The May revision of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal includes an additional $2.5 billion reduction to public school funding, on top of $17 billion in cuts over the past two years.
The human cost of these cuts is staggering. Across the state, the ability of teachers to deliver quality education is being drastically compromised. Many thousands of teachers and support personnel will have to seek other employment. Class sizes are skyrocketing. School librarians and school nurses are becoming scarce. Fewer janitors must rotate classrooms to clean instead of cleaning nightly. Art, music and adult education programs are being eliminated.
Students don't get a second chance at second grade. They should have the attention of a teacher when they need it. But when there are 29 other kids who need attention, instead of 19, that becomes difficult. Any adult who has attempted to take care of this many children knows each additional child matters in the effort to maintain order, let alone ensure that learning can occur.
California is becoming a much more unequal place. The wealthiest 1 percent of Californians, who earn at least $400,000 per year, now take home one-quarter of the state's income. This compares with 15 years ago, when the same demographic group received 13 percent. But the poorest one-fifth of California's
families pay a higher percent of income (11 percent) in state income, sales and property taxes than the top 1 percent, who pay less than 8 percent.
Even as the rich got richer, they received tax cuts. They no longer pay their fair share for our schools and other public services — to the tune of billions of dollars each year that go into their pockets, not into education.
California's public school system was once the envy of the nation. It helped create a vibrant middle class. After years of financial neglect, it is now barely on life support. Only the extraordinary work of teachers and support staff keep it alive.
Yet the governor and some legislators are attempting to blame teachers for the ills of the schools, in an effort to direct public attention away from the political choices Sacramento made that created this unfolding disaster. The governor and his legislative allies loudly lament the layoffs of young teachers caused by their decisions to keep enormous tax loopholes intact for the rich and corporations, while blaming seniority provisions in teacher union contracts (and by implication, older teachers) for layoffs of the newest teachers.
Any good school needs a mix of younger and older teachers. The youngest teachers have energy and idealism. But they are still learning their craft. We also need experienced teachers to help the new ones become the best teachers by sharing lesson plans, teaching tips and advice about how to maintain discipline. We need to restore funding for programs that mentor the newcomers.
Seniority provisions in collective bargaining agreements did not cause the layoffs. Seniority provides transparent rules for workplace fairness, benefits younger teachers as they progress and allows them to envision careers in teaching. Before seniority rights existed, layoff decisions were based on arbitrary and inconsistent criteria, like who was closest to the principal.
The public should not be distracted by this blame game, and the state budget crisis should not provide an excuse to erode workplace rights. The real issue is whether we allow our elected officials to continue to enable wealthy individuals and corporations to dodge their fair share of taxes, or instead fund public education and vital social services at the level required for a healthy and prosperous California.
MARTY HITTELMAN is president of the California Federation of Teachers. He wrote this article for this newspaper.
