Archive for category State PTA News

Cross-posted from the May 20th Press Release

A historic lawsuit was filed today against the State of California requesting that the current education finance system be declared unconstitutional and that the state be required to establish a school finance system that provides all students an equal opportunity to meet the academic goals set by the State.

The case, Robles-Wong, et al. v. State of California, was filed in the Superior Court of California in Alameda County. Specifically, the suit asks the court to compel the State to align its school finance system—its funding policies and mechanisms—with the educational program that the State has put in place. To do this, plaintiffs allege, the State must scrap its existing finance system; do the work to determine how much it actually costs to fund public education to meet the state’s own program requirements and the needs of California’s school children; and develop and implement a new finance system consistent with Constitutional requirements.

The lawsuit was filed by a broad coalition, including more than 60 individual students and their families, nine school districts from throughout the State, the California School Boards Association (CSBA), California State PTA, and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).

“Filing this lawsuit was a last resort,” said CSBA President Frank Pugh. “Education funding has been in a deteriorating spiral in California for decades. A failure to act now threatens the future of California’s students and the future of our state. The Governor and lawmakers have known for some time that the current school finance system is harming students and they’ve done nothing to remedy the crisis. The $17 billion in cuts to education have only made a dire situation even worse. California’s unstable, unsound and insufficient school finance system is robbing our students of an education.”

“This lawsuit seeks to ensure that the State, the Legislature and the Governor comply with the Constitution and fund and deliver the promised education program to all students in the state,” said Bill Abrams, a partner at the law firm of Bingham McCutchen and counsel for plaintiff students and families. “The Constitution requires that school funding ‘first be set apart’ to meet program demands, and provides that education is a fundamental right and must be made equally available to every child. Too often, this isn’t the case, and the State balances its budget on the backs of its students by cutting or underfunding education programs, and thus prevents schools from meeting its own education standards.”

California’s broken school finance system has undermined the ability of districts to educate our children by making no connection between what is expected of schools and students and the funding provided in order to meet those expectations.

California has set clear requirements for what schools are expected to teach and what students are expected to learn. But the state has failed in its obligation to provide the resources necessary to meet these requirements. The state’s failure to support the required educational program adversely affects all students. Academic achievement results show California’s irrational, unstable and insufficient school finance system denies students the opportunity to become proficient in the State’s academic standards.

“Numerous reports during the last decade have documented the state’s failure to remedy the broken school finance system. The Governor’s own Committee on Educational Excellence in 2007 concluded that our current system is not producing the results that taxpayers and citizens are counting on and that our students deserve,” said Chuck Weis, president of the Association of California School Administrators. “We are asking the courts to require the State to meet the expectations set by law in the Constitution.”

California’s unique revenue and expenditure system makes our schools almost completely dependent on the state, and yet the Governor and Legislature have failed to make education a priority.

The Constitution gives education financing a unique priority by requiring that “from all state revenues there shall first be set apart the monies to be applied by the State for support of the public school system.” Instead, school financing has been battered by instability that prohibits necessary planning to deliver what has been promised to students, and as a result all students suffer. Only half of all California students are proficient in English-language arts; and less than half (approximately 46 percent) are proficient in mathematics. In addition, fewer than 70 percent of California students graduate from high school.

“We require students to meet high education standards and then deny them the resources they need to meet those standards,” said Jo A.S. Loss, president of the California State PTA. “We must have a system that allows schools to deliver a high-quality education for all children – in good times and in tough times.”

Currently, the state ranks 47th among all states in its per-pupil spending on education, spending $2,856 less per pupil than the national average.

Yet most Californians, according to a recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, believe there is not enough state funding going to public schools, and a majority single out K-12 education as the area that they most want to protect from spending cuts.

“Since I started going to school at Alameda High as a freshman, I know that summer programs have been cut. I know that teachers have been laid off. And I know that programs that are supposed to help my classmates and me go to college have been cut,” said Maya Robles-Wong, a 16-year-old 11th-grader and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “I’m not an expert in education finance, but I know enough to say that it’s not because my teachers and our schools aren’t trying to give us what we need. I know that the real problem is that the State is not providing the support my school needs to teach me everything I need.”

Ignoring the facts about our state’s education finance system will deny generations of students the opportunity to be competitive and successful in our global economy. California educates the most diverse student population in the nation and yet we rank nearly last in per- pupil funding. Unless the State fixes the broken school finance system, students will be denied the opportunity to become informed citizens and productive members of society.

For more information about the school finance lawsuit, please visit www.fixschoolfinance.org.

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Watch California State PTA President Jo Loss present at the May 20 press conference [Facebook Video]
Read all of the press statements from the San Francisco and Sacramento conferences [PDF]
View a Fact Sheet about the lawsuit
Download a Copy of the Robles-Wong v. California Complaint [PDF]

California State PTA issued the following statement today in response to the Governor’s May Revision to the state budget. In the coming weeks, we will be analyzing the specific proposals and providing more information to you to assist in advocacy efforts.

SACRAMENTO – Jo A.S. Loss, president of California State PTA, issued the following statement in response to the Governor’s May Revision of the 2010-2011 budget proposal.

The Governor continues to propose cuts to education, children’s programs and critical social services that are intolerable and unconscionable. The first responsibility of our elected officials is to meet the fundamental needs of all of our children, including a quality education.

The Governor stated that a budget should be a reflection of what we value most. Yet, his proposal does not at all support what Californians care about most: our children.

The Governor also spoke about the need to create jobs and stimulate our economy. Healthy, well educated students are critical for a strong economy.

Any responsible approach to solving the current fiscal crisis requires a balanced approach, including additional revenues. These brutal cuts jeopardize the future of our children and the future of our state.

We are deeply disturbed that the Governor’s May Revision chooses to solve the state’s current fiscal crisis with massive cuts. This was not the only option. Choosing to impose these cuts on our children is unacceptable.

We call upon all Californians to speak up and demand a budget that invests in and meets the needs of California’s 9 million children.

We have seen more than $17 billion in cuts to public education in the last two years. The Governor’s May revision proposes to continue cutting education funding at the same levels as proposed in January. Class sizes are increasing, and we are already losing arts, music, gifted programs and extra-curricular activities. Our most vulnerable students are losing academic support programs and intervention services. School libraries are closing or reducing the hours they are available to students. Already among the last in the nation in the number of nurses, librarians and counselors per student, we are losing even more of these critical members of our education communities.

PTA is equally worried about the threats to the health, safety and well-being of California’s children. Eliminating CalWORKS and decimating child care and other programs as proposed in the May revision will have a devastating effect.

The people of California want a budget that reflects their values. 79 percent of California voters are opposed to making further cuts to public schools to reduce the state budget deficit. A majority of Californians believe that there is not enough state funding going to public schools, and 66 percent would be willing to pay higher taxes to maintain current funding for public schools.

Business officials agree that investing in education is critical. Top Silicon Valley business leaders note that improving K-12 education is one of the most important things the state should do to improve the business climate. Good schools are needed to recruit the best employees.

The future prosperity of our state requires a well-educated workforce able to compete in the global economy. Brutal cuts to our schools and critical services to children jeopardize California’s future.

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This evening, the California Budget Project plans to post a quick overview of the May Revision on its website – www.cbp.org.
As details emerge regarding the budget, we will send more information to you. We will also post updated information on our website -www.capta.org.

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!

Please e-mail your legislators.

Remind them that their obligation to all of California’s children does not stop when times get tough.

A budget is a reflection of our values. We value the future of our children and the future of California. We understand cuts to education programs will be enacted as part of a budget deficit solution. But the cuts currently being considered are far too deep and will shortchange an entire generation.

To read California State PTA President Pam Brady’s statement on the budget negotiations, click here.

Please call or e-mail your state Assembly member, state Senator and the Governor right away and deliver the following messages:

• Support a balanced budget approach that includes some additional revenues to prevent even deeper cuts to children’s education programs and services.
• Support full funding for Healthy Families, CalWORKs and Cal Grants – essential programs that support the health and well-being of children, students and families.

Find Your Legislators | Contact the Governor

The Governor and all legislators need to continue to hear directly from parents and PTAs about the devastating impact that cuts proposed in the state budget will have on children. We know many of you have been contacting legislators; it is vital to remind them that PTAs throughout the state and all parents are watching their actions closely.

California State PTA President Pam Brady released the following statement today regarding ongoing state budget deliberations in Sacramento:

“The latest budget proposals put forward by the Governor and the legislative conference committee still fail the basic test of good government: They do not reflect the values of our communities, and they do not put our children first. The magnitude of cuts included in these budget proposals will shortchange an entire generation of students. And today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce. Our state’s economic health in the future depends on the level of support we provide in our classrooms now.

“Legislative leaders who crafted the conference committee plan should be acknowledged for their efforts to take a more balanced approach than the Governor to solving the state’s current budget deficit. The conference committee plan, which did not pass out of the Senate or Assembly yesterday, would have generated some additional revenues to help mitigate cuts and to save essential programs that the Governor proposed to eliminate entirely, such as Healthy Families, CalWORKs 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.”

Education cuts still too deep

“The conference committee plan proposes about $680 million less in cuts to education programs than the Governor’s plan. The conference committee plan also took an important step by recognizing that cuts made to schools in the past two years must be repaid in future years when the economy improves. Again, we acknowledge the efforts of legislative leaders to try to cushion the impact of even deeper cuts on our schoolchildren. In this difficult budget situation, some additional cuts to education will be enacted, but the more than $5 billion in additional cuts proposed for this year and next is still too deep. These cuts come on top of more than $11 billion that has already been cut from schools.

“Children in our classrooms right now deserve better. At a time when students need more access than ever to quality programs and services so they can succeed in the future and help California thrive, we cannot pull the rug out from under them.

“A grave political climate currently exists in Sacramento: The super-majority vote needed to raise additional revenues to offset some of these deep cuts is extremely difficult to achieve. However, as the voice on behalf of nearly 1 million volunteer members and on behalf of more than 6 million children in the state, we cannot support any budget plan that drastically shortchanges children, just because it may be the ‘best that can be hoped for politically.’

California must stand for big visions and big dreams. We urge legislators and the Governor to put children first in their deliberations.

The California State PTA has nearly 1 million members throughout the state working on behalf of public schools, children and families, with the motto, “Every child, one voice.” The PTA is the nation’s oldest, largest and highest profile volunteer organization working to improve the education, health and welfare of all children and youth. The PTA also advocates at national, state and local levels for education and family issues. The PTA is nonprofit, nonsectarian and noncommercial.

For more information about the California State PTA, visit www.capta.org.