California Teachers Launch Battle Against $4.8 Billion Education Budget Cut

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/8289

By Doug Cunningham

A budget cut of $4.8 billion will hurt. That’s the California Teachers Association’s message as it launches a six week “Cuts Hurt” bus tour protesting Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger’s proposed $4.8 billion cut.

: “This is a very serious situation for public schools in the state of California, one we haven't faced - of this magnitude - in quite awhile."

California Teacher’s Association President David Sanchez. He says people throughout California need to mobilize and make their voices heard to stave off this education budget cut.

: “We wanna get parents, we wanna get the public - make them aware of what's happening to our public schools if the governor's proposed budget is in fact implemented. We want the public to get mad and to start calling the governor and the legislature. To write, email, call them, to tell them not to balance the budget on the backs of our students."

Sanchez acknowledges state economic problems, but says there ways of bringing in additional revenues to adequately support California education.

[keep_it_real]

1. $4.8 billion is a whole, whole lot of money to be cutting at of an education budget.

Something is very, very wrong there.

[whistle]

2. I think so as I'm sure teachers salaries might run on average about

...$50k per year for say entry level up to about three years of teaching even in California, that would eliminate some 96,000 to 100,000 full time teacher positions or about one third of the public school teachers in the state

http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Articles/Article.asp?title=Teachers%20in%20California


That could cripple public education in that state.