Hundreds rally against proposed education cuts
North County Times
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Parents, educators protest on freeway overpasses
NORTHCOUNTY ---- Educators and parents took to the streets Friday to protest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's January budget proposal, which calls for drastic cuts to education funding.
Hundreds of people representing nearly all of NorthCounty's school districts walked with signs along freeway overpasses on parts of Highway 78 and Interstate 5 as a way to bring more attention to proposed budget cuts ---- and to let others know how they believe the cuts will affect education at NorthCounty schools.
"We cannot allow our governor, our state senators or our assemblymen to destroy California schools," said John Roach, superintendent of the CarlsbadUnifiedSchool District. "Our voices are together on this issue."
Meanwhile, the governor and a local state senator are saying that the funding system for schools is broken and in need of long-term repair, not simply more money.
School board members from San Marcos and Carlsbad organized Friday's protests with help from school unions.
Before roughly 200 protesters from inland districts walked to the Twin Valley Oaks Road overpass on Highway 78, they met at the NorthCountyRegionalEducationCenter to discuss the proposed cuts.
Over the last couple of months, there have been a number of similar protests at schools across NorthCounty.
"I hope the state legislators know that our community is very upset," said Mary Chidester Borevitz, the San Marcos trustee who helped organize the event. "You cannot be balancing the budget on the backs of these kids."
A spokeswoman for state Sen. Mark Wyland said he is sympathetic and has been paying attention to the various protests as well as the calls and letters coming into his office.
Still, the Republican senator thinks the state needs to learn to live within its means, Emily Smith, Wyland's press secretary, said.
Wyland represents the 38th District, which includes coastal areas from Del Mar to San Juan Capistrano.
Over the last couple of months, parents and educators have lashed out at Gov. Schwarzenegger for the proposed cuts to education funding.
The governor has recommended cuts to most public agencies as a way to deal with an estimated $16 billion state budget shortfall. This means an estimated $4.4 billion reduction in education spending.
"All of us are being told it's our job to fix the state's problem," said Kelli Moors, the Carlsbad trustee who helped organize the event. "I think that's a little like a mugger saying, 'I'm going to stab you, but you tell me where.' "
School boards across the state have scrambled to cut millions from what they were expecting to spend next year by laying off teachers, slashing programs and cutting transportation.
When asked about the budget situation at a meeting with MontereyCounty officials Tuesday, Schwarzenegger said he thinks his proposal is the only reasonable way to fix the state's funding problems.
"What is happening right now is irresponsible," he said, "We are taking our education system and our schools, our teachers and our children, our families, on that roller coaster ride where everyone has to hold on for dear life."
The governor is proposing putting a cap on how much school budgets can increase during economically strong years and putting any extra aside funds so there won't be the need for such severe cuts when the economy turns sour.
"One year we overfund education, the next year we take the money away because we don't have enough money," he said at Tuesday's meeting. "That's what going on right now."
The governor released his budget proposal in January and is expected to revise it in May.
Because it is only a proposal, the budget could be quite different by the time it comes before the state legislature for final approval, which is supposed to happen by June 15.
Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.