FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BURLINGAME - Hundreds of Central Valley teachers are preparing now to join a massive group of concerned citizens Wednesday for a rally at the State Capitol against the governor's broken promises and his plans to call a wasteful special election in November that would cost taxpayers as much as $80 million.
A Los Angeles rally is being held on the same day, and both rallies are sponsored by the Alliance for a Better California, a coalition of 2 million public servants, parents, community groups, and other working Californians. The Alliance website is: www.allianceforabetterca.org.
"Teachers are joining with parents, firefighters, nurses and many others who are fed up with this governor's broken promises and his plans for a wasteful $80 million special election that favors special interests," said California Teachers Association President Barbara E. Kerr. "These rallies in Sacramento and Los Angeles are sending the message that the governor isn't fighting special interests, he's fighting us."
Assignment Editors: Check with your nearest CTA office for additional local stories related to the rallies and the impact of the governor's broken promises on area schools. For media planning purposes, here is a sampling of Central Valley local contacts, bus boarding locations and Sacramento rally specifics:
FRESNO COUNTY: Local teachers are boarding two buses leaving at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday from the Mervyn's parking lot, corner of Blackstone and Ashland. Contact Ricardo Ornelas: 559-222-6593.
KERN COUNTY: Scores of educators are boarding three buses leaving at 1 p.m. from the Sears parking lot in the Valley Plaza Mall, corner of Ming and Wible Road, Bakersfield. Contact Bakersfield Elementary Teachers Association President Carol Reichert: 661-327-4567 or on cell: 661-203-5852.
TULARE COUNTY: Hundreds of teachers are leaving for Sacramento on five buses departing at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday from the Holiday Inn at 9000 West Airport Drive in Visalia. For teachers who can't attend the rally, three solidarity protests are being held in Visalia from 4-5 p.m. at Golden Oak Elementary, in front of the Lifestyles gym at the corner of Akers and Cypress, and at the corner of Caldwell and Mooney Boulevard. Contact Visalia Unified Teachers Association President Karl Kildow: 559-730-7995 or on cell: 559-250-3953.
THE MAY 25 ACTION DAY FOR A BETTER CALIFORNIA RALLY IN SACRAMENTO
WHAT: Central Valley teachers joining thousands of working Californians who are part of the Alliance for a Better California for a rally to protest the governor's broken promises and his wasteful $80 million special election.
WHEN and WHERE: 4:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, on south steps of State Capitol. Entertainment starts at 3 p.m.
VISUALS: Thousands of people with protest signs united against the governor.