Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/9051
NO MORE CUTS! not gimmicks.” “Even a 12-year-old is aware and can feel the trickle-down effects that cuts are making in his school,” said Bruce Grin- inger, a teacher at Lyman Gilmore Middle School, in an interview with the news- paper The Union. Grininger was out distributing pam- phlets to parents with his colleagues in the Grass Val- ley Teachers Association. “The situation is beyond urgent. We need everyone aware and prepared to stand together and stand up for our schools.” In Wi l l ows , wh e r e ABOVE: College students join in a protest at the Capitol in Sacramento. Manteca Educators Association Pres- ident Ken Johnson said that class sizes in Manteca had increased from 20 to 32, and all of the high school librarians and 60 percent of the school counselors had been laid off. “We need to change the direction of our state and build a better California for all of us,” said Johnson. “We must demand that poli ticians fund our schools with stable, consistent revenue, teachers participated in a 7 a.m. ra l l y, Wi l lows Teacher Association Presi- dent Shelley Amaro told the local newspaper, “It’s important to act on a local level and get people involved. We want people to begin thinking about protecting education.” At least 24 smaller chapters in Kern County participated in activities by put- ting signs in their car windows and parking them along the busy streets where parents dropped off students. Among them were teachers associations in the Fruitvale, Panama-Buena Vista, Edison, Delano Elementary, Lost Hills, El Tejon, Standard and Rosedale school districts. Much of the major action in the Cen- tral Valley took place on college campus- es. Students at CSU campuses in Bakers- field, Fresno and Stanislaus, San Joaquin Delta College and Merced College were among those who participated in rallies to protest the elimination of course of- ferings and the escalating costs of higher LEFT: A student-led mock funeral for education at Monterey Trail High School in Elk Grove. RIGHT: In Northern California, CTA members brave the early morning cold on March 4 bringing their message to commuters in Willits. > Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about the devastation the cuts at your school. > Make a presentation at a local commu- nity group. > Continue dialogue at standupforschools. org, take your own video and post it to YouTube . > Create a flier and put a real face on program cuts and layoffs in your local community. > Post your local RIF information on your association website or Facebook page. > Continue to contact your legislators using the toll-free hotline at 1-888-268-4334 telling them NO MORE CUTS! education. One of the largest gatherings of students was at the state Capitol, where students from CSU Sacramento, CSU Chico, UC Santa Cruz and local commu- nity colleges joined faculty leaders for an “Educate the State” rally. There, college student Reid Milburn, president of the Student Senate of Cali- fornia Community Colleges, told the crowd, “Our courses have been slashed, our programs reduced, our faculty are being laid off. … How are we going to save the future if we can’t even get into our classes?” DINA MARTIN MARCH 2010 | www.cta.org 15 CTA photo by Dina Martin CTA photo by Dina Martin Photo courtesy of Willits Teachers Association