California's Teachers, Administrators, Parents
and Students
to Join Statewide Day of Action On Thursday to
Protest
Billions in Cuts to Education and Other Essential
Services
Pink Slips at 18,000 and
Rising - Growing List of Demonstrations
for 'Start
the Day for Students' at www.StandUpForSchools.org
BURLINGAME - In a groundswell of protests against
devastating budget cuts to neighborhood schools and other critical services,
California's teachers, administrators, school employees, parents and
students will join a statewide "Day of Action" on Thursday, March
4, to stop the governor and Legislature from cutting billions more from a
public school system already reeling from $17 billion in cuts over the past two
years - and to tell lawmakers it's time to close corporate tax loopholes.
The protests come as CTA is estimating today that the total pink slips
issued for educators statewide is now about 18,000 - and rising, as the
March 15 deadline for school districts to issue layoff notices looms.
CTA's show of solidarity with many community and labor groups is
about fighting more cuts to schools, colleges, universities and other essential
state services. It's also about demanding that everyone pay their
fair share and the need to rescind the tax breaks handed out to large corporations
and oil companies last year while class sizes increased and critical student
programs were eliminated. The 325,000-member California Teachers Association is
urging its members to hold protests before school in a "Start the Day for
Students" approach.
***ATTENTION MORNING TV NEWS EDITORS*** Many of the CTA protests will be held
before school starts. A sampling of events is below, but scores more are
described in detail online. Media can find local events and CTA videos posted
on the CTA social networking site at www.StandUpForSchools.org.
"These are the largest cuts our students have seen since the
Great Depression and they will hurt a generation of students, robbing them of
the future they deserve," said CTA President David A. Sanchez. "Now
the governor is proposing $2.5 billion in additional cuts - and wants to
renege on an agreement signed into law last summer to repay schools more than
$11 billion they are owed. It's time to stop the cuts, have everybody
start paying their fair share and start changing the conversation about
additional revenues for our public schools and California's future."
SAMPLING
OF MARCH 4 PROTESTS AGAINST MORE PUBLIC SCHOOL CUTS
Southern California Events
LOS ANGELES: CTA President David A. Sanchez will join
a United Teachers Los Angeles news conference against more Los Angeles Unified
cuts at 7:40 a.m. at Farmdale Elementary, 2660 Ruth Swiggett Ave., Los
Angeles, 90032. UTLA members will be leafleting
parents before school at all district campuses and will gather at 4 p.m.at 5th
and Hill streets near Pershing
Square for a huge march to nearby Reagan State
Building, 300 South Spring St., in downtown Los Angeles for a rally.
More information is at www.utla.net.
Contact: Marla Eby of UTLA at 213-305-9310 or Frank Wells at CTA, 562-708-5425.
LONG BEACH: Facing 650 pink slips in Long Beach
Unified, the Teachers Association of Long Beach will host a 4:15 protest rally
against state cuts at Wilson
High School gymnasium, 4400 East 10th St., Long Beach. CTA President David A. Sanchez
is the keynote speaker. See www.talb.org
Contacts: TALB President Mike Day or Executive Director Joe Boyd at
562-426-6433.
COVINA: The Azusa Educators Association
and other CTA locals will hold a "March Forth 4 Schools" rally
from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on the Gladstone High School Football Field, 1340 N. Enid, Covina. Contact: Meg
Savella, AEA President, at 626-222-3731.
SANTA
BARBARA: Huge "March Forth" march beginning at
3:45 p.m. at De La Guerra Plaza will end up on State Street in an event about saving
public education and protecting students from more disastrous state budget
cuts. Organized by the Santa Barbara Teachers Association, the march will
include educators, school administrators, students, police and fire association
members, as well as local political leaders. More information: http://mysbta.org/
Contact: SBTA President Layne Wheeler at 805-455-6950.
RIVERSIDE: Facing about 360 pink slips, teachers
will rally at several schools throughout the Riverside Unified
School District before
school on March 4. They will wear black arm bands in solidarity with their
colleagues who are slated to receive layoff notices. There will be black and
pink balloons and posters. CTA Board of Directors member Mikki Cichocki will be
among participants at Pachappa Elemenatry, 6200 Riverside Ave.. Other sites will
include: Magnolia Elementary, 3975
Maplewood Place; Alcott Elementary, 2443 Central Ave.;
and Mark Twain Elementary, 19411 Krameria Ave. Contact: Riverside City Teachers
Association President Mark Lawrence at 951-452-9001.
HUNTINGTON BEACH: CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett
and CTA Board of Directors member Michael Stone will join with teachers and
education supporters from the Ocean View, Huntington
Beach City, and Huntington Beach Union
High School
districts for a rally and march to begin at Ocean View High School, corner of Gothard and Warner, Huntington Beach,
beginning at 4 p.m. The march will finish at the corner of Beach Blvd. and Warner Blvd., Huntington Beach.
Event sponsors include the West Orange County United Teachers union,
superintendents, school board members, administrators, classified staff, and
PTA members of the respective school districts. Contact: Monica Mora at
310-868-4742.
LA MESA: CTA Board of Directors member Jim Groth
will participate in March 4 activities with members of the Helix Teachers
Association as they demonstrate in front of Helix Charter High School, corner
of Yale and University in La Mesa wearing "Start the Day for Students"
T-shirts and carrying signs before school. Video/speaker feeds will be
available on the half hour, beginning at 5 a.m. and concluding at 7:30 a.m.,
when demonstrators will march to the school for the 7:40 a.m. start of classes.
Contact: John Geary at 619-507-3454
SAN DIEGO:
In San Diego Unified, the San Diego Education Association is
planning a red-shirt day with all members across the city wearing their
"Together We Are Stronger" shirts at schools. Individual sites will
be participating in a variety of activities such as leafleting and picketing.
More info: www.sdea.net.
Contact: SDEA President Camille Zombro at 619-283-4411 or 619-203-7186 (cell).
San Francisco Bay Area
CONCORD: CTA Vice
President Dean Vogel will join a 7:15 a.m. news conference at Monte Gardens
Elementary, 3841 Larkspur Drive,
Concord, 94519, to sound the
alarm about state cuts hurting the Mt.
Diablo Unified
School District -
which faces about $60 million in cuts over the next three years. All schools
will hold a disaster drill at 9 a.m. to call attention to the disastrous
impacts of state education cuts. Teachers will wear "disaster
attire" during the drills, including hard hats and Red Cross T-shirts.
The news conference includes a mock bake sale with $1 million cupcakes and will
be attended by Superintendent Steve Lawrence, PTA representatives, state Senator
Mark DeSaulnier, Assembly member Joan Buchanan and teachers talking about
soaring class sizes and the cutting of music and library services. More info: www.mtdiabloeducationassoc.org.
Contacts: MDEA President Mike Noce at 925-676-4664 or 925-250-6557 (cell); or
Mike Myslinski, 408-921-5769.
SEVEN BAY AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT DISASTER DRILLS: To draw attention to disastrous state
budget cuts, at least seven Bay Area school districts are moving their required
spring fire drills to the morning of March 4. The districts and times of the
drills: Mt. Diablo Unified, 9 a.m.; Oakland Unified, 9:15 a.m. (see details at www.OaklandEA.org);
Dublin Unified, 8 a.m.; New Haven Unified in Union City, 8:15 a.m. for
elementary schools, 8:45 a.m. for high schools; San Lorenzo Unified, 10:30
a.m.; San Francisco Unified, 10 a.m.; Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District,
various times in the morning at each school. Contact: Mike Myslinski at 408-921-5769.
OAKLAND: Starting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday with
protests in front of all Oakland Unified schools, the Oakland Education
Association is taking part in a day of events. The school district's 9:15
a.m. disaster drill will be followed by a coalition rally from noon to 4 p.m.
at Frank Ogawa Plaza at City Hall, with OEA President Betty Olson-Jones
speaking at a 4 p.m. news conference at the Elihu Harris State Office Building,
1515 Clay St. Oakland teachers will then board BART for a ride to the huge
5 p.m. San Francisco Civic Center rally co-sponsored by San Francisco educators
and many groups. Contact: OEA President Betty Olson-Jones at 510-866-3676
(cell).
CUPERTINO: In response to
state cuts threatening the success of the high-achieving Cupertino
Union School
District - which ranks ninth out of California's 1,000 school districts
with an Academic Performance Index overall district score of 948 - the
Cupertino Education Association will take part in a 6 p.m. town hall meeting.
State cuts resulted in the district issuing 109 pink slips for teachers and
deciding to increase K-3 class sizes to 30. CTA Board member Don Dawson, a San Jose teacher, will
moderate the education coalition event hosted by teachers, the district, the
California School Employees Association, the Cupertino Elementary School
Administrators Association and SEIU. Educators will be leafleting parents at
all 25 school sites before school starts on March 4 as well. More info: www.ceaweb.org.
Contacts: CEA President Dave Villafana at 650-823-9563 (cell) or the
district's Jeremy
Nishihara, 408-252-3000, ext. 323.
SAN FRANCISCO: Facing a budget
deficit of $113 million over the next two years, and the chaos from nearly 900
pink slips being sent to teachers and administrators, San Francisco Unified
educators will be pushing back with a huge "Defend the Classroom"
regional rally on March 4. Hundreds of members of United Educators of San
Francisco will gather with parents and other Bay Area teachers at 4 p.m. at the
Civic Center,
then march to the State Building, corner of Van Ness and McAllister, and then
return to the Civic
Center for a huge 5 p.m.
rally. Details at www.uesf.org
Contact: Matthew Hardy at 415-956-8373.
SAN JOSE:
K-12 and higher
education events are planned. In the early morning hours, San Jose
Unified
teachers will do informal tailgating at all school sites before school
starts,
offering parents coffee and doughnuts, along with the latest info on
district
cuts. Later, San Jose Teachers Association President Janice Allen will
march in
solidarity with San Jose State University
educators against SJSU cuts as part of a California Faculty Association
event
where she will also join other speakers. The march starts at 11:45 a.m.
at San Jose City Hall and ends with a rally at Seventh Street
plaza near SJSU. Contacts: SJTA President Janice Allen at 408-267-0411
or
408-504-7708 (cell); contact for SJSU march is Sue Pak, 510-290-4308.
MONTEREY: State
Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell will join local
educators in a 4 p.m. rally against school cuts at Colton Hall on Pacific Street in Monterey. Other speakers
will include Monterey Bay Teachers Association President Jill Low in this
education coalition event coordinated by MBTA, the California Faculty
Association, California School Employees Association and others. Students will
perform skits and read poetry. Contact: MBTA President Jill Low at 831-375-8942
or 831-521-5509 (cell).
Northern California
SACRAMENTO: CTA Secretary-Treasurer Gail Mendes will
join K-12, community college, CSU and UC faculty staff and students
gathering on the north steps of the State Capitol for an "Educate the
State Rally" from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. March 4. Speakers will educate the
Legislature about the value of public education and the need to protect and enhance
public education budgets. Action includes holding classes for legislators on
importance of public education to California
complete with lectern, desks and chalkboard. Contact: Kevin Wehr, president of
the faculty association of CSU Sacramento, at 916-541-2125.
ELK GROVE: With Elk
Grove Unified
School District expected to issue
hundreds of teacher pink slips, students and teachers will hold a mock funeral
for the death of public education from 7-7:45 a.m. Thursday at Monterey Trail High School,
8661 Power Inn Road,
Elk Grove, 95624 CTA Secretary-Treasurer Gail Mendes will attend the
"funeral." A simulated disaster drill calling attention to the
disastrous cuts will be held from 12:15-12:35 p.m. in the quad area during
lunch. Contact: Teacher Cathy Rieger at 916-834-1816 (cell).
DAVIS: Before Davis schools start on
Thursday -- from 8-8:30 a.m. at elementary schools and 7:45-8:15 a.m. at junior
and high schools -- Davis Teachers Association members will be leafleting
parents as a call to action to save local public schools from more state cuts.
The Davis Joint Unified
School District is
issuing about 120 pink slips for educators and wants to increase class sizes to
save funds. Contact: Davis
Teachers Association President-elect Tim Paulson at 530-902-3923.
STOCKTON: Students, parents, educators, school and
college staff, and all those concerned about public education, will wear black
and join in a march from downtown Stockton to San Joaquin Delta Community College
for a candlelight vigil in support of public education. "Black
Thursday" begins with a march at 4:30 p.m. in front of the State Building
on Channel Street
in downtown Stockton, which will follow Center to Park streets, Park to Madison, and Madison/Pacific to Delta College.
The candlelight vigil is scheduled to begin about 6:30 p.m. on the Pacific side
of Delta College, where speakers will include CTA
Secretary-Treasurer Gail Mendes. The event is sponsored by a coalition of
organizations that includes San Joaquin County Educators Association, the San
Joaquin Grassroots Action, the Associated Student Body of San Joaquin Delta
College, Stockton Teachers Association, California School Boards Association,
MECHA, the Hispanic Regional Foundation and the Association of California
School Administrators. Contact: Rose Roach at 209-472-6102.
MERCED: Merced parents, civic leaders and members of the
community will join educators and college faculty in solidarity against further
cuts to public education at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the new CTA office, 510 W. Main St.,
Suite E, in the Bob Hart Square.
The event is sponsored by CTA's Merced-Mariposa Service Center Council.
Contact: Paul Chambers at 209-723-8871.
REDDING: The Shasta County Education Coalition plans
an early kick-off of its Stand Up for Schools activities with a rally on
Wednesday, March 3, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Redding City Hall.
Speakers will talk about the impact of state budget cuts (past and proposed) on
Shasta County school districts. The event is in
advance of activities that will take place at numerous school sites on the
morning of March 4. Contact: Cork
McGowan at 530-243-5623.
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The California Teachers
Association is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.
