The intersection of Wren Avenue and First Street was filled with
a cacophony of blaring car horns and chants of
”
Save our schools!
”
to protest a $4.8 billion cut to California’s schools.
a photo gallery of students and teachers protesting in the
streets.
The intersection of Wren Avenue and First Street was filled with a cacophony of blaring car horns and chants of “Save our schools!” to protest a $4.8 billion cut to California’s schools.
Dozens of Gilroy’s teachers and students marched from corner to corner, clad in matching T-shirts and waving signs to raise public awareness about the state’s massive budget cuts to education. Gilroy alone has already slashed nearly $4 million from its budget, doing its part to bear the brunt of the proposed $4.8 billion cuts. Even before the cuts, the state was near the bottom of the barrel on per pupil spending, at 46th in the nation.
That issue – just one of many teachers have with California’s educational budget – was the topic of Gretchen Yoder Schrock’s cardboard sign.
“Why is it OK for CA to be 46 per pupil?” it read. The Gilroy High School Spanish teacher waved the sign at passing motorists as she crossed Wren, her son, Jacob, in tow with his own sign.
“I’m here to protest so that schools can get more money for the things they need,” the 7-year-old said. “Schools should go first,” his sign read.
“It’s their education we’re trying to save,” Yoder Schrock’s said of her son and the handful of other students present. “He’s practicing democracy.”
Along with educators all over the state, she and her colleagues gathered on California’s Day of the Teacher to make a difference – this years theme – in the sweltering heat.
“What is it, 197 degrees out here?” asked Rhoda Bress, school board president. “I think it sends a very powerful message that they’re out here. We have to keep on educating the public about what’s going on.”
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wednesday, provided a revised version of his initial proposal. Originally, he proposed suspending Proposition 98, a constitutional funding guarantee for public schools. Even though 98 is now safe, “there’s still a budget battle ahead of us,” Gilroy Teachers Association President Michelle Nelson said as she marched alongside her colleagues. Schwarzenegger will boost education funding by about $1.8 billion in the 2008-09 fiscal year when compared with current year spending. However, his revised proposal still does not provide for growth or cost-of-living adjustments, which could result in cuts to the classroom. May 15 was the deadline for handing out final layoff notices to teachers and the Gilroy Unified School District distributed 17. If the district can, it will rehire these educators back, Superintendent Deborah Flores has said.
The California Teachers Association is lobbying in Sacramento for their cause. Meanwhile, Nelson suggested that upping taxes or closing current loopholes might mitigate the problem. One loophole that boggles her mind: exempting yacht owners from paying sales tax on their luxury liners. Closing these loopholes could add millions to the state’s coffers.
“The rich don’t seem to be suffering,” she observed. “The government needs to overhaul the way education is funded in this state. We’re 46th in the nation. That can’t continue.”
School districts in states like Nevada and Texas are holding recruiting fairs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Soon, teachers commuting on California’s highways will see billboards enticing them to Fort Worth’s schools. “Your future is in our classroom,” they read. Several of Gilroy’s principals have already written letters of recommendation for the teachers they had to lay off.
Meanwhile, First Street motorists honked an hollered in support of the Gilroy group’s message.
“Lots of people look and honk,” said Katie Larsen, a teacher at Antonio Del Buono Elementary. “Hopefully they read.” Her hope was that the day’s protests would raise awareness and educate the public about the state’s proposal. Motorists were honking down in Hollister too.
“As a state we need to look at our priorities,” said Valerie Pennington, a teacher at Marguerite Maze Middle School, as she stood on the corner of a busy Hollister thoroughfare. “Children come first.”
“I hope they’ll vote for people that see education as a priority,” said Emily Diaz, an English teacher at GHS. Because of a board decision to up class sizes at the high school to save money, Diaz will have more students in her classroom and less money to take them on career-oriented field trips. She just took a group of students to Apple’s Corporate Headquarters and San Jose State University to learn about career options. Under the provisions of the governor’s proposal, she might not be able to make that trip next year. An educator since 1996, “this is the worst budget situation I’ve seen,” she said.
“That’s messed up,” was Nicole Bustinza’s response when she heard the protesters’ message. Grabbing a bite to eat with her parents, the Brownell Middle School student watched as some of her teachers marched from corner to corner. She worried about future Brownell students not having the opportunities she had.
“They have every right to protest,” said Jorge Sanchez, 15, a GHS student. If he hadn’t been on his way to a quinceañera party, he would have joined the protesters, he said. “I know quite a few of them and they do a great job. They shouldn’t be getting fired.”
