Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/85441
YES ON 30 Richard Crowson PLAYING SCROOGE HAS HURT OUR SCHOOLS OUR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES have been cut by more than $20 billion over the past four years, and more than 40,000 educators have been issued pink slips, including teachers, nurses, counselors, librarians, classroom aides, janitors and other vital school employees. The results: California has the largest class sizes and the worst ratios of nurses and counselors per student in the country. California ranks 47th in the nation in per-student funding. Vibhuti Sharma received five pink slips in five years. "Kids and parents look forward to teachers coming back. Telling them you're not going to be here is terrible for morale." In some districts, school libraries have closed, the school calendar has been shortened due to furlough days, and there have been cutbacks in in sports, art, music, science, PE, after-school programs and career technical education classes. Tuition hikes make college, supposedly accessible for all under California's Master Plan, an impossible dream for many students. October 2012 www.cta.org 33