History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Schools potentially face tremendous cuts
- 03-31-2011
-
By Sharon Noguchi/San Jose Mercury News
With budget negotiations in Sacramento in tatters, the bloodletting is starting to come into focus. The state is facing the threat of a damaged credit rating and even more cuts to the poor, disabled and elderly. And now California schools are also grappling with a nightmare scenario: $1,000-per-student cuts, 30 days shaved off the school year and school districts falling into bankruptcy. On Wednesday, the budget crisis of 2011 entered Phase Two. Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers have said all along that they would have little option but to slash education spending if voters didn't extend sales, income and auto taxes in a June election. K-12 education had been protected in the $8.2 billion in cuts -- mostly affecting the state's most vulnerable populations -- signed by Brown last week. But now that the governor's talks with Republicans about putting those tax extensions on the June ballot have broken down, the anxiety level among educators is off the charts. Schools that have accepted larger class sizes, no art or music programs, and teacher furloughs and layoffs are now bracing for cuts so draconian that many educators have avoided thinking about them. (more...)
Also: Sign on San Diego
Print this
