Education Rallies Demand Attention Across California

Johanna Estrella, Staff Reporter

Johanna_Estrella@csumb.edu

April 17, 2008

The teachers, administration, faculty and

staff of the public education system of

California have worked in unity, organizing

rallies at pre-K though 12 grade schools

as well as universities in the past couple

of months in an attempt to send a strong

message of outrage in response to governor

Schwarzenegger’s proposed 10 percent

budget cut to public education.

Although various organizations have put

together different rallies all over the state,

their common goal is to receive as much

attention as possible before May, when

a rewrite of the budget is scheduled. The

proposed 10 percent budget cut to public

education translates to about a $4.8 billion

cut from public schools, and a $386 million

cut to the California State Universities

(CSU) system.

According to Jael Low, president of

Monterey Bay Teachers Association

(MBTA), if the budget cuts go through

music programs, intervention programs,

support services and STAR testing study

programs would be just a few of the

programs that could face termination. The

MBTA held a rally on March 4 at Window

on the Bay Park in Monterey, and invited

superintendents, teachers, faculty, and

staff to join and to show their support.

Demonstrations across the state have been

a part of the Educational Coalition, an

alliance working at both county and state

levels. The coalition is composed of several

organizations, such as California Teachers

Association (CTA), American Federation

of Teachers (AFT), the Association of

California School Administrators (ACSA),

and the Parent Teacher Association.

Another rally inviting all teacher

associations is scheduled to take place 

May 14 at Central Park in Salinas.

Low recently met with Assembly

members Ana Caballero and John Leird at

a legislative breakfast on April 4 to discuss

the looming crisis. Although Senator Abel

Maldonado was invited, neither he nor

his representative was able to attend. Low

is deeply concerned for the future of the

more than 10,000 teachers that would be

laid off in California, 55 of which are from

Monterey County.

Low shared that K-3 grade education

is the most important in preventing future

criminal behavior. According to Low,

prisons calculate the number of inmates

they expect to have in twenty years by the

literacy rate of children after third grade.

Low expressed how the state cannot afford

to cut funding from lower grades.

CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) Chicano

studies and Spanish professor Donaldo

Urioste also worries about the future of the

California educational system. “If we were

to invest in each student the way we do with

prison inmates, my goodness...” Urioste

said. Urioste is a member of the Alliance

for the CSU coalition and helped organize a

rally held March 13 in front of the University

Center (UC). Urioste said that by cutting the

budget of the CSU system, the governor is

cutting the working backbone of California

since 64 percent of state nurses come from

the CSU system, along with 87 percent

of teachers and 90 percent of criminal

justice employees. Along with the long term

effects the cut could have on California,

students can expect a 10 percent increase in

tuition fees for the upcoming school year, a

trend that has plagued students for several

years. Urioste expressed that in order for

the alliances to succeed we all need to

have a united front and to send a powerful

message to the governor that “education is

too important to be on a chopping block.”

Social and Behavioral Science (SBS)

junior transfer student Shamaila Taj attended

the CSU Rally at the UC. Taj volunteered to

be a spokesperson for the CSU alliance and

began to spread the word, asking for support

by emailing everyone in her contact lists and

informing them of the issue. Taj said that

her acts were “easy but powerful,” and she

agrees with Low and Urioste that rejecting

the estimated 10,000 new students applying

for CSU acceptance would negatively affect

California. Taj also speculated that even

people without financial need would suffer

from the cuts since many classes may face

cancellation due to lack of funding.

Taj and Urioste both believe the CSU is

truly the solution to the decaying economy

of California, and cutting the funding for

the knowledge needed would only worsen

the crisis. All agree that it is fundamentally

important keep education a high priority for

a prosperous Californian future.