"Providing quality public education for all students is one of the crucial civil rights issues of our generation," said CTA President Barbara E. Kerr on the 50th anniversary of the
Brown v. Board of Education
decision, which outlawed segregation in the classroom and demanded equality for all students.
"Cutting additional funding to our schools is not the way to close the achievement gap or succeed in reaching the goals of the Brown decision."
At a news conference in Sacramento, she said the governor's revised spending proposal "includes full funding for class size reduction and programs to support our schools of greatest need."
More than 200 presidents and other teacher leaders from CTA chapters around the state gathered at the state Capitol May 17 to urge lawmakers to support the governor's revised budget proposal and protect schools from further budget cuts.
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Making the case for protecting schools are CTA officers David A. Sanchez, Barbara E. Kerr and Dean E. Vogel with chapter presidents Harry Keiley from Santa Monica-Malibu and Terri Jackson from Richmond.
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CTA recognizes that the state is facing a fiscal crisis and must make tough decisions, added Kerr. "We are committed to working with the legislators and the governor for a plan that protects school funding."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's May Revision to his budget proposal provides a 2.41 percent COLA and a 0.9 percent increase to reduce the deficit from last year, giving most districts a 3.3 percent increase over the revenue limit that was funded last year. CTA finance experts expect these increases to survive the budget process.
The proposal will increase overall K-14 education spending by more than $2 billion above 2003-04 levels, and provide cost-of-living increases and enrollment growth funding for all K-12 schools and community colleges. The proposal restores $200 million to community colleges and protects money allocated for class size reduction and special education.
The package also protects the integrity of Proposition 98 and guarantees that any money cut from the schools must be restored in subsequent years. It also eliminates enrollment caps on the Healthy Families program, which means more children will have access to affordable health insurance.
The budget proposal, however, also represents a sacrifice by students, teachers and schools, said Kerr. Through budget cuts and funding deferrals since 2001, the state's K-12 classrooms will have lost more than $9.4 billion. The figure is $360 million for community colleges. That's why school districts throughout the state are laying off teachers, eliminating counseling programs, closing libraries and cutting other vital student programs.
Among the teachers in Sacramento for the day was Terri Jackson, president of United Teachers of Richmond. She told news media that the West Contra Costa Unified School District has laid off 318 teachers, counselors, psychologists and librarians this year, closed school libraries and eliminated sports programs.
"Students of color and English language learners will no longer have counselors to help them go on to higher education," said Jackson. "They will not have libraries to go to. This is not the way to provide a quality education to all students."
Her school district is hoping to pass a new parcel tax, Measure B, to help offset cuts that have already been made.
"Deeper state cuts would be catastrophic for us," she added.
Schools in more affluent areas are also feeling the pinch, said Harry Keiley, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association. Even a parcel tax that will raise $6 million and the Santa Monica City Council's decision to approve $6 million in school funding for five years were not enough to prevent 25 teacher layoffs.
"These are bad times for California," Kerr told the media. "And we have to make sure that in bad times, students are not going to be hurt. Our classrooms have been cut enough."
Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
