Sunday, January 08, 2012

Next Tuesday's budget, delivered last Thursday

Onward! 4LAKids
4LAKids: Sunday 8•Jan•2012 NCLB@10
In This Issue:
 •  IS GOV. BROWN'S 'RANSOM' BUDGET AN EMPTY THREAT?
 •  THIS AIN'T ROY ROGERS' TRIGGER
 •  CALL FOR ONE TAX ON NOVEMBER BALLOT: Groups reassert demand for reforms
 •  PHILADELPHIA AREA TEACHERS WORK FOR FREE AFTER BUDGET CUTS - Superintendent: “We are unable to fund the district’s payroll after Jan 4
 •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
 •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...
 •  What can YOU do?


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 •  PUBLIC SCHOOLS: an investment we can't afford to cut! - The Education Coalition Website
 •  4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved!
 •  4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc.
California has a history of budgets delivered late. Occasionally (once in a blue moon¹) it gets a budget on time. Tuesday we got one five days early …and it wasn't worth the hurry!

In what the Huffington Post benevolently calls "a classic snafu" -- someone inadvertently (the temptation to enclose the last two words in parentheses gleefully confessed) posted the governor's budget proposal, scheduled to be unveiled in five days, online. Governor Jerry Brown v 2.0, kicking off his second year in his second go-round - was forced to hold a hastily called press conference. Again the Huff Po: "…this screwed-up roll-out — in which the rhetoric was unfinished and the supporting cast un-prepped" generated the following from Brown's office – misdated and typo infused:

January 10, 2012

To the Senate and the Assembly of the California Legislature:

I hereby submit to you my proposed Budget for 2012 13.

When I came into office, California was facing an immediate $26.6 billion budget gap and future budget deficits of $20 billion a year. In January of 2011, I proposed a budget that combined deep cuts with a temporary extension of some existing taxes. It was a balanced approach that would have finally closed our budget gap. In the end, the taxes were not extended and massive cuts — totaling (sic) $16 billion — were enacted.

The 2011 budget did, however, lay the foundation for fiscal stability. It cut the annual budget shortfall by three quarters — from $20 billion to $5 billion or less. It shrunk state government, reduced our borrowing costs and gave local governments more authority to make decisions.

he (sic) budget that I am submitting today keeps the cuts made last year and adds new ones. The stark truth is that without some new taxes, damaging cuts to schools, universities, public safety and our courts will only increase.

That is why I will ask the voters to approve a temporary tax increase on the wealthy, a modest and temporary increase in the sales tax and to guarantee that the new revenues be spent only on education. I am also asking that the voters guarantee ongoing funding for local public safety programs. This ballot measure will not solve all of our fiscal problems, but it will stop further cuts to education and public safety and halt the trend of double digit tuition increases.

My budget plan also includes important reforms. It improves government efficiency and pays down debt. It reorganizes state government to make it more efficient and saves tax dollars by consolidating or eliminating functions. It restructures social service programs to better support working families. It gives substantially more flexibility and decision making to local school districts.

The plan also calls for bold investments in our future: to assure a reliable water supply, build high speed rail and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As California’s economy continues to slowly recover — and recover it will — our plan will provide fiscal stability and make California government more transparent and responsive to the people.

I look forward to working with you in the coming year.

Sincerely,
Edmund G. Brown, Jr.

[The Proposed Budget is here: http://bit.ly/wPdOt9 ]

The script unfinished and the supporting cast unrehearsed didn't slow down the critics a whit, with the metaphoric football fumbled, everyone piled on!

(sample headlines:)

● Whack! Brown to ax 3,000 state jobs, 50 state organizations
● Brown Calls for 7% California Spending Boost to $92.6 Billion
● California Gov. Jerry Brown Puts Technology in Budget Crosshairs
● State faces cuts, more strife ahead
● Brown to Seek More Automatic Spending Cuts If Tax Increase Fails
● UC budget slashed by $100 million
● Brown: Next Year's Budget Will Be Worse
● Amid Budget Cuts, Calif. Gov. Brown Still Dreaming
● Schools will be cut $4.8 billion if taxes don't pass, Gov. Jerry Brown says
● Gov. Jerry Brown's new budget plan targets schools
● Brown promises funds for Calif. police in tax push
● Brown Unveils California Budget Early After Mishap Leaks Plan

DrDeasyLAUSD tweeted on Jan 7th:
● "Since 08-09, LAUSD has faced $2.3 bil in cuts and after 4 yrs of program & staff reductions, we're at edge of cliff."
● "The next step is a wholesale loss of critical programs. These cuts will trample on fundamental right of youth 2 receive a quality education."
● "That they come at a time when we are achieving significant gains in test scores across LAUSD makes them that much harder to accept

So – Nobody's happy.

OK, 4LAKids is …because up 'till Thursday the only Education News this past week was The LAUSD Rose Princess, the All City Band in the parade and a one hour lockdown at a Green Dot charter school for more than an hour "…after a prank call reported three armed men on campus, officials(!) said"

¿Have you ever noticed that "officials" are always quoted unofficially?

I was afraid I'd have to rant about three weeks being too long for winter break. It is.

But then the budget leaked and a Beverly Hills school construction official(!) got sentenced to prison and I have a cornucopia of content.

I am not at all happy with Jerry's Budget. I like combining cuts with tax increases, but these are ADDITIONAL cuts after years of cuts …and only PROPOSED INCREASES after years of no increases. Note that Jerry's campaign for his initiative seems to be targeting its appeal to public safety+education – but the tax hikes really support the General Fund – with Ed and Safety being only a formulaic part of it. These are temporary increases to fix an enduring problem. It's a frozen paper towel from the nurses office when a doctor visit is required.

AND THEN, THERE'S THE TRIGGER, FROM THE SAME WONDERFUL FOLKS IN SACRAMENTO, DEMS+ REPS/LEGISLATORS+GOVERNOR; WHO THREATENED TO PULL THE TRIGGER IF LAST YEAR'S WISHFUL BUDGET PROJECTIONS DIDN'T MATERIALIZE. …AND WHEN THEY DIDN'T, THEY PULLED IT!

NOW IF THE VOTERS DON'T APPROVE BROWN'S WISHY-WASHY INITIATIVE THE TRIGGER GETS PULLED AND PUBLIC EDUCATION GETS SHOT. AGAIN.

● See: Einstein on doing the same thing and expecting different results.²
● See: Yogi Berra on deja vu.³

On Roy's 100th birthday I feel a need to echo Sheila Kuehl: "This ain't Roy Rogers' Trigger!"

And in Pennsylvania we see that it can get worse; read the letter below from the departing superintendent of Chester Upland schools. Familiarize yourself with the language. The good news is it could be worse. The bad news is it will get worse. In Inglewood and San Diego to start. In smaller districts first, and truly independent charter schools.

And, Frank Zappa notwithstanding, It can happen here.

"First they came for the small districts and the charter schools …. but I was not one of those…"*

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
__

¹ http://bit.ly/y92Yi2
² http://bit.ly/zw2qhL
³ http://bit.ly/zQUkz0
* http://bit.ly/zUfwxd


IS GOV. BROWN'S 'RANSOM' BUDGET AN EMPTY THREAT?
CALIFORNIA GOV. JERRY BROWN PROPOSED A STATE BUDGET THURSDAY THAT WOULD CUT $4.8 BILLION FROM EDUCATION – BUT ONLY IF A BALLOT INITIATIVE TO RAISE TAXES FAILS. PROBLEM IS, LEGISLATORS ARE BALKING.

By Daniel B. Wood, Staff writer Christian Science Monitor | http://bit.ly/z8wMlE

January 6, 2012 - Los Angeles :: There is little doubt, political analysts say, that California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) intended to frighten state voters with the budget he proposed Thursday. What is less clear is whether his new ultimatum is essentially an empty threat.

Facing a $9.2 billion deficit, Governor Brown warned Thursday that the state would have to cut $4.8 billion from education if voters did not pass his ballot initiative to raise taxes on rich Californians.

“He is forcing voters to decide which pain they prefer: severe program cuts, including in both the education and corrections systems, or wrenching tax increases,” says Villanova University political scientist Lara Brown.

But California has earned Standard & Poor’s worst credit rating for a US state precisely for its repeated refusal to address the structural imbalances in its budget, and it is by no means certain the Legislature would swallow Brown’s bitter pill even now.

Brown’s proposed $92.6 billion spending plan unveiled Thursday is intertwined with his ballot initiative. The initiative would raise $7 billion by raising the tax rate on Californians making at least $250,000, and by increasing the state sales-tax rate from 7.25 percent to 7.75 percent. The hikes would expire after five years.

If the initiative fails, however, Brown's budget plan has a trigger to automatically cut $4.8 billion from education.

Political scientist Dan Schnur told Bloomberg News that this trigger was "the most expensive ransom note in California political history." But Brown denies that he is trying to strong arm voters.

“When they asked Willie Sutton why he robbed banks, he said, ‘because that’s where the money is,’ ” said Brown in a press conference Thursday. Noting that 40 percent of the state budget, by law, is earmarked for education he continued, “Well, education is where California’s money is.”

But getting the Legislature to back such a plan is another matter.

Republicans blocked a bid by Brown last year to raise taxes, and they are gearing up to block his budget now. They say growing state tax revenues show that holding taxes low has stimulated the economy.

It is disappointing to see Governor Brown propose yet another reckless budget scheme,” said Assembly Republican leader Connie Conway in a statement. “We believe Sacramento’s focus should be growing the economy and getting spending under control, not trying to raise taxes.”

But there are signs that Democrats might be digging in as well – and the Brown budget would fail without Democratic support. At issue are proposed cuts to health and welfare services even if his tax initiative is passed.

"Legislative leaders are already declaring the onerous cuts will not be passed easily,” says Barbara O’Connor, director emeritus of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento, in an e-mail.

But she adds that the budget is “an honest appraisal of what the budget will look like without revenue increases in November,” and that voters seem to side with Brown – prioritizing education over health services.

“Polling indicates that voters are willing to increase revenues to avoid cuts to education,” she says.

One key unknown is where the economy goes in the first half of 2012. If things go better – and more revenue comes in – pressure for both cuts and taxes decreases.

“Jerry Brown and the rest of the state thought that the economy would be doing better by now than it has,” says Robert Stern, former president of the Center for Governmental Studies. “He is desperately hoping that the recovery will be evident by summer and that people will have more confidence in state government and him so that they will pass his measure. If not, education will take a huge hit and so will Brown.”

Brown is in a tough spot no matter which way he turns, adds says Jack Pitney a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College.

“In the longer run, he can't get the voters to raise taxes until he convinces them that he's made deep cuts,” Professor Pitney says. “But will the Legislature accept the cuts?”

“The Senate [Democratic] leader says he wants to hold off and see if revenues will go up,” he adds. “Maybe that will happen, but might an uptick in revenues in the spring diminish the public appetite for a tax increase in the fall?”


THIS AIN'T ROY ROGERS' TRIGGER
By: Former California State Senator Sheila Kuehl | Yuba.Net | http://bit.ly/x6gawq

January 7, 2012 - Since Governor Brown's staff mistakenly posted his proposed budget on his website, rather than keeping it under wraps till Tuesday, the budget debate season got off to an early, if wobbly, start. Analysis of the budget will take a few days, so I wanted to begin by bringing you up to date on the triggers that were pulled last month in the 2011-12 budget. This essay describes what circumstances forced the first trigger to be pulled, how the second trigger was not fully set into motion, and who lost what.

Further essays will discuss the various provisions of the 2012-13 budget unveiled by the Governor on January 5th, followed by reports on future deliberations through the winter and into the spring and summer, as each major step takes place.

ONE TRIGGER WAS IN THE ROSE PARADE, ONE WAS IN THE BUDGET

Although I have to admit I found it a bit creepy, the stuffed remains of Roy Rogers' beloved steed was displayed on a Rose Parade float honoring Roy's 100th birthday.

Dangerously wobbling at the front of a somewhat over-the-top float, this Trigger, though dead, looked fat and healthy.

The state budget Triggers, on the other hand, very much alive, looked downright cadaverous. Cutting the 2011-12 state budget by another 891 million dollars, these automatic robo-cut devices carved a whole new round of deadly wounds through the already-devastated usual suspects.

A QUICK REVIEW OF THE 2011-12 BUDGET TRIGGER PROVISIONS

The budget, adopted on time in July, projected General Fund revenues for 2011-12 at about 88.5 billion. The trigger devices, however, provided that, if, in the December just passed, revenues for the rest of 2011-12 were forecast to be lower than anticipated by between one and two billion dollars, 600 million in additional cuts were to go into effect (so-called "tier one" cuts). If the revenue gap amounted to more than 2 billion, additional cuts of up to 1.9 billion were to be triggered ("tier two").

Specifically, under Tier One, if revenue projections were off by between one and two billion, the UC system would lose another 100 million, CSU the same, the Department of Developmental Services the same. In Home Supportive Services would lose another 110 million, prisons another 92 million, and childcare an additional 23 million. The Community Colleges lose another 30 million which they are allowed to backfill with fee increases to students. Medi-Cal cuts made last March would be extended to all managed care plans to save another 15 million.

Tier Two, which was to kick in if revenue projections were off by more than two billion, would reduce the school year in 2011-12 by up to seven days, to save 1.5 billion. Home-to-school transportation would be eliminated, saving 248 million, and the community colleges would be denied a 72 million dollar apportionment increase.

WHAT HAPPENED IN DECEMBER

Revenue was predicted to come in at 2.2 billion less than budgeted. Believe it or not, this was the rosier of two projections, which the trigger provisions allowed the Governor to use. The Department of Finance projected $86.2 billion in revenues, while the Legislative Analyst predicted $84.8 billion. Revenues were up by 1.8 billion (which was still less than the rosy projection of the budget), mainly due to higher than expected personal income tax revenues (almost entirely from high earners) of 1.5 billion. Corporation tax was also up by almost 500 million. Lower and middle income groups showed a decline.

The Governor, having insisted on the triggers in the budget so he wouldn't have to go back to a chaotic legislature for more cuts, and wouldn't have to actually make a decision, himself, to cut, explained his lack of choice in Latin. Demonstrating his usual combination of seminarian and erudite Californian, he spread his hands and said, "Nemo dat quod non habet," which means "No one can give that which he does not have."

Never mind that this rule is usually used to figure out who owns something when a person who didn't have the right to it sold it to a purchaser who didn't know the title was bad. In this case, the Governor simply used the phrase to figuratively turn out his empty pockets and shrug.

The result? Piled on to over 15 billion dollars in cuts in the original 2011-2012 budget, which followed over 7.8 billion in cuts in 2010-11, the triggers cut an additional 981 million from an already bloody budget.

CUTS TO HIGHER EDUCATION

On top of 1.3 billion already cut in July, the UC system and the CSU system each got slashed another 100 million each. They are tasked with figuring out how to allocate the cuts across their system.

The community colleges lost 30 million and were allowed to backfill the loss with a $10 per unit increase in student fees on top of a similar hike just months earlier. The total now is $46 per unit, which, although we are still 49th in what we charge per unit at our community colleges (New Mexico is now lower), is still out of reach for a significant portion of our students. Last year, 56 % of community college students got low-income waivers and the Chancellor's office believes this will jump to 70%.

The greater problem, though, is that the community colleges system, under the portion of the Tier Two cuts which did go into effect, actually sustained an additional 72 million in cuts by reduced apportionments, which is not covered by the new fee. This means further diminution of classes, slots, faculty and services.

CUTS TO K-12 EDUCATION

Because the revenues were not as low as might have been expected, the second trigger was not fully pulled. Instead, K-12 avoided the 1.5 billion dollar cut that would have reduced the school year by seven full class days. Emblematic of the times, a "mere" 330 million cut from school districts across the state was met with a sigh of relief. 80 million was cut from prop 98 funds by reducing apportionments to school districts. The greatest devastation was to the school transportation program, which bore 248 of the 330 million in cuts. School districts were told to pay for needed buses out of reserves, but most didn't have any reserves left. The Los Angeles Unified School District lost 38 million dollars, leading the Superintendent to say they would have to shut down school buses in the spring, stranding 35,000 students, including 13,000 special needs students. L.A. Unified quickly filed a suit to block the cuts.

CUTS TO CHILD CARE

The Department of Education lost an additional 23 million dollars in child care funding, which broke down to 17 million in non-prop 98 funds, and 5.9 million in prop 98. This translates to a loss of roughly 7500 subsidized slots, impacting working parents, who are simply stranded without care.

CUTS TO EVERYTHING ELSE

The In Home Supportive services program lost an additional 101.5 million dollars, which was divided between a 10 million dollar diminution in local anti-fraud efforts and all the rest in a direct reduction in services to low-income elderly and sick Californians. A suit was filed over these cuts.

The Department of Developmental Services lost 100 million, Corrections was cut by 20 million, the California State Library lost 16 million, and Medi-Cal lost an additional 8.6 million when the March 2011 cuts to managed care plans were continued into this year.

A JUVENILE JUSTICE BAIT-AND-SWITCH

In a scratch-your-head sort of development, the triggers also cut 67.7 million to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) for juvenile offenders, but the Governor is demanding that this loss be backfilled by charging counties more for juveniles incarcerated by the state. This is interesting for several reasons. Over the last 15 years, beginning in 1996, when the juvenile population incarcerated by the state was more than 10,000, the state began devolving responsibility for youthful offenders down to the counties. Today, there are only about 1,000 young offenders, those who have committed the most serious crimes, spread over the five state facilities. Currently, counties have to pay about $500 to the state for each one.

Now, the Governor proposes filling the cut made by the trigger by raising the amount charged to the counties from $500 per prisoner to $125,000 per prisoner, which, he maintains, is still less that the $200,000 per year they cost the state.

As Kurt Vonnegut would say (not in Latin):

So it goes.

● This essay is from former California State Senator Sheila Kuehl. If you want to subscribe to these essays, go to www.SheilaKuehl.org.


CALL FOR ONE TAX ON NOVEMBER BALLOT: Groups reassert demand for reforms
By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess | http://bit.ly/wGDxCn

Posted on 1/03/12 • Later this week, Gov. Jerry Brown will get a letter from education and business leaders worried about the prospect of multiple tax initiatives in November. Their message: The only hope for addition to revenue is subtraction on the ballot.

But in calling for Brown to persuade sponsors of various proposed initiatives to coalesce around one initiative, the letter will ask Brown to bend as well. The signers favor combining higher taxes with “real structural reform” – an idea missing from Brown’s proposal for a temporary $7 billion per year sales and income tax increase.

“If there are multiple revenue-raising measures on the ballot, none are likely to pass. We can’t let that happen to our kids,” wrote Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, an advocacy group for early childhood education, in a note to a letter that he is circulating to like-minded leaders. Lempert is asking them to sign the letter by Thursday.
Ted Lempert of Children Now is asking education leaders and advocates to sign this letter that will be sent to Gov. Brown.

Here is a draft of the letter that will be sent to Gov. http://bit.ly/z9U42W.

Besides Brown’s initiative, which a number of public employee unions back, there could be three to a half-dozen competing tax plans on the November ballot, several of which could be backed by well-funded campaigns. These include big taxes on millionaires and on oil production in California.

There’s general consensus that more than one tax initiative, splitting the votes of already tenuous tax supporters, would doom all to fail. As yet, at least publicly, there’s been no sign of compromise. But with time running short to start collecting signatures, negotiations for a deal would have to happen in the next few weeks.

Lempert is calling on Brown to lead the talks.

Lempert is a leader behind The 2012 Kids Education Plan. It calls for a $6 billion to $8 billion unspecified tax exclusively for early childhood education and K-12 schools. It also outlines broad elements of reform that it says should be part of any tax increase. They include lowering the super-majority requirement for passing local school taxes, simplifying the convoluted school funding system, and adopting “workforce reforms” (code for perhaps changing state teacher tenure and evaluation laws). The two-dozen organizations that have signed on to the Plan include two members of the Education Coalition – the Association of California School Administrators and the California School Boards Association; the Bay Area Council, representing Bay Area businesses, and United Way of Greater Los Angeles; the parents groups Educacy and Educate Our State; and advocacy groups Public Advocates and Education Trust-West (see related post by Ed Trust-West Executive Director Arun Ramanathan). Some of those groups are expected to sign the letter to Brown as well.

Brown is going to have to strike a delicate balance.

If he agrees to all of the key elements of The 2012 Kids Education Plan, the California Teachers Association may withdraw its support and money. But Lempert and others will counter that combining reform and revenue is the only way to get business executives and philanthropists to pony up for what promises to be an expensive campaign. A proposition backed only by labor won’t win, they’ll argue.
(See summary of proposed initiatives.)

Here's a summary of proposed tax initiatives:http://bit.ly/zn4iLx

Brown’s tax plan would increase the General Fund, which faces a $13 billion deficit next year; only a piece of it would go to K-12 schools and community colleges (roughly 40 percent). Education advocates argue that a tax increase dedicated to schools has the best, if not the only, chance of passing, and have several recent polls to back that up.

The Our Children, Our Future initiative, sponsored by civil rights attorney Molly Munger and backed by the California PTA, would raise $10 billion exclusively for K-12 and early childhood programs by raising the state income tax, hitting high-income earners the hardest.

But late last month, Munger indicated she’s sensitive to Brown’s dilemma and the state’s overall fiscal crisis. She submitted an alternate version of her initiative that would divert $3 billion of the $10 billion in new revenue for four years to pay down the state’s bond indebtedness. The effect would be to free up $3 billion in the General Fund to address the state budget deficit, without raising the obligation to schools through Proposition 98.

That’s the type of movement that all sides must show to head off defeat by circular firing squad in November.


PHILADELPHIA AREA TEACHERS WORK FOR FREE AFTER BUDGET CUTS - Superintendent: “We are unable to fund the district’s payroll after Jan 4
TEACHERS DECIDE TO WORK FOR FREE AFTER BUDGET CUTS LEAVE PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL DISTRICT WITHOUT FUNDS FOR SALARIES

By Tanya Somanader/ ThinkProgress.org from L.A. Progressive | http://bit.ly/yml2l8

January 6, 2012 :: The Chester Upland School District in Delaware County, Pennsylvania suffered a serious setback when Gov. Tom Corbett (R) slashed $900 million in education funds from the state budget. The cuts landed hardest on poorer districts, and Chester Upland, which predominantly serves African-American children and relies on state aid for nearly 70 percent of its funding, expects to fall short this school year by $19 million.

Faced with such a shortage of funds, the school district informed its staff that it will not be able to pay their salaries come Wednesday. So the teachers decided to work for free. As one teacher put it, students “need to be educated, so we intend to be on the job”:

At a union meeting at Chester High School on Tuesday night, the employees passed a resolution saying they would stay on “as long as we are individually able.”

Columbus Elementary School math and literacy teacher Sara Ferguson, who has taught in Chester Upland for 21 years, said after the meeting, “It’s alarming. It’s disturbing. But we are adults; we will make a way.The students don’t have any contingency plan. They need to be educated, so we intend to be on the job.”

The school board and the unions separately begged Corbett to provide financial aid for the district, but Corbett turned each request down. Pennsylvania’s Education Secretary Ron Tomalis told the board that it “had failed to properly manage its finances and would not get any additional funds.” Chester Upland was forced to lay off “40 percent of its professional staff and about half of its unionized support staff before school began last fall.” That leaves 200 professionals and 65 support staff to manage a school with class sizes of over 40 students.

Chester Upland is not the only district desperately trying to stay afloat. Corbett’s cuts forced one school district to enforce wage freezes and cut extracurricular activitiesand another turned to actually using sheep instead of lawnmowers to cut grass at two of its schools. As ThinkProgress’s Travis Waldron pointed out, Corbett could relieve school districts if he let special interest groups like tobacco and the oil and gas industry go without their tax breaks. But he seems to prefer allowing teachers to go without pay.

● TANYA SOMANADER is a reporter/blogger for ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Tanya grew up in Pepper Pike, Ohio and holds a B.A. in international relations and history from Brown University. Prior to joining ThinkProgress, Tanya was a staff member in the Office of Senator Sherrod Brown, working on issues ranging from foreign policy and defense to civil rights and social policy.


► AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT: “We are currently unable to fund the district’s payroll expenses after Jan. 4, 2012”

Members of the Chester Upland School District Community:

It has been a pleasure to serve as your acting superintendent. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you to implement best and sound practices to continue moving the school district in a positive direction. My interim term ends on December 31, 2011. As I prepare to leave, I do so after having provided a foundation for my successor to build upon in the days ahead. I have pledged my continuing support and complete cooperation.

Since my appointment in October, much has been accomplished including: securing the continuation of the district’s Title I funding; hiring certified teachers at Science and Discovery and Allied Health High Schools; hiring a permanent chief business manager for the district; appointing a deputy acting superintendent; identifying qualified candidates for consideration as acting superintendent for the rest of this school year; and recommending a timeline for hiring a permanent superintendent. I sincerely believe the transition of leadership will be accomplished in a smooth and efficient manner.

We now face a very challenging financial crisis. We are currently unable to fund the district’s payroll expenses after January 4, 2012. However, I assure you that the members of the school board and the district administration are doing everything possible to identify a solution. We are working cooperatively with the labor unions, the Delaware County Superintendents, the Delaware County Intermediate Unit and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In addition to making a formal appeal to Governor Corbett for the funding needed, the Board members continue to wait for the Governor’s personal response to Board President Wanda Mann’s letter detailing the severity of our current financial situation. Please visit the school district website in the coming weeks for updates on this and other highly important matters. Information will be shared as soon as it is available.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to positively contribute to the Chester Upland learning community. Special thanks to the board members for entrusting me this huge responsibility as well as to the community advocates for being so passionately supportive.

God bless you one and all,

Levi Wingard, Ed.D.


FULL COVERAGE FROM GOOGLE NEWS | http://bitly.com/zwv9K3

●BOARD OF CONTROL URGED FOR CHESTER UPLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT
Delaware County Daily Times - ‎Jan 6, 2012‎: Jeffrey E. Piccola, R-15, of Dauphin County, urged State Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis to declare the Chester Upland School District financially distressed and implement a board of control to oversee the district's finances. ... http://bit.ly/xRNnRl

●SENATOR ASKS STATE TO DECLARE CHESTER UPLAND A DISTRESSED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Delaware County Daily Times - ‎Jan 5, 2012: Jeffrey E. Piccola, R-15, of Dauphin County, has called for Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis to declare the Chester Upland School District a “district in financial distress” and consider implementing a board of control to oversee the district's ... http://bit.ly/x91GmB

●Chesco Senator Blasts Education Department: Where Will The Students Go?
Delaware County Daily Times - ‎Jan 6, 2012‎: Dinniman also asked where the students would go if the Chester Upland schools shut down. “We cannot tell another district to accept the students … you can't force other districts to take the students,” he said. Dinniman argued that the only option left .. http://bit.ly/Aa86mO.

●CHESTER UPLAND EMPLOYEES TO STAY ON JOB EVEN IF DISTRICT CAN'T PAY
Delaware County Daily Times - ‎Jan 4, 2012‎: By JOHN KOPP The Chester Upland School District's employee associations announced today that they plan to continue working as long as they are able, even if the district fails to meet payroll. A message posted on the district's web site by outgoing .. http://bit.ly/xOXe0s.

●COMMENTARY: BEST AND WORST EDUCATION MOMENTS OF 2011
Philadelphia Public School Notebook (blog) - ‎Jan 5, 2012‎: Chester-Upland School District One of the state's poorest districts, Chester-Upland became the experimental playground for an ideologically driven state takeover in 2000 that forced education management organizations and charters upon an already .. http://bit.ly/zBF8Hz.

●PA TEACHERS WORK FOR FREE, CORPORATIONS KEEP TAX LOOPHOLE
Gather.com - ‎Jan 6, 2012: ‎The budget cuts to the Chester Upland School District have already left the disadvantaged district struggling before the loss of the more funds. Class sizes are over 40 students per classroom and the staff has already been cut by over 40 percent to the .. http://politics.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980997736

●TEACHERS, STAFF AT PHILLY-AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT TO STAY ON, EVEN IF IT CAN'T ...
The Republic - ‎Jan 4, 2012‎ AP CHESTER, Pa. — Teachers and support staff at a suburban Philadelphia school district say they will remain on the job for as long as they are able even if the district is unable to pay them. The Chester Upland School District says it cannot meet .. http://bit.ly/y7GrBc

●IN DISTRESS
Newsworks.org (blog) - ‎Jan 5, 2012‎: By Shannon McDonald Chester Upland School District is hurting, and the petitions to the state for assistance continue. The latest comes from Sen. Jeffrey Piccola. The Dauphin County Republican has written to Pa. Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis ... http://bit.ly/AaRmZ0


HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
►LA TIMES: "Many Occupy L.A. protesters arrested during demonstrations in recent months are being offered a unique chance to avoid court trials: pay $355 to a private company for a lesson in free speech." | http://lat.ms/xwzfmd

4LAKids can't decide whether this is more like Comedy Traffic School or Maoist Cultural Revolutionary re-education? "To read too many books is harmful." - Mao Zedong

●Why are these classes being offered by a private company? ●Where is LAUSD Adult Ed? ●Where is the Community College District? ●Where is Sandra Day O'Connor's Civics Education initiative? ● What would Sheriff Arpaio do?

AJA (the private company) which has a turnkey arrangement with the City Attorney describes their program as being suitable diversion for alcohol, drug and sex offenses. http://bit.ly/z45ICM

Free Speech Civil Disobedience v. Alcohol, Drug and Sex offenses? – Sure – 4LAKids sees the obvious comparison/connection there!

Hey, Martin Luther King could’ve just taken an online test after viewing a DVD instead of writing his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Gandhi, Nelson Mandela - – same plea-bargain deal! Why stick to your principles when you solve injustice with an app?

And NotYetLAUSD tries to imagine: "… a social studies teacher in Occupy LAUSD having to attend lessons on the limits of the constitution and free speech. Any teacher in California has had to take the civics test to before they are allowed in the classroom. I don't remember limited free speech as one of the questions." | http://bit.ly/yT9a6A

Just imagine it in a John Lennony way ….only change the lyrics to make them acceptable to the imagineers that lack imagination. http://bit.ly/zwTx11 - smf

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FORMER BEVERLY HILLS SCHOOLS CHIEF UNLIKELY TO LOSE PENSION: Whether he is acquitted or convicted on charges of ...
A rationale for rationing access to the Master Plan for California Education: THE 100 POINT RULE AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES... http://t.co/lFVtkLw7
Consider the source: UPDATED TEACHER OBSERVATIONS KEY TO IMPROVEMENT, REPORT SAYS + smf's 2¢: A Gates Foundation... http://t.co/istpwiYG
PLAN B FROM D.C.: cartoon by Matt Davies/Tribune Media Services | Dec 28, 2011 | http://t.co/ISI5aFje http://t.co/rOZq3LNS
LAUSD TEACHERS SPEAK OUT AFAINST CUTS: One of LAUSD's cost saving measures includes hiring back laid off teacher... http://t.co/JVpmqIPq about 12 hours ago

LAUSD TEACHERS SPEAK OUT AGAINST CUTS: One of LAUSD's cost saving measures includes hiring back laid off teacher... http://bit.ly/zS1i1A

TopEd/EdGuess:DISTRICTS GET POWER, IF NOT CASH, IN GOV’S BUDGET+SWITCH TO WEIGHTED FUNDING, LOCAL CONTROL+DARLIN... http://bit.ly/wVAdRj

VIRTUAL CHARTERS LAG BEHIND OTHER SCHOOLS' PERFORMANCE, REPORT SAYS + Report: Only 27% of for-profits operating ... http://bit.ly/zBuGJe

STATE SCHOOLS CHIEF TOM TORLAKSON COMMENTS ON GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012-13: http://1.usa.g... http://bit.ly/zLb5lZ

Save the Date: ON JAN. 17, JOIN UTLA FOR A SPECIAL EVENT WITH EDUCATION EXPERT DIANE RAVITCH: Renowned author Di... http://bit.ly/AAZ7mk

PENNSYLVANIA TEACHERS WORK FOR FREE AFTER BUDGET CUTS: “We are currently unable to fund the district’s payroll e... http://bit.ly/xmOxxV

FORMER BEVERLY HILLS USD FACILITIES DIRECTOR SENTENCED TO 4 YEARS IN PRISON: Karen Christiansen may have to repa... http://bit.ly/yfWH38

Save the date: LACOE 3rd ANNUAL STREET GANG/SCHOOL SAFETY SYMPOSIUM :: Friday Feb. 24th: email from Los Angeles ... http://bit.ly/zvgRJX

1st Look: BROWN’S NEW BUDGET PROPOSAL:: from newsreaders Education officials scramble to assess Gov. Brown's bu... http://bit.ly/x1wIP2

(Not really a) LETTER TO EMPLOYEES: from not yet lausd | http://bit.ly/AuJxuk part of the ®eform inc. group... http://bit.ly/zt1Xt5

ONLINE PRESENCE A MUST IN TOP EDUCATION SCHOLARS LIST: The 2012 RHSU/AEI Edu-Scholar Public Presence rankings: B... http://bit.ly/AmFevQ

NO, THE SCHOOL NURSE IS NOT IN: The National Association of School Nurses reports that a quarter of schools don'... http://bit.ly/wz1J0R

Poem: SHOULDERS: by Naomi Shihab Nye/Heard on The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor Thursday Jan. 5, 2012 |... http://bit.ly/wb81IL

BALLOT INITIATIVE WOULD LET CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS COUNT ONLINE ‘ATTENDANCE’ + smf’s 2¢: San Francisco Business Time... http://bit.ly/xnGDHj

HIGHLAND PARK LOCAL IS ROSE PARADE PRINCESS: Franklin High School senior Sarah Zuno is on the Tournament of Rose... http://bit.ly/vkY1Rp

LIBRARIANS RARER SIGHT IN CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS: California schools have fewer librarians per student than any othe... http://bit.ly/uKDId9

PLAN B FROM D.C. cartoon by Matt Davies/Tribune Media Services | Dec 28, 2011 | http://bit.ly/yjFxR2


EVENTS: Coming up next week...


*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-241.8700


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Nury.Martinez@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Find your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!.


Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them?




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and is Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for ten years. He is a Health Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 2009 "WHO" Gold Award for his support of education and public schools - an honor he hopes to someday deserve. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids.
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