We applaud the Gilroy teachers who participated in a recent
after-school protest of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s education
funding practices. First, we’re glad that
– unlike the teachers who didn’t speak as part of the Day of
Silence protest – they kept politics out of the classroom.
We applaud the Gilroy teachers who participated in a recent after-school protest of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s education funding practices. First, we’re glad that – unlike the teachers who didn’t speak as part of the Day of Silence protest – they kept politics out of the classroom.
Many GUSD educators, parents and students held signs and shouted slogans as they marched through the intersection of First Street and Wren Avenue. Similar demonstrations were held in 50 California cities.
Second, we think it’s only fair to hold Schwarzenegger to his promises and to the will of the voters as expressed by passage of Prop. 98. Passed in 1988, Prop 98 establishes minimum funding levels for public schools and community colleges.
One month after Schwarzenegger won the battle to recall and replace Gov. Gray Davis, he convinced state legislators and education lobbyists to suspend Prop. 98 to help stem the tide of red ink the state faced. He promised to give education more money if state revenue increased, education lobbyists say, and now that the state is raking in more money with a rebounding economy, they say they’re not getting what they’re due.
Schwarzenegger has a different memory of what promises were made to secure the coup of suspending Prop. 98.
This much is clear: California ranks near the bottom of the states in per-student spending, and even lower on standardized tests. The state’s education system has lost nearly $10 billion over the past four years due to budget cuts.
We don’t much like budgeting by proposition. We think it’s a recipe for disaster, one that relieves legislators who are paid very well to make difficult decisions, of one of their most important responsibilities: wisely spending taxpayer dollars.
But, given that California voters passed Prop. 98, we think the governor and state legislature ought to abide by it.
Schwarzenegger ought to do what is right, both politically and morally: He ought to restore Prop. 98 funding fully. Education is truly the key to a successful future for California, and it ought to be fully funded.
