Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2864
pro-education groups are mobilizing their members to fend off yet another round of cuts in K-14 educat ion proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in January. These newest cuts would represent a shocking total of $10.8 billion in additional slashes to California’s public s chools and community colleges, CTA budget experts estimate. “The governor’s newest CTA, educators battle newest round of proposed cuts R epresentat ives of the California Te a che r s Association and other catastrophic cuts will create an education recession that will deny students the educa- tion they need to be success- ful,” says CTA President David A. Sanchez. “The governor’s plan cuts another $10.8 bil- lion from our K-14 schools over the next 18 months and redefines the state’s minimum school funding law, Proposi- tion 98, to take an additional $7 billion from future educa- tion spending on top of that and never pay it back. That is a violation of the state’s con- stitutional guarantee. “Last year, nearly 5,000 teachers were laid off. The governor’s budget plan means thousands more educator layoffs. Class sizes will soar and more music, art and c a r e e r t e c hnic a l e du c a t i on programs will be cut. He’s even proposed to reduce the K-12 scho ol year by f ive days. This is unacceptable.” CTA wi l l “The governor has even proposed to reduce the K-12 school year by Our students, public schools, colleges and universities are facing state budget cuts of more than $11 billion. These cuts are going to impact an entire generation of kids and alter public education for years to come. On Friday, March 13, we are asking everyone to join parents, teachers and other educators and Stand Up For Schools. What you can do: > 1. WEAR PINK on Friday, March 13, to show your support for public schools, students and educators. > 2. Log on to www.pinkfriday09.org to find or promote an event near you. > 3. Call or e-mail your legislators and tell them that investing in public education is an investment in our future. Get involved at www.pinkfriday09.org * Set Up a Profile * Create an Event Page * Get Ideas About Hosting an Event * Share How Cuts Are Hurting Your School * Connect with Other Public Ed. Supporters March 13, 2009, marks the day that layoff notices will be sent to thousands of California educators as local school districts are forced to make drastic cuts. 34 California Educator | FEBRUARY 2009 fight any at- tempt to under- mine the class size reduction program. The governor’s pro- posed cuts would mean that class size boosts could jam as many as 40 students in a classroom and would in many cases eliminate the in- dividual attention students need to succeed. His plan would also allow school dis- tricts to negotiate a reduc- tion of up to five days from the school calendar. Sanchez was in Sacramento on Jan. 15 to personally deliver the organization’s response to the State of the State Address and the governor’s proposals to slash education and other pub- lic services. In his interviews with reporters and conversa- tions with public officials, San- chez drove home that CTA is unyielding in its opposition to proposals that would further devastate California’s public ed- ucation system. CTA takes issue with the budget proposal that the gover- President Sanchez five days. This is unacceptable.” nor released after he vetoed a legislative package passed in December on a strict party-line vote. Only Democrats voted for the legislative plan, which rep- resented a solution for about $18 billion of the shortfall that combined new revenues and more program cuts. The gover- nor’s own pro- posal — which wo uld ta k e $10.8 bi llion from schools through cuts and an addition- al $7 billion in future education spending by il- legally manipu- lating Proposi- tion 98 — assumes the approval of a sales tax and other new rev- enues. Adopted without those new revenue provisions, the governor’s plan would lead to even greater cuts in schools and other public services. With the 2008-09 budget still out of balance, the governor and lawmakers are wrestling over how to resolve both current year and future year shortfalls in a declining economy. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and Sen- ate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) told reporters at a Jan. 15 Capitol news conference that they were hopeful that President Barack Obama’s administration would be able to send at least $10 bil- lion in federal stimulus funding to California. They said receipt of that much in new federal funding would significantly re- duce the state’s shortfall and