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| CTA President David A. Sanchez addresses the Lobby Day crowd on the Capitol steps in Sacramento. |
By Mike Myslinski
After six weeks, 13 cities and hundreds of miles on the road, the CTA “Cuts Hurt” bus tour ended at the Capitol in Sacramento May 20 with teachers warning lawmakers of the devastating impact of more than $4 billion in proposed cuts to public education.
The governor’s revised budget plan “still includes $4.3 billion in cuts to public schools — including programs such as class size reduction, which means squeezing even more students into California’s overcrowded classrooms,” CTA President David A. Sanchez said at a Capitol news conference and huge CTA Lobby Day rally.
Already, smaller class sizes in Elk Grove Unified in Sacramento County are threatened by teacher pink slips and state cuts, said Elk Grove Education Association Vice President Mike Stahl.
Along with sounding the alarm across the state about local cuts being the fallout from state budget actions, CTA leaders also warned that other states are poaching teachers laid off by California. In fact, Texas, Nevada, Hawaii, Virginia and Kansas are recruiting here, putting up billboards or offering financial incentives — draining the teacher supply at a time when California is expected to need more than 100,000 new educators over the next 10 years.
The entire bus tour is documented at www.cta.org.
Before its May 14 stops in the Bay Area for Day of the Teacher events, the yellow “Cuts Hurt” school bus was busy. President Sanchez spoke of the consequences for the future of our higher education students at a May 5 stop of the bus tour at Butte College in Oroville.
Proposed state budget cuts “will be devastating for higher education,” Sanchez told faculty and students from Chico State University and Butte College at the community college. “We cannot allow students to be denied a college education. This is their education, and this is our future.”
The governor’s revised budget plan would still mean tens of millions of dollars in losses for community colleges and University of California and California State University campuses. Community colleges face $300 million in proposed cuts.
Earlier that day in the north state, Sanchez rode the CTA bus to Meadow Lane Elementary in Anderson, near Redding, to join pink-slipped teachers in speaking out against cuts that could total in the millions next school year for the 25 school districts in Shasta County that serve nearly 30,000 students.
As TV cameras recorded her concerns, Kandi Kalinowski, president of the Redding Teachers Association and a Redding School District teacher for 29 years, warned of the damage from cuts, and asked what they will mean when her 3-year-old granddaughter, Ashlyn, squirming at her side, entered the public school system.
“The pending budget cuts will not only affect our children today, but will affect our students for years to come,” Kalinowski said. “If the past is any indicator, and I believe it is, the programs that help our children become well-rounded individuals, electives such as music, the arts, sports, and technology, will be the first programs affected.”
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| Kandi Kalinowski, president of the Redding Teachers Association, speaks to the media with her 3-year-old granddaughter Ashlyn at her hip. |
In two stops on April 23, the bus tour revealed local impacts in Fresno and Kern counties of the governor’s proposed cuts.
“In the Central Valley and up and down the state, we are sounding the alarm over the proposal to balance the state budget through across-the-board cuts alone,” Sanchez said. “Schools in Fresno and Kern counties are facing teacher layoffs, program cuts and larger class sizes. Providing a quality education for our students is the most important thing we can do to invest in their future.”
In Fresno County, Sanchez spoke at Addams Elementary, a high-poverty school in Fresno Unified, which was facing millions in cuts and the loss of scores of teaching “coaches” who assist their colleagues in literacy and math programs.
In Kern County, Sanchez and pink-slipped teachers spoke out in the parking lot of the district office of Assembly Member Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield), calling on the former educator and school superintendent to support public schools and oppose massive cuts.
“We urge the governor, Jean Fuller and the entire Legislature to listen to all our voices,” Sanchez said. “Don’t push California schools backwards. We’ve been making real progress now — let’s keep moving forward.”
Some Kern High School District cuts are eliminating classes related to the area’s huge agricultural industry, said pink-slipped Arvin High School teacher Donald Mills, who teaches agricultural science courses. “It really hurts our community when you cut education programs that will help our students get the better-paying jobs in the agricultural industry,” Mills said.
The bus stopped in Orange and San Diego counties April 17 to show how students and pink-slipped teachers are already feeling the fallout from the governor’s proposed state budget cuts.
In Orange County, sixth-grade teacher Lisa Paisley at Foothill Ranch Elementary in Saddleback Valley Unified reacted strongly to getting a layoff notice after 10 dedicated years in the classroom. “This isn’t just about my job, this is about my hopes for California’s educational system. How can Sacramento value the right to a free and public education system so little?”
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| CTA Vice President Dean Vogel speaks about cuts to higher education at the Chico bus stop. |
Saddleback feared in April having to make $19.2 million in cuts due to the governor’s proposal and issued 250 layoff notices to educators. It joined many Orange County districts in issuing hundreds of pink slips due to having to make huge budget cuts. In San Diego County, the 42 school districts faced cuts of about $360 million next fiscal year and issued at least 2,000 teacher layoff notices by the March 15 legal deadline, according to the San Diego County Office of Education.
At Oak Park Elementary in San Diego Unified — which made final 617 of the 903 educator layoff notices it issued in March — President Sanchez questioned why local Assembly Member Shirley Horton (R-Lemon Grove) favors yacht owners and oil companies over schools.
“She refused to support two measures that would have generated more revenue for the state and for schools — the closure of tax loopholes for yacht owners and an oil severance tax,” Sanchez said. “We can’t talk about spending cuts without also talking about ways to increase revenues. Assembly Member Horton needs to listen to parents, teachers, and the community and put our students first.”
Oak Park Elementary pink-slipped teacher Andrew Robinson spoke out with his pregnant wife Tanya at his side, explaining the financial hardships the couple faces with a baby due in July. He was facing layoff despite being a former Teacher of the Year at the school and holding a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.
“I have completed countless hours of professional development, working with others to improve the quality of the instruction we provide to the students of this school and district,” Robinson said, adding that state budget cuts will hurt his school. “Our students will face larger class sizes, massive program reductions, and the loss of vital support here at the school site level.”
