On Saturday, May 31, 2008 the South Pasadena community joined together to voice opposition to the Governor’s budget cuts to education -- possibly the worst budget cuts to education in the last fifty years.
If you haven’t signed the SPUSD Board of Education Petition (circulated at the rally and at the school sites), please click here and sign on-line.
Currently California, the world’s eighth largest economy, spends $7,081 per student, an amount that ranks our state 46th out of 50 in per pupil spending. These cuts would drop us down to 48th. California’s academic standards are considered to be among the highest in the nation. New Jersey spends $12,252. New York spends $12,218. Wisconsin spends $10,199. West Virginia spends $10,073. The national average for per pupil spending is $8,973 (Education Week Quality Counts 2008) (Note: Education Week adjusts for regional cost differences). Clearly California is way off the mark.
The California Lottery “generates a little more than $1 billion annually for K-12 education -- or about 1.5% of annual education spending in California. Political consultants have found that voters mistakenly believe that the lottery provides 30% or more of education funding and so (voters) tend to oppose new, more productive ways of boosting education spending.” (“Betting on the Lottery, by Joe Mathews, Los Angeles Times, June 22, 2008.) The California Lottery accounted for $121.88 of the total spent, per pupil, in 2007. (California Department of Education, Fact Book 2007 - Handbook of Education Information)
As Pam Brady, President of the California PTA explains, “A robust sustainable economy is dependent on the availability of a quality workforce. A quality workforce is completely dependent on the value and investment we place on education and training . . . If there is not enough money in the budget now, just imagine how little there will be when we have an uneducated California.” (PTA In California, Official Newsletter of the California State PTA, Volume 70_ Number 4, June 2008)
Please tell our legislators to FLUNK THE BUDGET. Our children’s future and the future of California hang in the balance! To locate your local legislators, go to: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
And, of course, feel free to contact the Governor directly. Phone calls and faxes are best.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building 300 South Spring Street, Ste. 16701
Sacramento, CA 95814 Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone: 916-445-2841 Phone: 213-897-0322
Fax: 916-558-3160 ( new number ) Fax: 213-897-0319
Sacramento, CA 95814 Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone: 916-445-2841 Phone: 213-897-0322
Fax: 916-558-3160 ( new number ) Fax: 213-897-0319
Also, be sure to check out the California Children’s Rally website at: http://californiachildrensrally.com/photos.htm and “Rally Moms” on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/user/RallyMoms.
South Pasadena’s March & Rally, May 31, 2008
Special thanks to Alan Z. McCurdy and Vance Sanders for the video footage, Kok Yong for the still photography,
and to KTTV, Fox 11 News and KTLA the CW for their coverage
