State of Emergency Campaign

MEDIA RESOURCES: Go to www.castateofemergency.com, click on ‘Media Resources’ and enter the password ‘report’ to download high-res photos and video of select State of Emergency events and to see what’s happening next. We will also be streaming live video of the State Of Emergency Rally in Sacramento on www.castateofemergency.com beginning at 4:45 p.m. on Friday, May 13.

BURLINGAME – Scores of protests, rallies, teacher sit-ins and grade-ins, and town halls are part of a statewide “State of Emergency” campaign week of actions being launched Monday by CTA and a coalition of supporters calling on the Legislature to extend current taxes now to avoid the catastrophe of an all-cuts budget.

“We are living in a state of emergency,” said David A. Sanchez, president of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association. “Educators, parents and community leaders are fighting back against state budget cuts that are decimating our schools, public safety and health care services. To protect essential public services, the Legislature must finish the job of resolving the state budget crisis by extending current tax rates legislatively. Time is running out for our students and our communities.”

Educators are fed up with endless cuts and will be holding daily sit-ins at the Capitol building in Sacramento. In the past three years, K-12 and higher education have been cut by more than $20 billion. An all-cuts state budget would add another $4 billion in education cuts, the state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst warns. CTA supported the governor’s call for a June special election to extend taxes, but some lawmakers hijacked the process and blocked that vote. The time to protect the revenue we have is now.

The campaign is ongoing, but focuses on next week’s events to show the impacts of budget cuts on students and our communities. The campaign website is www.castateofemergency.com and features events planned statewide, along with blogs, videos and news coverage about cuts and the growing coalition backing the mobilization. The action week was launched by the CTA State Council of Education in early April as a rapid response to the growing state crisis.

Here is a sampling of events planned around the state next week, day by day:

MONDAY, MAY 9

Sacramento:   11:45 a.m. news conference and interfaith prayer service and silent procession on May 9 to launch State of Emergency week in Cathedral Square at K and 11th Street.  Hundreds of  educators, clergy, parents, public safety, community organizations and public workers from across the state will march to the Capitol, walk the perimeter and go inside to drop off materials to each legislator’s office that highlight the school district cuts in their representative district. At 1:30 p.m., participants will attend the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee hearing in Room 126. Contact: Sandra Jackson at 916-325-1550 or 916-801-4776 (cell).

San Francisco: The Bay Area kickoff is at 7 a.m. May 9, when members of the United Educators of San Francisco will rally at the State PUC building, corner of McAllister and Van Ness, then march a few blocks to the school district office at 555 Franklin. There, the superintendent and UESF President Dennis Kelly will speak, then 65 educators will get on the chartered bus in the parking lot to head to Sacramento to take part in sit-ins at the Capitol. (For morning TV news crews, some teachers will be on hand at 5:30 a.m. for interviews.) Contacts: UESF President Dennis Kelly at 415-956-8373, or Mike Myslinski, 408-921-5769 (cell).

Simi Valley:   4-5 p.m. protest Monday, May 9, at Senator Tony Strickland's office, 2655 First St., #230, Simi Valley. Contact:  Jake Anderson at 805-497-8220.

Merced: The CTA Merced-Mariposa Service Center Council will hold a mini-rally May 9 in support of meeting with Legislators from 4 to 5 p.m.  in front of state Sen. Anthony Canella’s office, 1640 N St., Merced. Contact: Joel Knox or Paul Chambers at 209-723-8871.

Manteca: Teachers from Manteca, Tracy, Linden, Ripon and the surrounding areas will hold a rally on Monday, May 9, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the corner of Main Street and Louise Avenue in Manteca: 262 red balloons will be flying, one for every teacher that received a layoff notice 2 years ago. Contact: Ken Johnson, Manteca Teachers Association president, at 209-603-3767.

Modesto: CTA chapters including Ceres Unified Teachers Association and Modesto Teachers Association will hold a small rally May 9 in support of a meeting with legislators from 4-5 pm in front of Assembly Member Kristin Olsen’s office, 3719 Tully Road, Suite C, Modesto. Event is organized by Stanislaus Service Center Council. Contacts:  Cheryl Brewer, Ceres Unified Teachers Association president, 209-537-0702, or Dana Filippi, MTA President, 209-526-0191.  

Visalia: Teachers will focus on local Assembly member Connie Conway on May 9. Educators will use their duty-free lunch to write a personal letter to Conway. At about 3:45 p.m., the letters will be brought to her local office, 113 N. Church St., Suite 505, Visalia, 93291. Conway’s aide meets with teachers at 4 p.m. Three hundred volunteers will be stationed outside her office wearing shirts saying “I will be a lay-off!” to stress urgency of state budget crisis. Contact: Karl Kildow, Visalia Unified Teachers Association president, at 559-732-7994.

Fullerton: This May 9 event is the Orange County Education Coalition legislative visit and press conference (with CTA, District PTA, ACSA, CSBA, CSEA, CA State Higher Ed, CTA/NEA Retired, Community College Assn.) Education Coalition representatives will meet with Assemblyman Chris Norby’s staff and conduct a press conference at Norby’s Fullerton office, 1400 No. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, 92835. Contact: Jim Rogers, 714-812-4179, or Suzie Swartz , 949) 0-5924.

TUESDAY, May 10

Sacramento:   9:30 a.m. on May 10 at Capitol (South Steps). Parents from Books Not Bars, PTA and other organizations will join educators in a news conference calling for lawmakers to protect our children from deeper cuts in education, health care and other programs that they need to ensure their future.  Immediately following the news conference parents will distribute information to lawmakers outlining the high cost of incarceration vs. education. Contact: Sandra Jackson at 916-325-1550 or 916-801-4776 (cell).

Walnut Creek: 4 p.m. “Main Street” news conference with CTA Vice President-elect Eric Heins, and Contra Costa County parents, teachers, administrators about state cuts being a Main Street issue. Location is in front of City Hall, 1666 N Main St, Walnut Creek, 94596. Contact: Mike Myslinski, 408-921-5769 (cell).

Bay Area: Many CTA chapters are doing “grade-ins” at several malls from 4-6 p.m. May 10 to show how much work teachers do after school and to reach out to the public about the state budget crisis. Malls include Corte Madera Town Center in Marin County, Stoneridge in Pleasanton, Bayfair in San Leandro, South Shore in Alameda, the Hub mall in Fremont, and three San Jose malls: Eastridge, Oakridge and Valley Fair. Contact: Mike Myslinski at 408-921-5769.

Long Beach: Teachers Association of Long Beach is coordinating after-school neighborhood mobilization walks and leafleting on May 10. Each school has a customized flyer.  Long Beach Unified issued about 1,100 pink slips for educators earlier this spring. Educators are going door to door to warn public about cuts to their neighborhood schools. Contact: Joe Boyd, 562-426-6433.

Stockton : Stockton Teachers Association and Lodi Educators Association are among the CTA chapters that will participate in a May 10 “grade-in” at Sherwood Mall Shopping Center, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Pacific and Yokuts Ave., Stockton. Teachers will wear their school t-shirts and signs that say, “I’m a teacher. Ask me what I’m doing,” and will use the opportunity to engage with the public.  Contacts:  Ellen Old, president of STA, at 209-478-5074, or Jeff Johnston, Lodi Education Association president, 209-477-2425.

Bakersfield: Educators will distribute flyers May 10 to parents outside their schools outlining the impact of further cuts to our district. In the afternoon, they will be joining their colleagues from BETA and other chapters at The Marketplace from 4-6 pm at a “grade-in” to show what teachers do in their unpaid hours. Contact: Brad Barnes, president of Bakersfield Elementary Teachers Association, at 661-327-4567.

Kern County: In a daylong May 10 event organized by the Kern High School Teachers Association, high schools in the district will be festooned with banners calling attention to the 20,000 California educators who have received preliminary pink slips. Flyers will be distributed to parents, and chapter members will join in the 4-6 p.m. grade-in at The Marketplace in Bakersfield. Contact: Victoria Shoenhair, president of KHSTA, at 661-588-3406.

Oakdale: Members of the Oakdale Teachers Association will wear red May 10 in support of public education, and park on the street, in front of your school sites. They will attach a red OTA balloon to their cars and display posters in the windshields calling attention to the State of Emergency campaign. Additionally, flyers will be distributed to parents as they drop off their students.  Contact: Linda Krause, president of Oakdale Teachers Association, at 209-402-4644.

Escondido: The Escondido Elementary Education Association will hold a “teach-in” May 10 at Escondido Mall to help educate the public on what teachers do and the state of public schools. The event is between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. at the North County Fair Mall, 272 East Via Rancho Parkway, Escondido, 92025. Contact: EEEA President Romero Maratea,760-746-1438.

Redondo Beach: The 4 p.m. “Cuts Hurt Redondo Beach Kids” protest is on Pacific Coast Highway between Diamond and Vincent in front of Redondo Union High School, 631 Vincent Park, Redondo Beach.  Contacts: Amy Santa Cruz at 310-921-2500; Dr. Steven Keller, 310-379-5449, ext. 1272; or Genie Lewis, 310-386-0732.

WEDNESDAY, May 11: California Day of the Teacher

Sacramento: 1 p.m. news conference May 11 at Capitol (West Steps) for California Day of the Teacher event with Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, Teachers of the Year from around the state, and other educators.  Teachers will then honor firefighters, health care workers, bus drivers, security workers, and others for the hard work they do in our communities and present them “thank you” certificates. Strong visual will be 400 empty chairs, each representing 100 educators who have been laid off in the last three years.  Immediately following, educators will deliver Blue Books with a writing assignment to each lawmaker’s office asking them: “How will you solve the budget crisis by June 15?” Contact: Sandra Jackson at 916-325-1550 or 916-801-4776 (cell).

San Francisco: CTA President David Sanchez will be discussing the State of Emergency campaign on the Ronn Owens KGO Radio talk show May 11 from 11 a.m. to noon, in the KGO studios at 900 Front St., San Francisco, 94111. He will be available for interviews immediately after the end of the call-in show. Contact: Mike Myslinski, 408-921-5769 (cell).

San Francisco: CTA President David A. Sanchez will join San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and San Francisco Unified Superintendent Carlos Garcia in honoring 10 teachers of the month from San Francisco Unified on California Day of the Teacher. The ceremony is at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, at homeplate at ATT Park before the 7:15 San Francisco Giants game. The monthly teacher award program is a joint effort of the mayor’s office, the San Francisco Education Fund, and United Educators of San Francisco. The honored teachers will wear jerseys with pink lettering as a reminder of the more that 20,000 California educators who received preliminary pink slips this spring. Contacts: Matthew Hardy at UESF, 415-513-3179, or Mike Myslinski, 408-921-5769.

Ventura:   A 4 p.m. "We Are One" march and “Middle Class Defense Coalition” press conference is set for May 11 at Buena High School, 5670 Telegraph Road, Ventura. Join teachers, police officers, firefighters, construction workers, healthcare workers, retail workers and many others in an event to fight for our middle class and stop egregious cuts to public services and education.  Contact: Arleigh Kidd at 805-485-1706.

Norco: The Corona/Norco Teachers’ Association will conduct a Teacher Appreciation Day Members’ Fair on Wednesday, May 11, 2-7 p.m. at 1189 N. Mountain Ave., Norco. The event will feature booths by approximately 40 area businesses and vendors with information, gifts, prizes and food for local educators. The CNTA will have a State of Emergency booth with information and resources for helping members and the public get involved with the effort to maintain funding for public schools, including a mini-phone bank opportunity. Over 1,000 persons are expected to participate, including CTA Secretary-Treasurer-Elect Mikki Cichocki. Contact: Anne Freeman, CNTA vice president, 951-733-9169

Kern County: Chapters all around Kern County will attend a massive Sierra Service Center Day of the Teacher May 11 celebration at Yokuts Park in Bakersfield from 4-8 pm with an “Advocacy Row” ( with letters, phone calls and mock graveyard “Death of Schools” Photo Op – all to be focused on legislators).  A BBQ, entertainment, and guest speakers planned. Contact: Brad Barnes, Bakersfield Elementary Teachers Association president, at 661-327-4567.

Stockton:   Members of the Stockton Teachers Association on May 11 at various school sites are being encouraged to set up symbolic empty chairs in front of their schools with signs noting the number of teachers who have received pink slips. In Stockton Unified, over 260 teachers have been given layoff notices. Contact: Ellen Old, president of STA, at 209-478-5074

Tahoe-Truckee: Members of the Tahoe-Truckee Educators Association will be making and delivering thank you notes May 11 to our public employee association allies: nurses, police, and firefighters. The notes will both express our gratitude and ask these allies to contact their legislators. Contacts:  TTEA Co-President Jon Halvorsen at 530-448-6320 (cell); Co-President Ed Hilton, 530-448-3749: or Stephanie Bacon, 530-448-9957 (cell).

THURSDAY, May 12

Sacramento: From 9-11 a.m.  May 12 at the Capitol (location is TBA), a “Revenue Tax Fairness Teach-In” will be held with Jean Ross, California Budget Project and Stephen Rhoads, Strategic Education Services. Contact: Sandra Jackson at 916-325-1550 or 916-801-4776 (cell).

Sacramento: At 11:30 a.m. on May 12, in Assembly and Senate Gallery, Day of the Teacher resolutions will be read on the floor and presented to CTA President David A. Sanchez and California Federation of Teachers Secretary-Treasurer Jeff Freitas. Contact: Sandra Jackson at 916-325-1550 or 916-801-4776 (cell).

Fullerton: Starting at 4 p.m., the North Orange County United Teachers Revenue Extensions & Tax Fairness Day Rally features members of the Fullerton Secondary Teachers Association, Fullerton Elementary Teachers Association, Buena Park Teachers Association, Brea Olinda Teachers Association, and La Habra Education Association. All will be rallying, wearing red, and waving signs along Harbor Blvd., between Chapman and Commonwealth, in downtown Fullerton. Contact: Andy Montoya, 714-469-5177 (cell).

San Jose: 6-8 p.m. The CTA Berryessa chapter is hosting a town hall-style meeting about dire school cuts and need for more revenue from 6-8 p.m. May 12 in the Berryessa Library, 3355 Noble Ave., San Jose, 95132. Parents, public safety workers and community leaders joining in. Contact: CTAB President Maria Smith, 408-674-6668 (cell).

Fremont: 6:30 p.m. town hall May 12 meeting on dire need for more school revenues, held by Fremont Unified District Teachers Association and school district. Event is at offices of Fremont Unified School District, 4210 Technology Drive, Fremont, 94538. Contact: Marta Dragos, 510-693-1522.

Bakersfield: Coordinated by the CTA Sierra Service Center Council, educators throughout the Bakersfield area and Kern County will wear black to school on May 12 to send a message about the impending “death” of public education. A “Death of Public Education” funeral march will take place from 4-6 p.m. at the intersection of California Avenue and Stockdale in Bakersfield. Contact: Darla Bramlett at 661-330-7594.

Stanislaus County: Educators from throughout Stanislaus County will send out viral messages on May 12 via Twitter, Facebook, email, text, to educate friends and family about the need to extend taxes they already pay to prevent further cuts to education. This will be done to promote the need for REVENUE for schools and educate our members and the community about tax fairness (more info at www.cta.org/taxfairness). Contacts: Cheryl Brewer, Ceres Unified Teachers Association president, 209-537-0702; Dana Filippi, MTA President, 209-526-0191; or Linda Krause, Oakdale Teachers Association president, 209-402-4644. Members within the Merced-Mariposa Service Center Council and Delta Service Center Council will be engaged in similar activities.

FRIDAY, MAY 13: Regional rallies

Sacramento rally: Huge State of Emergency Coalition Rally from 4-6 p.m. on South Steps of Capitol to save our schools and save our state.  Entertainment starts at 4 p.m., and speakers are from 5-6 p.m. Speakers will include CTA President David A. Sanchez and Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, and representatives from the State Education Coalition, and many other labor and community organizations.  CTA will be streaming live video of this May 13 rally beginning at 4:45 p.m. at www.castateofemergency.com.  Contact: Sandra Jackson at 916-325-1550 or 916-801-4776 (cell).

San Francisco rally: Huge 4-6 p.m. regional rally May 13 in front of City Hall in the Civic Center Plaza. Music provided by Hayward Unified music teachers and their “Angry Tired Teachers Band.” The saxophone player, Bryan Holbrook, is pink slipped. Speakers include Carol Kocivar, president-elect of the State PTA; Alicia Sandoval, Parent Leadership Action Network; Cathy Campbell of the California Federation of Teachers; and pink-slipped Bay Area educators, including Union City teacher Quyen Tran, who is eight months pregnant. Contacts: Master of ceremonies and UESF President Dennis Kelly, 415-956-8373, or Mike Myslinski, 408-921-5769.

Los Angeles rally: From 4-7 p.m. May 13, a huge rally will be held  in Pershing Square (6th and Olive). Entertainment and speakers from a broad coalition of education and labor groups. Speakers include CTA President-elect Dean Vogel, CFT President-elect Josh Pechthalt, Compton NAACP president Paulette Simpson-Gipson, Inglewood parent Audrey Thompson, Lakesha Harrison, president of AFSCME Local 3299, and United Teachers of Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy.  Contact Frank Wells at 562-708-5425.

San Diego rally: More than 2,000 educators, students, parents, business and community leaders – arriving by car, trolley, bus and train from throughout San Diego, Imperial, and southern Orange and Riverside counties – will participate in a huge rally between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. at San Diego’s Embarcadero Marina Park North, 500 Kettner Blvd. The rally will include entertainment from the Lakeside Middle School Show Choir and San Diego’s Monarch School Steel Drum Band. The speaking program will include welcome remarks by San Diego Education Association President Bill Freeman, welcome remarks from the State Education Coalition by CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett, and remarks by Darrin Curtis, California Teacher of the Year from Lakeside Union School District and by Lou Obermeyer, California Superintendent of the Year from Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District. Representatives from the Parent Teachers Association, California School Boards Association, Association of California School Administrators, California School Employees Association and California Faculty Association will also participate. Contacts: Bill Guy, 619-709-0028, or Lisa Eck , 714-504-7108 (cell).

San Bernardino rally:   More than 1,000 educators and other Inland Empire public employees, including police officers, firefighters, parents, and other community representatives from five Southern California counties, will gather at the Orange Show facility located at 374 West Orange Show Road in San Bernardino for the State of Emergency rally.  Arrivals will begin at approximately 4 p.m., with live musical entertainment beginning at 4:30 p.m.  Original lyrics and songs will be provided by Julian Sibby, 13-year-old guitar player and vocalist, and 12- year-old student Olivia Cichocki will perform the National Anthem preceding the rally.  Welcome ceremonies will begin with San Bernardino Teachers Association President Rebecca Harper, and include San Bernardino County Superintendent Gary Thomas, CTA Secretary-Treasurer-Elect Mikki Cichocki, NEA Board member Paula Monroe, and a host of other elected officials from California PTA, California School Boards Association, International Firefighters Association, and other community stakeholders. The 2011 CTA Education Support Professional of the Year, Miguel Ruiz, will also share thoughts about the budget crisis. Contact: Ed Sibby at 909-890-9116 or 951-225-2048 (cell).

Visalia rally:   CTA members in Kings and Tulare counties will hold a May 13 rally at the Garden Street Plaza, located on the corner of North Garden and East Main Street in downtown Visalia.  The program will start at 5 p.m. After the informational part of the program (speakers), participants will carry signs and proceed down Main Street to Church Street in front of Assembly member Connie Conway’s office.  The Tulare Labor Federation and other interested labor groups have been invited to participate in this unified action.  The rally will end at 6 p.m. Contacts:  Karla Orosco, 559-816-3486; Karl Kildow, Visalia Unified Teachers Association president, 559-732-7994; or Carol Reichert, CTA staff, 559-733-7706.

The 325,000-member California Teachers Association is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.