[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Marty Hittelman
President
California Federation of Teachers

The governor’s proposed budget for schools and other vital public services will impede efforts to provide high-quality education. Our schools rank dead last in the nation for the number of teachers per student, as well as in the number of librarians, counselors and critical support staff, while having some of the largest class sizes in the nation. California is 46th in the nation in per-pupil spending.

The governor’s budget proposal keeps our schools and students at the bottom of those rankings, despite recent studies that show California needs to spend 40 percent more to ensure that all students meet the state’s rigorous standards.

The governor’s budget revision tries to protect education, but lacks the funding to do it. Continuing to balance this budget with a cuts-only approach hurts children, schools and the economic future of California. The final budget agreement must be built squarely on new progressive tax revenues to protect education funding.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Anthony Wright
Executive Director of Health Access California

Shane Goldmacher at the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert has a useful compilation of some of the reactions to the budget. Here's some that touch on the health budget, from Health Access board leaders, member organizations, allies, and others:

Marty Hittelman, president of the California Federation of Teachers: “The governor’s budget revision tries to protect education, but lacks the funding to do it... Shifting the bulk of the cuts to health and human services is a disguised cut to education. These programs aren’t isolated from schools. Our students need to come to school ready to learn, and they can’t do that hungry or sick.” “School kids did not cause this crisis,” said Hittelman. “Their teachers and school staff are being confronted with uncertain futures. It’s time to put in place a fair, stable and progressive funding source for education and other vital services.”

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Dennis Smith
Secretary Treasurer
California Federation of Teachers

California’s cuts to education funding are harming our efforts to provide excellent education to our public school students.

California spends millions of dollars to train our state’s teachers, and as result has some of the most experienced and talented educators in the country. The Governor’s proposed $4.8 billion in budget cuts and the resulting tens of thousands of teacher pink slips only tell part of the story about how much education in our state stands to lose --if we allow other states to come in and lure away our talented teachers, we might as well just ship those training funds directly out of the state.

California’s elected officials must do their jobs. They need to figure out how to raise revenue to keep our teachers in our classrooms.

Twenty thousand California teachers have received notices that they are being laid-off and will have no teaching position next year. These teacher layoffs are already harming our schools. Thousand of teachers are demoralized, dispirited and distressed about how they will pay their bills next year and whether they can continue teaching. They now must look for other employment. Many of them will be forced to leave teaching for more stable jobs.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Jakada Imani(Executive Director of Ella Baker Center for Human Rights) speaking at Coalition to Defeat George Runner's Initiative Launch Press Conference with Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero (back) and California NAACP President Alice Huffman

By Zachary Norris, Esq.
Books Not Bars

Notable elected officials, unions, and civil rights and faith-based organizations have joined forces in opposition to a proposed California ballot initiative that would bankrupt California by pumping billions of dollars into prisons and failed "anti-gang" laws and "tough on crime" policies of the past. The Coalition to Defeat George Runner's Initiative held a press conference May 7, 2008, announcing the formation of the new coalition, which includes the California Federation of Teachers, California Church IMPACT, the California NAACP, and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. The press conference coincided with other coordinated events taking place throughout the state (Sacramento, Los Angeles, Fresno) in a coordinated Coalition Day of Action.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Dennis Smith

I've taught community college for more than twenty years. In that time I've had students who take just one class, others who go on to get PhDs, and students who have exercised just about every option in between. I've had homeless students, mentally ill students, students who couldn't write, and students who could wield a pen like John Steinbeck.

Community colleges are a central economic engine of the state, returning three dollars for every one invested, in the form of greater income for graduates and more tax dollars for California. I love teaching and I put up with the frustrations of antiquated physical plant and other unhappy results of under-funding because I know what community colleges mean for my students, my community, and our society.

On the ballot on February 5 is Proposition 92, placed there by the California Federation of Teachers and a large coalition of supporters. Prop. 92 would lower student fees from $20 to $15 per unit, and change the state funding formula in Prop 98 so that community colleges receive more money from the state's general fund. The non-partisan Legislative Analyst agrees with Prop. 92 supporters that the measure would bring an extra $300 million per year to the colleges, without negatively affecting K-12 funding.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has endorsed former state Senator Jackie Speier in her bid for theDistrict 12 congressional seat. "I don't think anyone is morequalified, I don't think anyone is more experienced," said Newsom.

An independent budget analyst has called Governor Schwarzenegger's deep cut solution misguided.Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill wrote,  "While the administration'sapproach... has the appeal of fairness, it reflects little effort toprioritize and determine which state programs ... are most critical."

Proposition 92 has the state's two largest teachers unions pitted against each other:The California Federation of Teachers in favor, and The CaliforniaTeachers Association against. Proposition 92 would increase spending oncommunity colleges by $300 million per year and result in a $70 millionloss of student fee revenues per year.

There's more... 

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

In a special election yesterday, Democrat Warren Furutani came tantalizingly close to winning outright the 55th Asssembly district seat vacated by Laura Richardson who was elected to Congress a few months ago to fill the remaining term of Juanita Millender-McDonald who died earlier this year.

According to Semi-Final results from the Los Angeles County Registrar's office, Furutani has 49.2% of the vote with all precincts reporting. He needed 50% of the overall vote to avoid a runoff, but fell 173 votes short of this mark--unless there are a lot of uncounted ballots out there, which are not likely to affect this result. He will be in a runoff election with a Libertarian Party candidate and one from the American Independent Party. Squirrelly things are known to happen in ultra-low turnout special elections, but since the runoff is on the February 5, 2008 presidential primary ballot, a good turnout makes him the effective elected member of the Assembly in this solid Democratic District.