‘Start the Day for Students’ Day of Action

BURLINGAME – In a groundswell of protests against devastating budget cuts to neighborhood schools and other critical services, California’s teachers, administrators, school employees, parents and students will join a statewide “Day of Action” on Thursday, March 4, to stop the governor and Legislature from cutting billions more from a public school system already reeling from $17 billion in cuts over the past two years – and to tell lawmakers it’s time to close corporate tax loopholes.

The protests come as CTA is estimating today that the total pink slips issued for educators statewide is now about 18,000 – and rising, as the March 15 deadline for layoff notices looms.

This show of solidarity with many community and labor groups is about fighting more cuts to schools, colleges, universities and other essential state services. It’s also about demanding that everyone pay their fair share and the need to rescind the tax breaks handed out to large corporations and oil companies last year while class sizes increased and critical student programs were eliminated. The 325,000-member California Teachers Association is urging its members to hold protests before school in a “Start the Day for Students” approach.

“These are the largest cuts our students have seen since the Great Depression and they will hurt a generation of students, robbing them of the future they deserve,” said CTA President David A. Sanchez. “Now the governor is proposing $2.5 billion in additional cuts – and wants to renege on an agreement signed into law last summer to repay schools more than $11 billion they are owed. It’s time to stop the cuts, have everybody start paying their fair share and start changing the conversation about additional revenues for our public schools and California’s future.”

HUNTINGTON BEACH: CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett and CTA Board of Directors member Michael Stone will join with teachers and education supporters from the Ocean View, Huntington Beach City, and Huntington Beach Union High School districts for a rally and march to begin at Ocean View High School, corner of Gothard and Warner, Huntington Beach, beginning at 4 p.m. The march will finish at the corner of Beach Blvd. and Warner Blvd., Huntington Beach. Event sponsors include the West Orange County United Teachers union, superintendents, school board members, administrators, classified staff, and PTA members of the respective school districts.

March Forth on March Fourth

The rallys against education cuts are also occurring on college campuses across the state. From the UC Regent Live (blog)

The UC’s,CSU’s, & CC’s have organized March 4th as a CA-wide day of action. Campuses across California will be holding rallies, marches, strikes, walkouts, etc. What will you do?

All of us have been affected by the budget cuts/tuition hikes. Classes are being cut, our favorite teachers are getting their walking papers, and some of us will be dropping out of college due to the unjust fee hikes. On top of all this, UCI is destroying the families of the already super-exploited and outsourced campus workers. These workers, many employed 20+ years, are being laid off with no remorse from admin. They tell them, “We don’t need you anymore”, “Find another job”, “It’s not our problem”. Is this how UCI should treat its students and workers?!

There is no place for apathy anymore. You have one of two choices: be an armchair activist or stand on your feet and fight with dignity.

The time for diplomacy has long passed. Direct action is our only alternative.

Rally at noon at the UCI flagpoles!

California strike goes nationwide, CNN reports

(CNN) — Dissatisfaction, anger and an uncertain future have led professors and students in California and across the country to call for a day of action Thursday to defend education at state colleges and universities.

Budget cuts have resulted in canceled classes and class waiting lists doubling or tripling in California.

Whitney Thompson experienced this firsthand when all her courses at Fresno State University were dropped, setting her back an entire year. She is part of a rising phenomenon in which students take up to six years to graduate.

These “super-seniors,” as they are referred to by the universities, have to take out more debt to carry the full-time load needed to maintain their financial aid and health insurance. She is now enrolled in classes that do not meet her graduation requirements.

“My plans were messed up, I now have more debt, and I’m taking classes that were my least choice,” Thompson said.

Alejandro Laro-Briseno at the University of California, Berkeley, said he knows students who have to choose between buying a book and eating.

Honora Keller, a fifth-year student at San Francisco State University, has to work three jobs to keep up. “I have to eat, buy books and [pay] tuition, and I’m still taking out more loans,” she said.

“People are taking semesters off to save for tuition. It’s a common conversation you hear everywhere on campus,” Keller said.

Similar conversations are taking place across the country as states slash funding not only for colleges, but also for elementary and secondary education.

That’s why protests of various kinds are planned Thursday in at least 29 states. See where protests are planned

Read the full CNN report by clicking on the following stiry link: California strike goes nationwide, CNN reports