Gilroy
– When Gilroy High School Spanish teacher Gretchen Yoder–Schrock
headed to the statewide protest against Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal to limit Proposition 98 funding,
her 6–year-old son Jacob wanted to help.
Gilroy – When Gilroy High School Spanish teacher Gretchen Yoder–Schrock headed to the statewide protest against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal to limit Proposition 98 funding, her 6–year-old son Jacob wanted to help.
Yoder–Schrock summarized what the governor’s proposal would mean for him and his fellow classmates: Bigger classes, less personal attention, less classroom materials.
Jacob demanded a sign. Together, they created one reading, “Invest in my education.”
“I think he understands that this affects him,” she said.
Yoder-Schrock and her son joined about 200 Gilroy Unified School District teachers, administrators and supporters at an after-school protest Wednesday at the corner of Wren and First Street in Gilroy. The message was clear: The Governor shortchanged the promise he made last year about Proposition 98 funding.
Last year, Schwarzenegger suspended $2 billion of Proposition 98 funding to help salvage the state’s budget crisis, marking the first year Proposition 98 funding had been withheld. Under Proposition 98, withheld monies must eventually be replaced, but Schwarzenegger’s new proposal will not do that.
“This is a statewide effort to call attention to what the governor is trying to do to education – to his broken promise,” said Michelle Nelson, president of the Gilroy Teachers Association. Teachers around the state joined in protests held in about 50 cities.
Prop 98 is a voter–approved amendment to the state constitution that sets a minimum funding base for public schools and community colleges. Money is calculated according to three different formulas depending on the economy, but amounts to 40 percent of the revenue in the state’s general fund.
Most years, Prop 98 funds school districts with the same amount they received the year before, plus additional money from enrollment growth and inflation. However, because of the condition of the state’s budget last year, funding was suspended.
Wearing T-shirts reading “Students Are Our Special Interest,” and carrying signs and California Teacher Association placards reading “Protect Proposition 98,” supporters marched through the intersections of First Street and Wren, handing out fliers and chanting “Pay our schools.” Cars honked and waved in support of the cause.
“We’re out here because we want to make sure the money is funneled where it was promised to go,” said Joanne Brooks, a literacy specialist at Glen View School.
According to a RAND study released in January, California ranks 42 in the nation in per student spending, and educates almost 13 percent of school–age children in the country. The state ranks 48 on nationally standardized tests. While state graduation standards have increased under the No Child Left Behind Act, funding has decreased. In the past four years the education system has lost about $9.8 billion in budget cuts.
“We’re expected to do more with less,” Nelson said.
A loss in funding usually impacts extracurricular activities such as sports and classes outside the core curriculum, she explained. “The fine arts are the first to go.”
One Prop 98 component attempted to reduce class size. According to Nelson, the financial impact will cause classroom crowding and limit classroom materials.
In support of teachers, parents carried signs proclaiming that less money does not equal high test scores.
“I’ve got to support my school and my kids,” said Sara Arazola, who rallied with her three children. As she dropped her daughter off at Rucker on Wednesday, Arazola noticed the demonstration.
“(Schwarzenegger) better get the message,” she said.
