BURLINGAME – With time running out and urgency increasing for lawmakers to pass a state budget that will protect public schools, the California Teachers Association today launched a statewide TV advertising campaign calling on legislators to work together on a real solution to the budget crisis.
“The $4.3 billion in proposed budget cuts that our schools are facing this fall are a travesty that will have enormous consequences for our schools and students,” said David A. Sanchez, president of the 340,000-member CTA. “Already programs such as art, music, career technical education and summer school are being trimmed or eliminated altogether. We need lawmakers to put personal politics aside and work together for a comprehensive budget solution that will protect public education and California’s more than six million students.”
The 30-second ad that begins statewide today features two classroom teachers, Karen Kroeter and Normajean Janssen, who point to the fact that a state budget is overdue and it’s time for lawmakers to work together to present real solutions to the state’s budget crisis.
At a time when California already ranks 46th in per pupil funding and dead last in teachers, counselors and librarians per student, the proposed education cuts would increase class sizes and reduce funding to those programs that target low-income students and those schools that need help the most. More than 20,000 teachers and education support professionals received layoff notices and some of these skilled educators will not return to California classrooms.
Continuing to balance the budget with a cuts-only approach hurts vital services that all Californians need and deserve. Lawmakers must consider revenue increases to fund education and other crucial programs that help children, the poor and working families.
“As we say in the ad, education isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue,” said Sanchez. “We are calling on legislators to put politics aside and work together to produce a responsible budget that includes increased revenues to protect our schools and invest in our students’ future.”
Watch the ads on the CTA website at www.cta.org.