Marguerite Maze Middle School Teacher Valerie Pennington was
among scores of teachers out in force Wednesday evening protesting
proposed state cuts she believes will lead to larger class sizes,
fewer hours in the library and computer labs and less help for
students who most need it.
Marguerite Maze Middle School Teacher Valerie Pennington was among scores of teachers out in force Wednesday evening protesting proposed state cuts she believes will lead to larger class sizes, fewer hours in the library and computer labs and less help for students who most need it.
The impact will be direct and noticeable, she said.
“As a state we need to look at our priorities,” Pennington said. “Children come first.”
Local teachers took to the streets rallying against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $5 billion in education cuts – which have led to many likely layoffs and other reductions in local schools. Hollister residents as well as others throughout California had hoped to spread the information to residents who might not know the magnitude of effect the cuts would have on local schools.
Maze Middle School teacher Jan Grist said 18,000 teachers were set to lose their jobs throughout the state and she noted that California is ranked No. 46 in spending money on students.
“They need to do what’s right for the state,” Grist said.
Nearly 60 teachers, students and parents held signs on the corner of Fourth Street and San Benito Street on Wednesday afternoon. Two other locations were rallying spots in Hollister, at Nash Road and San Benito Street and Nash Road and Airline Highway.
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s May revise budget released Wednesday, meanwhile, brought some light to concerned educators, as it would avoid suspending Proposition 98 that guarantees a minimum amount of funding for each school year.
Hollister Elementary School District Superintendent Ron Crates said that the school district would receive the same amount of money per child next year as it did this year. The cuts aren’t as drastic as they could have been, he said, though they are still substantial.
Districts in San Benito County and throughout California in recent months have been announcing possible layoffs and other cuts due to the budget deficit. The Hollister School District is San Benito County’s largest and at first had proposed to lay off about 70 teachers, a number in March that had been paired down to 39.
Crates noted, for instance, how the planned 6 percent reduction in special education didn’t make it into the May budget revise, which was good news. The superintendent said he attended two of the three rallies and participants accomplished getting a statewide voice heard on the issue, he said.
Grist said Republicans and Democrats need to sit down together and reach a better budget resolution.
Stacey Bohlke, press secretary for Sen. Jeff Denham, said San Benito County’s representative continues to fight to make sure money isn’t cut from K-12 schools. Denham has been to some of the rallies and opposes suspending Prop. 98, Bohlke said.
Teacher Steve Kain, in attendance at the local protest Wednesday, said the government needs to restructure how money is funded to schools – which don’t know their budget pictures until the beginning of the year. He said districts should find out instead during the summer.
“It’s not fair to students,” said Kain, who believes the general public always has supported education. He also added that the rally was meant to spread the bad news to some of the less informed voters.
Signs had slogans such as “Pink Slips: The Latest Style in Education” and “Save Our Schools.” Some cars honked in support of the rally and participants taking part.
And it wasn’t just current teachers pushing for restored funding. Retired teacher Sharry Jones was there and said she was protesting to support her friends, educators and students. She said teachers can’t do it all by themselves, that they need help from parents and students, too.
“The kids are our future,” Jones said.
Jones offered examples of a poor funding structure in noting how the library at San Juan School is open only a few hours now and that physical education is getting cut as well. The result there and at other area schools has been that teachers are responsible for overseeing physical education – and they might not know students’ needs in that area as well as trained instructors.
The rally also showed that teachers aren’t the only ones feeling the pain, as classified employees such as janitors, secretaries and nurses also are set to lose their jobs.
Classified employee Michelle Smith said that at Tuesday night’s Hollister School District board meeting, 11 classified positions were laid off and some teachers found out they’d see reduced hours totaling between four and 60 fewer days of work a school year.
Smith said there has been $900,000 worth of cuts just for classified employees, with more to come next year if Gov. Schwarzenegger’s budget doesn’t change.
HSD Assistant Superintendent Dennis Kurtz said he hopes the governor can solve the budget issue so the district doesn’t have to make as many cuts, he said.
Teacher Joyce Medeiros is among the squadron of educators who hope the rally can spread the word and get the public behind the cause by prompting more dialogue on the issue. Medeiros said cutting across the board is a losing situation and she believes there are other options.
“Cuts have to stay away from education,” Medeiros said. “It has to be a last resort.”
