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Too Many Pink Slips for California Teachers We Need to Keep

By Don Perata
President pro Tem
California State Senate

Today, more than 10,100 dedicated public school teachers are receiving pink slips. School districts are required to send the notices by March 15th every year to notify teachers that they may not have a job the next fall.

It is outrageous that teachers are the latest casualty of the Governor's budget cuts.

In January, the Governor proposed slashing $4.8 billion from education. To do that, the state would have to shorten the school year by a month, lay off one-third of all teachers or increase class sizes by 35 percent.

That is unacceptable. Deep budget cuts will devastate our education system, hurt our economy and darken California's promise.

A couple generations ago, California had the reputation for the best public schools in the nation. Our schools produced students who now lead private, non-profit and government agencies. My, how times have changed -- in 2005, our state ranked 47th in the nation in per-pupil spending. I don't know anyone who doesn't want to see the state maintain and strengthen its economy. But doing so requires giving more to our schools, not taking from them.

Teachers are the engines that drive the academic achievements of our children. We already demand so much of our teachers that many leave the profession after a few years. Teacher training enrollment has dropped 13 percent in the past two years. The sad reality is that many talented teachers who receive pink slips today will start looking for new careers tomorrow.

My fellow Democratic Senators and I will not stand for it. If California wants a vibrant economy and a bright future, our classrooms must come first. We are determined to protect school funding.

Please join us in our fight to save our schools and protect California's future.

Posted on March 14, 2008

Comments

Soon CA will be last in per student spending.
Millions of illegal immigrants rushing the border every year and having LOTS of babies. Its your falt. Don't pass more taxes, stop the problem from coming over our border.

Posted by: Jeff at March 14, 2008 10:30 PM

No cuts in spending?

Why don't you guys lead by example and return the pay raises you voted for yourselves in the legislature which took effect last fall?

Then, I'll take you more seriously...

Posted by: Jay Gould at March 15, 2008 12:49 AM

I have to agree with with the last comment made. If we have to be forced to make sacrifices than it's only fair that you all do the same. Stop spending on your Dinners, Events, supposed business trips. Pay raises should only be given when the job gets done. From what I see the job is not even close to being done. If you are suppose to work for us than you need to come to us for a raise. It makes me sick to see all the this happening. Lead by example, everyone of you went into to politics to serve the people. Well than serve by leading and take a pay cut starting from the top. If this happens than maybe I can also take you seriously

Posted by: Samuel at March 21, 2008 06:55 PM

I would hope that someone would work for the students' interest and prevent teachers from leaving in mass. I don't mind paying for the pencils, providing erasers, staying later to help students on my own, or working through lunch and break to tutor students on my own. I don't mind spending my weekends doing lesson plans, making charts, doing sentence strips and all that I need to do to keep the classroom going. I knew that this was part of the job. I did not know that, after devoting my like to being a teacher, I would repeatedly face layoffs due to buget cuts brought on by over spending and underplanning. Our state used to be the model of what education should look like. Now, it is the model of fear, regret, and among the least spent on education in the nation. I am so very disappointed to see things come to this state of affairs. I pray each day that changes will be made. I also pray that I will not be homeless nor so depressed that I fail to focus. I try not to cry but I do...both for the educational system and for myself as well. Please, please work together so that teachers will not become among the depressed, the tragic, the lost.

Posted by: debbe at March 25, 2008 07:46 PM

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