SANTA CRUZ -- As talk continues among advocates to sue the state government for not properly funding public education, Santa Cruz school officials passed a resolution Wednesday night demanding state officials live up to their constitutional mandate to fund schools by raising revenue.

The district has sent preliminary pink slips to at least 50 employees, and agreed to administrative furloughs to rectify a $5.4 million budget shortfall for its roughly $60 million budget for 2010-2011. Early estimates provided by district officials Wednesday showed the cuts will continue into 2011-2012 to the tune of $4.5 million.

"It's time for the legislature to stop doing creative accounting," said Trustee Ken Wagman, referring to Proposition 98, which mandates a basic level of state funding for education.

Education analysts have said some changes to the formulas to calculate the basic level lowers that limit by $2 billion for K-12 education.

The talk of new taxes is ongoing through AB 656, among others, which would tax oil extraction. California is the only major oil-producing state that doesn't tax its removal from the earth.

The resolution lists the shortfalls in the state budget, the role of education in boosting California's economy and emergence from the current recession and the assertion that Santa Cruz schools can find no more cuts