SACRAMENTO CONTINUES TO GUT EDUCATION WHILE LOCAL SCHOOLS BLEED
Orange County Education Community To Take To Streets In Protest
MISSION VIEJO, CALIF., March 2, 2010 – The Orange County Education Coalition (OCEC), a consortium of parents, teachers, school administrators, school employees, and school board members, announced today they will take to the streets at 12 separate sites throughout the county after school on Thursday, March 4th to protest further cuts to local schools proposed by state lawmakers.
“We’ve had enough – our parents and families are struggling to make ends meet and our children’s future is continually threatened by deep budget cuts to public education,” said Mission Viejo parent Molly O’Grady. “We must hold our legislators accountable for their actions.”
With demographics reflective of the state, Orange County schools far surpass the state average in closing the achievement gap with 61% of schools meeting or exceeding the state academic performance target vs. a statewide average of only 41%. Now county schools are facing another $276 million or more in cuts for next school year on top of the $368 plus million already taken from county schools this year.
“This is insanity – it takes quality education to have a competent workforce to drive California’s economy,” said Cara Boyd, a teacher in Newport Mesa Unified. “How can we continue to provide a decent education on safe campuses when our local school boards are forced to choose between keeping libraries open, class sizes manageable, safe levels of campus supervision and providing transportation to students living too far from their assigned school to walk.”
Declaring Thursday March 4th the day to “stand up for schools,” members of the education community have already signed on to support the day by standing together after school on busy street corners throughout the county. OCEC is also encouraging people to wear blue at the rallies to reflect the sad times our schools are facing.
Specific locations for each of the 12 rally sites are available on www.goasktheteacher.com.
The Orange County Education Coalition includes members of Fourth District PTA, Association of California School Administrators, Orange County School Boards Association, California Teachers Association, California Federation of Teachers and California School Employees Association.
###
Media Contacts:
Suzie Swartz, Saddleback Valley Unified School Board Member
Cellular: 949-510-5924
suzieswartz@dsprel.com
Jim Araby, California Federation of Teachers
Cellular: 707-480-6067
cftsapo@gmail.com
Does anyone remember a time when schools had only teachers and students? Maybe those days are in our future — no administrators and no staff members shuffling papers.
Cut out all the state bureaucrats and bureaucracy as well — they have nothing to do with teaching or learning.