[BHS etree] BUSD: Budget Crisis: Write to Elected Reps Today

[bhs at idiom.com]

Do not reply to etree, contact Mark Coplan Public Information Officer, BUSD
510-644-6320 or mailto:Mark_Coplan at berkeley.k12.ca.us

Last week all of the superintendents in Alameda County joined County
Superintendent Sheila Jordan in signing a letter to the Governor and the
media, taking a firm stand against any budget cuts to education. I am
including that letter, as well as a sample letter that you can use in
writing your own letter to the Governor and our elected officials. This is
an important step, and we need everyone to participate if we want to
impact the decisions being made at the state level. Your PTA presidents
will have additional tools to to share from a budget crisis toolbox as
quickly as they are developed, but our letters to our elected officials
need to go out right away.

Mark Coplan, BUSD Public Information Officer
===============================================================================

Alameda County District Superintendent's Letter

OPINION/EDITORIAL
Turn public values into public policy ... full funding for our schools

Twelve months after declaring 2008 the Year of Education, Governor
Schwarzenegger now proposes $4.8 billion in cuts to education funding. The
Year of Education is fast becoming, as noted by State Superintendent Jack
O'Connell, "The Year of Evisceration."

California's schools simply do not have $4.8 billion to cut. In recent
tough financial years, Alameda County has endured deep cuts; becoming
leaner, while demonstrating progress toward our goal of educating
students. At a time when we should be investing more money to protect and
increase these gains, school districts across the state are now being
asked to reduce even further. This is not a matter of "trimming the fat."
The Governor's proposed budget reduction is equivalent to cutting more
than $24,000 per classroom, and eliminating 107,000 teachers. Funding for
textbooks, child development, supplemental instruction, nutrition and
transportation programs, among others, are all jeopardized by this plan.

If this deep cut strategy to fixing the budget prevails, it will
significantly reduce funding in districts small and large, urban and
suburban. Across the board, districts would face lay offs of teachers and
staff, and most would see an increase in class sizes. In Alameda, for
example, that district could be faced with increasing class sizes in K-3
from 20 students to 32 students and closing two elementary schools, while
San Lorenzo could be forced to reduce art and music classes, among other
reductions.

The impact of such a scenario would be devastating not only for school
districts, but for all Californians. To quote Schwarzenegger's 2007 State
of the State Address, "That small child with sticky hands starting the
first day in kindergarten is the foundation of California's economic power
and leadership. We must invest in education."

Even in the best of times our school districts are woefully under funded.
Education Week magazine recently gave the state a D+ grade for its school
funding efforts. California currently spends $2,000 less per student than
the national average and ranks 46th in the country in school funding -
behind less prosperous states as Louisiana and Mississippi. When the
Governor asks California schools to make further cuts, it's like asking a
poor family to stop eating to make ends meet; hardly a realistic solution.

Reducing educational spending is not the answer to the state's fiscal
crisis. Rather, California's financial health is dependent on what the
legislature and Governor do today to address the educational funding
deficit.

To secure a successful future for our communities and the state of
California we must address a series of vital questions: How do we prepare
our youth to meet the demands of a democratic nation? How do we address
persistent inequality in our society? How do we maintain our economic
prosperity in an increasingly competitive world?

Providing a quality education to every child, in every school and in every
classroom is the answer to each of those questions.


** Editors: This opinion/editorial is signed by Alameda County Schools
Superintendent Sheila Jordan and Superintendents of all 17 Unified School
Districts in Alameda County.

Superintendent Sheila Jordan, Alameda County Office of Education
Superintendent Ardella Dailey, Alameda Unified School District
Superintendent William Wong, Albany Unified School District
Superintendent William Huyett, Berkeley Unified School District
Superintendent Jim Fitzpatrick, Castro Valley Unified School District
Superintendent Stephen L. Henke, Dublin Unified School District
Superintendent Stephen Wesley, Emery Unified School District
Superintendent Doug Gephart, Fremont Unified School District
Superintendent Dale Vigil, Hayward Unified School District
Superintendent Brenda Miller, Livermore Valley Joint Unified School
District
Superintendent Patricia Jaurequi, New Haven Unified School District
Superintendent John Bernard, Newark Unified School District
State Administrator Vincent Matthews, Oakland Unified School District
Superintendent Constance Hubbard, Piedmont Unified School District
Superintendent John Casey, Pleasanton Unified School District
Superintendent Christine Lim, San Leandro Unified School District
Superintendent Dennis D. Byas, San Lorenzo Unified School District
Superintendent Molleen Barnes, Sunol Glen Unified School District


===============================================================================
Sample Parent Letter

Dear XXX,

As a parent of a child in X grade, I was both outraged and saddened to
learn about the Governor’s
proposal to cut funding to our schools. Year after year, we are being
forced to fight to ensure our
children receive the quality education they need and deserve. Whenever the
state faces a budget
shortage, it seems politicians look to our schools to solve the problem.
That’s just not fair. Our
kids had nothing to do with creating the current budget problems and
funding for their education
is supposed to be protected.

The Governor’s proposed $4.8 billion budget cut will severely damage the
quality of education in
our state and decimate the voter-approved minimum-funding guarantee for
schools. That is
incredibly short-sighted and simply unacceptable. A $4.8 billion cut to
schools would mean
laying off tens of thousands of teachers, statewide increases in class
size and the further erosion
of the support staff provided to our students.

As a parent, I understand the challenges inherent in balancing a budget,
but I strongly oppose
Governor Schwarzenegger’s 2008-09 budget proposal and plans to eviscerate
funding for
students and schools. Our kids and our schools did not create this budget
problem, and their
education and future progress shouldn’t be undermined because of it. My
child, my student,
deserves better than this.

Sincerely,


Contact Information for Elected Officials
Note: Most of the elected officials listed are strong supporters of public
education, but we need to communicate our need for support to all of them,
so that they can say they are hearing from their constituents.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160 ( new number )
http://gov.ca.gov/interact

The Honorable Barbara Lee
The United States House of Representatives
1301 Clay Street, Suite 1000 North
Oakland, CA 94612
510.763.0370
510.763.6538 (f)
Enter:
https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml
into your browser and complete the form.

The Honorable Don Perata
Senate President pro Tempore
California State Senate
1515 Clay Street, Suite 2202
Oakland, CA 94612
510.286.1333
510.286.3885 (f)
Senator.Perata at sen.ca.gov

The Honorable Loni Hancock
California State Assembly
712 El Cerrito Plaza
El Cerrito, CA 94530
510.559.1406
510.559.1478 (f)
Assemblymember.Hancock at assembly.ca.gov

The Honorable Sandre Swanson
California State Assembly
1515 Clay Street, Ste. 2204
Oakland, CA 94612
510.286.1670
510.286.1888 (f)
Assemblymember.Swanson at assembly.ca.gov