.com). To help CTA alert and edu- cate the public about the cuts cri- sis, teachers like Nancy Gomez in Hacienda La Puente Unified in Los Angeles County are going to www.cta.org and telling their alarming stories. Her district of lower-in- come students has stopped providing most basic class- room supplies for students and teachers. “Students feel that they are being targeted for be- ing poor, and that the more af- fluent schools are receiving all the assistance,” Gomez wrote. “The worry in these poor chil- dren’s eyes is devastating and heartbreaking.” Mike Myslinski CALL YOUR LAWMAKER! Call your Assembly member and state senator using CTA’s “Cuts Hurt” hotline: 1-888-268-4334 Tell your legislator to: Fund our schools • • • Uphold Prop. 98 Protect the Class Size Reduction program.

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