6/16/09
Protect Billions in Prop. 98
Your help is needed right away to secure the rapid approval by the legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of a measure that will restore at least $9.3 billion in desperately needed Proposition 98 funding.
Both the state Senate and the Assembly are expected to vote as early as Monday, June 23, on a budget compromise crafted by a two-house budget conference committee.
Please contact your state Senator and Assembly Member right now and urge them to vote for the public school repayment in the conferees’ budget compromise.
Then contact Gov. Schwarzenegger and urge him to sign the compromise plan.
Background
With the state in the grips of the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, CTA, the Education Coalition and other pro-education groups have been battling to defeat the worst education cuts in the state’s history.
Education supporters have been able to win guarantees in the conferees’ plan that would give back to schools at least $9.3 billion in restoration funding when the economy turns around.
These victories are contingent upon the full legislature approving a budget trailer bill compromise reached by the two-house budget conference committee on June 16.
Public education’s foes, including those who would like to replace public schools with tax-credit funded private schools, would love to see these funds cut from public education forever.
Work to gain approval for the public school repayment is only the first part of CTA’s action plan.
CTA also supports rescinding the corporate tax breaks given to businesses over the past two years and giving local school districts the ability to spend down their reserves in these times of need.
Contact Lawmakers
- Urge them to support the repayment of the money owed to K-14 schools under state law that is contained in the conference committee budget compromise.
- Organize other CTA members and school supporters in your area to contact their state Senators and Assembly members and urge them to support the school repayment.
- In this economic environment, all lawmakers need to hear from their education constituents about how cuts are hurting our students.
- Read and use the key points below.
KEY POINTS
- Our public schools and students have endured too much already. Public education has taken more than 60 percent of the state budget cuts. The governor is proposing additional education cuts of $1.6 billion this school year and another $4.6 billion in the state fiscal year starting July 1. This is in addition to the crippling $11.6 billion in cuts made to schools and colleges in February’s budget deal. The total cuts to education would add up to nearly $3,000 per student.
- California students and our public schools must be priorities. Support school repayment provisions contained in the conference committee budget compromise. This will help restore some of the drastic cuts to education.
- In addition, increased revenues must be part of the solution. This includes passing majority-vote fee increases; allowing local school districts to raise revenues by lowering the vote requirements for parcel taxes from two-thirds to a majority vote; and rescinding corporate tax breaks approved in the February budget agreement. Rather than giving tax breaks to big businesses, lawmakers need to invest in our future – our children. Rescinding these tax breaks would save $2.5 billion a year.
- Our students are the ones who are suffering. We ask them to meet some of the highest academic standards in the nation, and then fund their education at an embarrassing level, currently 47th in the nation. We can’t expect our students to continue to make improvements and meet our standards when the state refuses to provide the resources necessary to help students succeed. Maybe it’s time for the state to temporarily suspend the state’s testing and accountability system until it can provide adequate funding.
Please share your own stories about what is happening in your local school district.
For more information, contact CTA Legislative Advocate Estelle Lemieux or GR Communications Consultant Len Feldman at 916.325.1500.