¡Sí Se Puede!

David A. Sanchez, CTA President

Years ago, working as a primary-grade teacher on the Central Coast, I knew a lot of families living on the economic margins who struggled to pay the most basic living expenses. They were hardworking people living in farming communities, working labor jobs and taking care of their families the best they knew how. Many of them worked two or three jobs and still barely remained afloat.

Today, with the recent mortgage crisis and economic downturn, we’re seeing more and more middle-class families — who at one time would have considered themselves quite comfortable — experiencing financial difficulties, living from paycheck to paycheck. They are the new poor.

With the historic election of Barack Obama as president of the United States, the future, both for the country and for public education, looks brighter. He has the vision and compassion to lead real change across the nation — change in our health care, in our classrooms, and in our future. But for the present, our state is struggling. Statistics show that California’s children were hit the hardest of any students across the nation, with an estimated 311,900 losing their homes. Combine this with the wretched state of California’s budget and you have a serious crisis.

Current estimates put the funding deficit at $11.2 billion for the current budget year and up to $27 billion over the next 20 months, according to the state’s independent legislative analyst. CTA warned months ago that a state budget based on borrowing, like the one the governor and Legislature approved in September, would certainly lead to trouble. Already ranking 46th out of 50 states in the nation in per-pupil spending, California’s schools were forced to accept $500 million in cuts in the middle of the 2007-08 school year and $3 billion in additional cuts in the 2008-09 state budget.

All of you know that these cuts directly impact students in the classroom, through increasing class sizes, laying off teachers, education support professionals and other staff, eliminating music, art, sports and vocational education programs, or cutting off access to basic supplies. Schools have been forced to eliminate even more counselors, the very people who offer students direction and support. In some areas teachers are being asked to bring in their own copy paper and pay for field trips. Schools are being forced to cut back on library hours and services, as well as special education.

CTA and the entire Education Coalition remain opposed to any further cuts to our schools.
California is facing serious problems, and that means we need serious solutions from our leaders and a serious investment in our students’ future. It’s time to implement a real budget solution that doesn’t hurt California’s students. Our schools need stable, ongoing revenues so that all students can meet the high expectations the state has set for them. As the legislative analyst noted, the time has long passed for erasing this deficit with cuts alone. It simply can’t be done.

In a time when families are struggling and losing their homes, and young adults are thinking twice about attending college because of exorbitant tuition, we can’t ask our schools and students to do more with less. We need to fix this problem once and for all. Our children deserve better. Their futures and the future of California depend on it.