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| 4LAKids: Sunday, May 18, 2008 |  | | | In This Issue: | | • | "Flunk the Budget Friday": PARENT'S MARCH ON THE GOVERNORS OFFICE | | | • | LOCAL DISTRICT SEVEN PARENTS PROTEST ACTION+INACTION BY BIG DISTRICT, LAW ENFORCEMENT & PROSECUTORS IN ROONEY MATTER | | | • | BLAMING CLARK KERR + HIGHER EDUCATION FIGHTS BUDGET PROPOSED CUTS IN CALIFORNIA | | | • | NPR: REQUIRED LISTENING/PODCASTING | | | • | HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources | | | • | EVENTS: Coming up next week... | | | • | What can YOU do? | |
Featured Links: | | | | It was a busy week in California education, not a good week for California children.
►On Wednesday the governor rolled out his May Budget Revise - a worst case scenario, version two point oh. Not as bad as the January first look, but far too bad enough.
The good news is that the Prop 98 guarantees will be maintained, the bad news is the state raised so little revenue by Tax Day on April 15th it isn't worth suspending Prop 98! So the governor can claim to have heroically saved the Ed Budget …and he's actually adding $91 to each student's per pupil (ADA) allotment - thereby raising ADA about 1%.
Through some very clever statistical manipulation on a very complicated playing field the governor is able to claim that he's increasing spending for education by $194 million while actually reducing spending by more than $4 billion. Billion, with a B.
• Except that he still proposes to slash Categorical funding targeted to special needs students by 6 to 7%.
• He is not paying any Cost of Living Adjustments whatsoever to programs or ADA this year. The Federal COLA paid by Social Security is 2.3%; the COLA in California is far greater.
• The governor proposes to freeze lottery payments to Education at current levels and then to borrow against future lottery income to pay for the proposed $91 windfall! The governor styles the lottery "underperforming" because it's only 27th in the nation!
NOTE: 27th is actually above average — and California currently is 47th in the nation in per pupil funding, $1,000 below the national average, not $91! That's underperforming!
The budget is now out of the Gov's hands, it's now up to the Lege. The Good News and the Bad News is this May Budget Revision, like the January Budget Proposal, looks very little like what the final budget will be …when it is approved sometime this summer or fall in Sacramento.
However, by law, every school district in California and every state program must comply with THIS BUDGET until the real budget is reached.
Teachers will be fired based on this budget. Programs will be eliminated based on this budget. Programs in the Arts. Programs in Music. Programs to Reduce Class Size. Programs that would've educated our children to be better citizens. And that's not even considering cuts to children's' healthcare, welfare and social services - programs like foster care; these are all to be slashed 10%.
The Children's Defense Fund points out that if implemented, the Governor's "May Revise" budget would:
• Impose new, draconian policies in the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs that would result in more than 500,000 California children losing their health coverage over the next two years — increasing the number of uninsured children in California by 70%.
• Cut CalWORKs program grants for a reduction of $108.2 million. This is in addition to the $432.6 million CalWORKs slashing proposed in January, a policy that will eliminate cash assistance for 200,000 children.
• Cut $84 million from the child welfare services budget, limiting counties' ability to ensure the safety and well-being of the more than 70,000 California children in foster care.
• Reduce state funding for child care and development programs in 2008-09 and slash the maximum amount that certain child care providers could be paid.
• Maintain the Governor's proposed across-the-board reductions for a number of programs that assist children and families, including the Child Welfare Services Program, the Foster Care Program, the Adoption Assistance Program, and the California Food Assistance Program.
The schoolchildren of California will be brought up and educated in 2008-2009 - a year they will never get back - according to this budget.
Some will say that that's this the way it's been since 1978.
We Californians need to say that 'the way it's always been' has been a budget and a blueprint for failure; the result a diploma for disaster. We need to insist that this be the last year of this madness. We need to say this to our legislators very Flunk the Budget Friday - when they're in the district offices - we need to say it by phone, mail, e-mail, fax and in person And we need to say it at the ballot box.
Our children did not create this financial crisis. Their education should not be underfunded, their future should not be undermined because of it.
___________________
►On Wednesday State Superintendent O'Connell, Superintended Brewer, school board members, teachers union and parent leaders held a press conference at Rosemont Elementary School about the Budget Revise.
►On Friday parents from Californians Organized to Reform Eduacation (CORE), PTA and the LAUSD English Language Learner parent community led a "Flunk the Budget, not out kids!" march from Pershing Square to the governor's Los Angeles Office to protest the budget.
►Also Friday parents from Local Distinct Seven marched on that district's office to protest the Central Offices' handling of the Steven Rooney and related misconduct matters - alleging that administrative penalties handed out to administrators prove the old saw that in a bureaucracy no good deed goes unpunished.
Onward nonetheless! - smf
"Flunk the Budget Friday": PARENT'S MARCH ON THE GOVERNORS OFFICE
Assembled from dispatches from the front, mostly from Rochelle Lewis Fanali, from Santa Monica Malibu PTA and the California State PTA Legislative Committee
Friday, May 16, 2008 — We had about 110 wonderful enthusiastic parents in downtown LA today from throughout Southern California; marching four blocks from Pershing Square to the governor's office chanting "Save our Schools" and "Flunk the Budget" with a very warm reception (and a lot of honking) from downtown commuters along the way to cheer us on.
When we arrived, we heard passionate speeches from Scott Folsom who MC'd our event and Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, chair of the Assembly Education Budget Subcommittee (and former Santa Monica/Malibu school board president), who did a great job explaining why this budget flunks the test and is risky business. She urged us to continue to raise our voices for kids through the summer.
Next to speak were Penny Solomon and Ziona Friedlander, co-founders of Californians Organized to Rescue Education (CORE) a grass roots parent advocacy group from the Las Virgenes School District; Ziona presenting her version of a dialog with the governor …had he been there.
We heard from LAUSD District English Language Council leader Maria Lopez who graciously agreed at the last moment to deliver some comments in Spanish.
Finally we heard from radio personality and PTA mom Sandra Tsing Loh who was passionate, hilarious and hopeful in calling for a new revolution to rival Howard Jarvis' taxpayer revolution — a revolution of parents in support of our kids' future.
At the conclusion Donald Zimming, the superintendent of Las Virgenes USD cheered us on, it is up to parents, he said, to lead this crusade.
THEN (yes, there's more!) a 500-foot-long red banner -- courtesy of our friends at CORE -- with letters to the Governor from hundreds of children and parents was unfurled on the Spring Street sidewalk where FOX TV news' helicopter captured an aerial shot (which we understand was broadcast throughout Friday to their cable news affiliates worldwide). Pretty cool.
A delegation from the demonstration met with the governor's staff for a frank and fair exchange of ideas and a promise of further dialog. The governor's staff was presented with the "big, big banner" from CORE, ., plus reams of correspondence and petitions from other school district parent groups, including Paramount, Santa Monica/Mallbu and LAUSD groups …both PTA and not.
Congrat's to everyone for their hard work. It was so gratifying to partner PTA with CORE and DELAC to put together such a terrific event.
LOCAL DISTRICT SEVEN PARENTS PROTEST ACTION+INACTION BY BIG DISTRICT, LAW ENFORCEMENT & PROSECUTORS IN ROONEY MATTER
On Friday morning at 10AM a small dedicated group of parents gathered at the Local District Seven offices in South Los Angeles to protest the administrative action taken by LAUSD Beaudry against Local District Superintendent Carol Truscott and Director Scott Braxton in the Steven Rooney affair. Rooney is the Assistant Principal at Markham Middle School accused of having sexual relations with students at Markham and at an earlier assignment at Foshay Learning Center,
Parent Kelly Bedford, organizer of the event reports that the protest was orderly, with demonstrators representing Latino and African American parents agreed that Ms. Truscott and Mr. XXX are scapegoats and victims of a cover-up and overall lack-of-accountability by LAUSD, law enforcement and prosecutors in failing to properly act on the first round of accusations against Rooney - before he was reassigned to Markham and continued his alleged victimization of students.
Despite the fact that invitations were extended to news outlets only one local paper showed up to cover the demonstration - one that has produced national news coverage.
The parents have also not received response from earlier requests for information made to Superintendent Brewer, Senior Assistant Superintendent Cortines and members of the Board of Education. - smf
BLAMING CLARK KERR + HIGHER EDUCATION FIGHTS BUDGET PROPOSED CUTS IN CALIFORNIA
In a recent fundraising appeal from the UCLA Alumni Association Sherry Lansing - a regent of the University of California and former CEO of Paramount Pictures - writes under the provocative headline: "It’s Clark Kerr’s fault":
“Forty-seven years ago, the president of the University of California introduced an idealistic, untested and truly immodest plan to build the finest public higher education system in the nation.
“Happily, Doctor Kerr’s Master Plan succeeded, but there was an unforeseen consequence: It overperformed.
“Today, California’s public universities rank among the most highly regarded universities, public or private, in the nation or the world. Period.
“So, how can UCLA maintain that momentum, that excellence? How do we nourish this priceless community asset, this spectacular economic engine that enriches us all?
“Start with this reality check: “California state government funding for the university system has gone from 42% a generation ago to less than 18% today. And that money’s not coming back.
“One last thought: The future has been around for a very long time. It will be there tomorrow. But now is now.
'The momentum, the excellence, the need is now.”
Ms Lansing, if anything, underdescribes the impact, scope and shear audaciousness of Clark Kerr's plan, which created the UC system as we know it …and also the CSU system and the Community College system , and overarching program that reaffirmed California's long-time commitment to the principle of tuition-free education to residents of the state and a seat in the program — a promise that is being broken to current and future generations California students. The 1960 Master Plan did establish the principle that students should pay fees for auxiliary costs like dormitories and recreational facilities …but in succeeding years tuition has been imposed and then raised regularly in UC, cSU and Community College crograms
Budget cutters, bean counters and sellers of the concept that excellence is unaffordable have trimmed, nibbled and line-item-vetoed away at the California Master Plan for Higher Education, a law that remains on the books.
And Ms . Lansing sets her sights and expectations too low when she says that money is not coming back; as a regent she needs to audaciously, immodestly and abashedly insist otherwise
Yes there is room and opportunity and need for alumni and corporate and foundation support for higher ed; for donations and fundraisers. As there is for bake sales and gift wrap drives in K-12. But corporate funding and charitable funding of public education is NOT public education.
- smf
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HIGHER EDUCATION FIGHTS BUDGET PROPOSED CUTS IN CALIFORNIA
Julie Small - KPCC Radio
May 8, 2008 — California's three institutions of higher education have joined forces. They want to fight off a billion dollars in proposed budget cuts. They say if Sacramento makes the cuts, California's public colleges and universities will have to turn away tens of thousands of students next year. KPCC's Julie Small has more.
Julie Small: It's been almost 50 years since California adopted the Master Plan for Higher Education. The plan guaranteed admission to the University of California for the top one-eighth of the state's high school graduates. The top one-third would be assured places at California State University campus.
And all of the state's high school students could attend community college. Best of all, the Master Plan said all of those high school students could attend college "tuition-free." California Community College Chancellor Diane Woodruff says the Master Plan's authors set the gold standard for college admission.
Diane Woodruff: It was the first time in history that a state, or a nation, promised that there would be a spot in higher education for every single high school graduate, and that if you attended a community college and worked hard enough, that you too could transfer to the best universities in the world.
Small: Take last year. About a hundred thousand students transferred from community colleges to four-year universities in California. A third of the UC's graduates, and a hefty 60% of the grads from the CSU system, transferred in. That's the way the system's supposed to work. But University of California Provost Rory Hume warns that the state's proposed budget cuts could throw higher education into reverse.
Rory Hume: It's at risk today, it's at risk from a level of cuts that is unprecedented in its cumulative effects.
Small: Budget cuts could mean a freeze on hiring faculty, and Hume says that could cost the UC a lot of young and talented professors.
Hume: We won't be able to hire the best and the brightest young people. They'll go to, very probably, the Ivy League. We won't be able to retain the best people as their careers mature.
Small: The UC might have to freeze enrollment, too. Students who can't get into the UC often head to the CSU, but they may find that door closing, too. Chancellor Charles Reed says the CSU turned away 10,000 students this year. The students who did get in could be asked to pay an extra 10% in fees. That's almost $300 a year; even then, that won't cover the millions in cuts.
Charles Reed: We're going to have larger class sizes. We're going to provide less student services, academic advising, and help to students if we have to cut back. We're going to have fewer administrators, and fewer administrative services.
Small: Students who can't get into the UC or CSU, or who can't afford the higher fees, can still find a place at one of 109 California community colleges. But Community College Chancellor Diane Woodruff says the budget cuts could mean many more students, but a lot fewer classes.
Woodruff: Because our community colleges are open access institutions and we're not able to limit the enrollment the way UC and CSU do, the real impact is that even when students get in, they can't get the classes that they need to transfer or to graduate on time.
Small: Instead of cutting education funding, CSU Chancellor Charles Reed says the state should raise taxes to invest more.
Reed: California, as a state, has got to increase its revenue so that it can provide the government services that most good, healthy states provide.
Small: Reed says California's higher education system produces a skilled workforce that attracts employers, and keeps the state running. Without that magnet, he says, California's economy could lose jobs to states willing to pay a little more for higher education.
NPR: REQUIRED LISTENING/PODCASTING
The California State PTA Convention in Long Beach two weeks ago featured a number of highlights, including a motivational speech by "Freedom Writers" teacher-author Erin Gruell on the power of student writing in the 'hood and a workshop on violence in our schools by Markham Middle School change-agent Michelle McGillis and LAUSD Violence Prevention/AIDs Awareness maven Lori Vollandt it was my pleasure to moderate.
The subjects are revisited from another perspective on a trio of stories from today's Weekend Edition Sunday. (Locally 89.3 KPPC & 89.9 KCRW - or online/podcast at the link below)
• HIV Awareness Program Targets D.C. Students - Weekend Edition Sunday, May 18, 2008 · Washington, D.C. has the highest rate of the nation's reported cases of HIV, with 1 in 20 people infected. City Year, an organization that is providing D.C. students with a Center for Disease Control and Prevention approved, comprehensive curriculum in their own classrooms, is trying to combat the epidemic.
• ESSAY: Weekend Edition Sunday, May 18, 2008 · Reika Jibrin, a humanities at a Bay Area high school for students at risk of dropping out, recalls what it was like on the Monday after the one of the students was shot. The essayist provides a glimpse into the emotional and educational effects of community violence for students and teachers, and how they stay focused on the business of the school.
• TRUANCY: Weekend Edition Sunday, May 18, 2008 · "Truancy" is a dystopian novel written by Isamu Fukui, in which teachers and a city's totalitarian mayor indoctrinate students to mindlessly obey, as school-sanctioned bullies keep them in line with intimidation and violence. It's the author's first book — Fukui is himself still in high school, and wrote the novel when he was 15.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
• K-12 EDCATION FUNDING CUT BY 8.8%
• THE MAY REVISE & THE EDUCATION BUDGET: The reviews from up and down the state.
• FIRST RESPONSE TO THE MAY REVISE
• GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER'S BUDGET v 2.0: The May R...
smf on the state budget cuts (A 4LAKids YouTube moment!)
• TAMAR GALATZAN: The school board member talks abou...
• Lopez on Brewer: SUPERINTENDENT TREATS SCHOOLS LIKE...
• Los Angeles Times on Cortines: L.A. UNIFIEDS No. 2...
• LET DOWN, AGAIN, BY LAUSD
• FAILURE TO REPORT OR PROSECUTE IS NOT AN OPTION
• PAIR CHARGED IN ABUSE CASE ARE BACK IN SCHOOL: Pro...
• SOME OF CALIFORNIA'S MOST GIFTED STUDENTS ARE BEIN...
• School Notes: CARPENTER/PACOIMA PARTNERSHP + OPEN ...
• HUNDREDS RALLY IN SUPPORT OF CRENSHAW HIGH STUDENT...
• NewTech@Jeff: SMALL L.A. UNIFIED CAMPUS SHOWING LA...
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
• Tuesday May 20, 2008
SOUTH REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #6: Pre-Demolition Community Meeting
6:00 p.m.
61st Street Elementary School - Auditorium
6020 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90003
• Tuesday May 20, 2008
VALLEY REGION HIGH SCHOOL #5: Pre-Construction Community Meeting
6:30 p.m.
San Fernando High School
11133 O'Melveny Ave.
San Fernando, CA 91340
• Wednesday May 21, 2008
CENTRAL LOS ANGELES NEW LEARNING CENTER #1: Garden Gala
Join LAUSD for a spring celebration with food and activities, including a Home Depot Pot Planting Kids workshop…
…Gentle Readers, I did not make that copy up, I took it from the official flyer!
But I do have additional comments:
1. Why are they having an open house for kids during school hours on a school day during the famous "Month 'o Testing?"
2. This school actually has a name and also a location that would do a better job of informing the public what is going on and where:
The School is the ROBERT F. KENNEDY LEARNING CENTER (RFK-12)
@ the former Ambassador Hotel site …or are they hoping nobody will show up?
1 p.m.
Central Los Angeles New Learning Center #1
701 S. Catalina St.
Los Angeles, CA 90005
• Wednesday May 21, 2008
CENTRAL REGION HIGH SCHOOL #13: Pre-Construction Community Meeting
6:00 p.m.
Glassell Park Elementary School
Auditorium
2211 W. Avenue 30
Los Angeles, CA 90065
• Wednesday May 21, 2008
SOUTH REGION HIGH SCHOOL #8: Presentation of Design Development Drawings
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Heliotrope Elementary School
Auditorium
5911 Woodlawn Ave.
Maywood, CA 90270
• Wednesday May 21, 2008
VALLEY REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #10: Pre-Construction Community Meeting
6:30 p.m.
Sutter Middle School - Auditorium
7330 Winnetka Ave.
Canoga Park, CA 91306
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
MEETS 10AM ON WEDNESDAY 21 MAY IN THE LAUSD BOARDROOM, 333 S. Beaudry.
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-893-6800
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383
Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • 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 Schwarzenegger: 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.
• Register.
• Vote.
| |  |
| Scott Folsom is a parent and parent leader in LAUSD. He is immediate past President of Los Angeles 10th District PTSA and represents PTA as Vice-chair the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee. He serves on various school district advisory and policy committees and is a PTA officer and/or governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is also the elected Youth & Education boardmember on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council.
• 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.
• FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 4LAKids makes such material available in an effort to advance understanding of education issues vital to parents, teachers, students and community members in a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
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