Elementary students join uprising against education cuts
ELK GROVE, CA -- Students at Elliott Ranch Elementary School in Elk Grove were out front and center Friday morning with bright signs, drums and their outside voices to shout their concerns over budget cuts that could send their teachers packing.
"We are here because we are so tired of continually slashing the funding for our schools," said parent Annette Luke. "They've taken away everything. They've pink slipped half of our teachers and that's going to cause a huge increase in class size - almost a 50 percent increase."
Elliott Ranch is one of thousands of schools across California hit hard by the state's $20 billion dollar budget deficit. Education funding for K-12 has been cut by almost that much at $17 billion over the last two years.
On the Elk Grove Unified School District's Web site, Superintendent Steven M. Ladd, Ed.D. wrote, "the reduction in State funding means a loss of $60.5 million to our $470 million general fund. This follows two years of budget reductions totaling more than $40 million. Due to decisions made by the Governor and the legislature, EGUSD will have to make more than $100 million in budget cuts over three school