Speak Up for Children and Families

Your help is needed to get the message to state leaders

1) Call your Assembly member, State Senator, and the Governor today to tell them to protect funding for education and critical services for children and families.

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Contact the Governor

Sample message:

My name is (your name) from (name of your city). My children attend (names of your childrens’ schools), and I urge (Senator X, Assembly member X, the Governor) to protect funding for education by not suspending Proposition 98.

We must also protect critical programs for children and families such as Healthy Families, CalWORKs and Cal Grants. I strongly believe that we must invest in our children to protect their future and the future of our state.

2) Send letters to the editor at your local newspaper about what is happening in your school as a result of the devastating statewide cuts to education.

For more information on how to submit a letter to the editor and a listing of local newspapers contacts, please visit the “Letters to the Editor” tab on the Education Coalition’s “Protect Our Students” website.

Don’t forget to check your local newspaper for word-count limits, and please remember to include your name, home address and phone number!

San Mateo County newspapers include the San Mateo County Times and the San Mateo Daily Journal.

Background

State budget negotiations continue in Sacramento, and education and children’s services continue to face the threat of drastic cuts.

Recently, the Governor proposed suspending Proposition 98, the voter-approved Constitutional funding guarantee for K-12 education and community colleges. California State PTA opposes suspending the funding guarantee.

The Governor’s proposal would not only result in even deeper cuts to education in 2009-10, but would lower that funding guarantee in future years. Our students in communities throughout California are already suffering from the impact of billions of dollars in state budget cuts that have been enacted.

We also continue to strongly oppose the proposed elimination or deep cuts to vital programs for children, families and students such as CalWORKs, Healthy Families and Cal Grants. These programs serve hundreds of thousands of children and students. It is shameful that any state leader in 2009 would even consider eliminating them, especially when our state receives matching dollars from the federal government for operating some of them.

The Governor and legislators say the state budget crisis is so bad that we have no choice but to severely cut education and health and welfare services for kids.

They are wrong!

A budget is a reflection of our values. We value the future of our children and the future of California – and we cannot support any budget plan that drastically shortchanges our children or our future.

California State PTA:

• Supports a balanced approach to solving the state budget deficit, one that includes some additional revenues to prevent even deeper cuts to children’s education programs and services.
• Opposes the Governor’s proposal to suspend Proposition 98.
• Supports full funding for Healthy Families, CalWORKs and Cal Grants – essential programs that promote the health and well-being of children, students and families in California.

To read the California Budget Project’s July 2 analysis of the Governor’s budget proposals, click here.

For more information, go to www.capta.org.