In keeping with the Education Coalition’s pledge to protect students and schools in the upcoming budget, ACSA is urging members to take action to help protect Proposition 98 funding against the draconian cuts that have been proposed by the governor.
One way to do this is to help lead local press conferences urging legislators to reject the governor’s proposed budget cuts to education. Already, press conferences have taken place in Sacramento, San Francisco, Eureka and Orange County. More are scheduled this week in Riverside, Santa Barbara, Monterey and the Central Valley. In addition, there are upcoming press conferences scheduled in Los Angeles, Bakersfield, San Diego, San Jose, Chico-Redding and Palm Springs.
It’s all part of the massive outreach effort the Education Coalition is making to try to ensure that the state budget shortfall is not balanced on the backs of California students, who had nothing to do with creating the problem. Politicians need to find some other way to solve the budget conundrum.
Per-pupil funding in California is embarrassingly low. Education Week’s annual Quality Counts report showed California ranks 46th in per-pupil funding. The report gave our state an overall grade of D+ in education funding. Yet, the governor’s proposal would cut education funding below even that abysmal amount.
To help ACSA members do what they can to protect students and schools, ACSA has put together a “Protect Our Students” toolkit. It is available for download on the ACSA Web site.
In the toolkit, you’ll find a list of 10 things you can do right now to protect funding for California students. They are listed below. In addition, you’ll find a list of three simple talking points and the background information for them, a sample school board resolution, sample letters to the editor, sample letters for parents wishing to express themselves to their legislator or the governor, press releases for any press conferences you might schedule, a list of the potential devastation that would occur should these cuts be enacted, and much more.
Top 10 things you can do now to protect students and Prop. 98:
- Educate your staff and school community on the details of the budget cuts and what cuts would mean to your district and the state as whole. You should also educate your staff and your school community on ACSA’s position and messaging.
- Contact local education reporters and editorial boards at local newspapers to educate them about potential budget cuts.
- Write and submit a letter to your local newspaper(s).
- Encourage your local school board to adopt a resolution in opposition to the governor’s budget proposal and plans to eviscerate Proposition 98.
- Contact your state senator and assembly member and ask them to oppose education funding cuts and to protect Prop. 98. Give them specific examples of how the budget proposal will affect their local districts.
- Call or e-mail your local elected officials and ask them to help spread the message (contacting state officials, speaking out, etc.)
- Arrange a meeting if necessary and follow up with a phone call.
- Encourage parents to write and call the governor and other elected officials to protect school funding and Prop. 98.
- Lead a local Education Coalition news conference urging lawmakers to reject cuts to education funding and to protect Prop. 98.
- Speak to your local clubs or community organizations and ask for their support in voicing concern about the budget cuts.