Education Leaders Implore Governor Not To Throw Schools Under the Bus
Letters describing “State of Our Schools” to be delivered in response to governor’s State of the State address
West Sacramento, Calif. – In response to the governor’s State of the State address, California School Boards Association President Frank Pugh, will deliver more than 500 letters to the governor’s office on January 6 at 1:30 p.m. describing the current state of California’s schools. Board members, superintendents and educators from throughout the state have written letters asking lawmakers to refrain from cutting education to balance the 2010-11 budget, after the drastic cuts schools endured from the 2009-10 budget. Each letter outlines the severe cuts local schools have been forced to endure and asks the governor to make California’s more than 6 million students a priority.
“I hope these letters open the governor’s and lawmakers’ eyes to the catastrophic situation our schools and students are facing,” said Pugh. “Last year, the governor referred to education as low hanging fruit in the grand scheme of the state’s budget cuts, but California’s education system plays the most vital role in our state’s economic future and it is too significant to fail. Schools are in a crisis bigger than anything we have ever seen – one that the governor and legislators must take more seriously.”
The S.O.S. letters describe the very real results of several years of draconian cuts to local schools. Summer school, libraries, transportation, athletics, technology, agriculture, Regional Occupational Programs (ROP) and General Education Development (GED) were some of the many examples provided. Some board members described the state of their schools as “hemorrhaging.” Others explained that every school in their district has scored over 800 in API, and yet budget cuts still force them to eliminate the very innovative and successful programs that guarantee this level of academic achievement.
CSBA’s President-Elect, Martha Fluor’s letter reads, “Our district has been left no choice but to eliminate K-12 summer school, increase class sizes and, most distressing, close one of our schools. These cuts, totally over $8 million, have placed an entire generation of children in jeopardy. Shame on you!”
“Last year, that governor and legislature made the irresponsible decision to balance the state’s budget on the backs of our schools,” said Fluor. “The failure to make education a priority has resulted in a $17 billion reduction in school funding and has left board members in every district across the state with no choice but to make devastating cuts to their local schools.”
The results of these catastrophic cuts have included the elimination of teachers, nurses, counselors, janitorial staff, librarians, administrators, art and music, physical education, athletics programs, classroom supplies, class-size reduction, safety staff and more importantly staff and student morale.
“California’s education system has done everything in its power to provide successful and innovative learning opportunities for every student. For the past decade, the percentage of schools that have met or exceeded state targets on the Academic Performance Index (API) has tripled,” said CSBA Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin. “The problem isn’t that our schools are failing – the problem is that our governor and legislature are failing our schools. Schools have reached their breaking point. The state has cut education to the bone, and these letters are real-life proof of the severe consequences we face.”
For more information about CSBA’s State of Our Schools campaign, please contact
Brittany McKannay at 916-669-3244.