Teacher Lay-Offs & Stand Up for Schools

I'm in my 9th year of teaching.  I remember that for the first two years, I received lay-off notices.  Everyone told me not to worry.  Yes, the California budget was not great, there were some cutbacks, but all in all, teachers for required subjects need not worry about their job.

This round of lay-offs is different.  At least, that is the message I've been hearing from the media, from the California Teachers Association, and from following what has been happening with budget cuts in our own district.  Essentially, the California budget is a mess due to the recession and it's difficult to predict when things will improve.  My understanding is that there could be even more cuts down the road.  In other words, this past round of budget cuts that the MDUSD Board had to make might not be the last.

In my opinion, these budget reductions are a crime against our students.  Even when the California budget improves, it could take years to rebuild successful programs that were decimated.  

So what can we do?  We can Stand Up for Schools!

This week, CTA mounted a campaign called Stand Up for Schools.  The mailer I received on Saturday highlights that thousands of teachers will be receiving pink slips this year.  According to the CTA website www. pinkfriday09.org, over 20,000 California teachers have already received their Reduction in Force notices (pink slips).

  

Yes, teachers (not to mention administrators and support personnel) will lose their jobs, but what is the REAL impact of these RIF's?  Class size increases, cuts to support programs helping students to pass high school, the loss of librarians, elementary music, sports, ultimately fewer opportunities for students to go to college. 

The real purpose of the campaign is to raise public awareness of the devastating impact the budget reductions will have on California public schools.  

So, wear your pink armbands all week (if you're a MDEA teacher your rep should have some to give you).

Attend the rally at Civic Park in Walnut Creek on Wednesday from 4 to 6 pm.

Wear pink on Friday, March 13th.

Help pass Measure D (the parcel tax) that will be on the May 19th election.  This will raise 7 million dollars for the Mt. Diablo School District that helps fund some of the programs that had to be eliminated.

Tell everyone you know that California is destroying our children's future by placing them last in per pupil spending compared to all the other states (we were 47th before the budget revise was completed--now I've read that we are 50th).