FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 14, 2008
Contact: Julie White: jwhite@acsa.org; (916) 329-3832

A new LAO report supports the Education Coalition's call for increased revenues, and warns of inaction as the state budget deficit could hit $27.8 billion.

In a dire threat to schools that  solidifies the Education Coalition’s call for new sources of state revenue to prevent further education cuts, the new Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) report warns the state budget deficit could reach $27.8 billion over the next 20 months and that it’s no longer possible to resolve the staggering budget crisis without raising taxes.

The Education Coalition warned the “borrowing” budget approved by the Governor and the Legislature in September would just push the state’s fiscal problems down the road, but the road turned out to be very short. Our public schools and our students’ futures should not be sacrificed to balance the budget. While we don’t agree with all of the recommendations by the LAO, the need for new revenues is imperative.

Our public schools have been cut by more than $3.5 billion this year. Those cuts have led to larger class sizes, the layoffs of thousands of teachers and critical education support staff, and the further elimination of art, music and vocational education programs. Many cash-strapped school districts are already at the financial tipping point. Any additional cuts to education will be disastrous for our students. It puts their futures at risk. California already ranked 46th out of 50 states in the nation in per-pupil spending before the September spending plan gutted school funding even more.

The Education Coalition, which represents more than 1.7 million parents, teachers, school board members, school employees and administrators, continues to urge leaders to provide a real budget solution with ongoing and long-term funding for our schools so that all students can receive the quality education they deserve.