Tomorrow, April 4th is the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis. He was there to support workers' collective bargaining rights. In honor of him, Cesar Chavez and working families everywhere, there are events across the country on Monday, April 4th. As of now, the closest event to Santa Rosa is in Novato. Follow this link to learn more.
Then, this Friday at SRJC there will be a panel to discuss the Education Crisis affecting California.
Panelists To address “Our Education Crisis” April 8
To help promote informed discussions at SRJC and across Sonoma County about the college’s current education challenges and the predicament of the larger education crisis that affects all California community colleges, universities, and the state’s K-12 education system, a panel discussion is scheduled on the Santa Rosa Campus on April 8 regarding “Our Education Crisis.”
Held from 2:00 - 4:00 PM in Newman Auditorium on the Santa Rosa Campus, the panel is the first of a three-part series that are organized by Michael Aparicio and co-sponsored by the Associated Students. The well-informed panel will include:
California Senator Noreen Evans, California Assembly Member Jared Huffmann, California Assembly Member Michael Allen, Santa Rosa School Board Member Larry Haenel, California Teacher's Association Sandra lowe, SRJC Vice-PresIdent of Student Services, Ricardo Navarrette
Following the panel discussion, panelists will participate in a 45 to 60 minute audience discussion. For more information, contact Michael Aparicio, Philosophy Department, at maparicio@santarosa.edu.
The March: Save our Schools March and National Call to Action is a powerful event planned for July 28-30 in Washington, D.C. and Nationwide.
This National Call to Action says Americans everywhere should demand
- Equitable funding for all public school communities
- End to high stakes testing for student, teacher, and school evaluation
- Curriculum developed for and by local school communities
- Teacher and community leadership in forming public education policies
Copy and pasted below from a CTA Action Alert:
ReplyDeleteUse CTA’s 1.888.268.4334 Number!
Call Lawmakers: Urge Them to Support Gov. Brown’s Temporary Tax Extension
We need your help now to stave off additional devastating cuts to public education and other public services.
Use CTA’s toll-free number – 1.888.268.4334 -- to call your local Assembly Member and state Senator and urge them to support Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to extend the state’s temporary tax measures.
Lawmakers have a choice between extending the temporary taxes or authorizing billions of dollars more in crippling cuts to public schools and other public services.
Background:
Schools would be hit with over $2.3 billion more in cuts if the Legislature does not agree to extend the temporary taxes or to place a measure on the June ballot to allow voters to extend them.
Both options take a two-thirds’ vote of the Legislature to achieve the goal, and it will require at least two Republicans in the state Senate and two in the state Assembly to join with all Democrats to extend the taxes or put the measure on a June special election ballot.
Key Points:
· K-12 schools and colleges have already been cut over $20 billion over the last three years--$3,000 per K-12 student.
· Class sizes are soaring, programs are disappearing and entire school years are shrinking in many school districts.
· More than 30,000 California educators and 10,000 other public school employees have been laid off over the past three years.
· Without an extension of current revenues, public schools and colleges will lose more than $2.3 billion.
Here’s what you can do to help!
Use CTA’s toll-free 888 number to call both your state Senator and Assembly Member. Dial 1.888.268.4334 and you will be put automatically through to one of your two state lawmakers.
If you are calling from your home landline phone, the toll-free number will connect you automatically to your Assembly member or State Senator.
If the hotline cannot read your number, it will ask you to enter your zip code and then you will be connected.
You will need to call back to be connected to your second lawmaker.
After you have made your two calls, close the loop by e-mailing lfeldman@cta.org to let us know:
1) Who did you meet with or reach by phone?
2) What was the response? Will the lawmaker support the tax extension?
For more information, contact Legislative Advocate Estelle Lemieux or GR Communications Consultant Len Feldman at 916.325.1500
Update: Jerry Brown failed to reach a deal with Republican legislators to extend higher taxes on vehicles, income and sales. Read more about that here: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/04/03/3524881/gov-brown-deals-with-failure-in.html The above article from The Sacramento Bee suggests that Brown's next move may be to take the fight directly to the people in an effort to drum up enough signatures to for a voter initiative. I'll say it once more: It's a good time to be out in the streets. Bipartisan, back room negotiations are not going to win this fight.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow, April 4th is the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis. He was there to support workers' collective bargaining rights. In honor of him, Cesar Chavez and working families everywhere, there are events across the country on Monday, April 4th. As of now, the closest event to Santa Rosa is in Novato. Follow this link to learn more: http://local.we-r-1.org/weareone/events/search?zip=&commit=GO&state=CA
ReplyDeleteThen, this Friday at SRJC there will be a panel to discuss the Education Crisis affecting California.
Panelists To address “Our Education Crisis” April 8
To help promote informed discussions at SRJC and across Sonoma County about the college’s current education challenges and the predicament of the larger education crisis that affects all California community colleges, universities, and the state’s K-12 education system, a panel discussion is scheduled on the Santa Rosa Campus on April 8 regarding “Our Education Crisis.”
Held from 2:00 - 4:00 PM in Newman Auditorium on the Santa Rosa Campus, the panel is the first of a three-part series that are organized by Michael Aparicio and co-sponsored by the Associated Students. The well-informed panel will include:
California Senator Noreen Evans, California Assembly Member Jared Huffmann, California Assembly Member Michael Allen, Santa Rosa School Board Member Larry Haenel, California Teacher's Association Sandra lowe, SRJC Vice-PresIdent of Student Services, Ricardo Navarrette
Following the panel discussion, panelists will participate in a 45 to 60 minute audience discussion. For more information, contact Michael Aparicio, Philosophy Department, at maparicio@santarosa.edu.