Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/72908
TAKING A STAND Revised budget raises stakes for schools in November election WHEN GOV. JERRY BROWN prepared to unveil his revised budget built on updated projections of revenues and costs, he warned that the picture would not be pretty. The final budget sent to him by the Legislature just prior to the June 15 deadline proves the point. Should voters reject the governor's revenue initiative in November, the budget's automatic "trig- ger" cuts would slash another $6.1 bil- lion from schools and higher education. The governor's original budget had projected that about $4.9 billion in trig- ger cuts to K-12 schools would hang on the outcome, but a slow-to-recover state economy and lower-than-expected revenues have boosted schools' stake in the outcome to $5.5 billion. The state's higher education systems could lose another $600 million, should the gover- nor's Schools and Public Safety Protec- tion Act of 2012 not gain the needed majority in the general election. Fearing voters may reject the initia- would wreak on our classrooms." Throughout California, CTA members tive, school districts have issued an esti- mated 20,000 layoff notices and made local budget proposals that include sharp reductions in vital educational programs. "We must win passage of the gover- nor's revenue initiative," declared CTA President Dean E. Vogel. "More than 6 million students are counting on us. The additional revenue won't turn around years of underfunding, but it will stop the additional havoc the trigger cuts Congratulations Credentials and Certificates Multiple and Single Subject Administrative CTEL Education Counseling School Psychology Special Education: Mild/Moderate Reading and Language Arts Child Life Specialist Bachelors Liberal Studies Child Development Programs throughout California College of Education and Organizational Leadership 1950 Third Street, La Verne, CA 91750 laverne.edu 877-GO-TO-ULV degreeinfo@laverne.edu 40 California Educator June/July 2012 Masters Educational Management School Counseling School Psychology Special Education Reading Special Emphasis Child Life Child Development Doctoral Organizational Leadership (Ed.D.) CCTC and NCATE approved WASC accredited tance of the November election came as EdSource, a nonpartisan education think tank, released its study of how budget cuts have swelled class sizes in schools to the state Capitol on Presidents Lobby Day, May 22, to urge lawmakers to protect school funding. They shared stories about how cuts will impact their classrooms. The new warnings about the impor- are being urged to communicate fre- quently and effectively about the devas- tation that cuts of more than $20 billion over the past five years have inflicted on their students. More than 200 local leaders came to the California School Superintendent of the Year 2011 and University of La Verne Doctorate in Organizational Leadership Alumna U.S. News & World Report and Forbes Magazine 2011-2012 Dr. Lou Obermeyer Superintendent Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District