CTA Applauds Lawsuit Calling on the State to Adequately Fund California Public Schools
Contact Sandra Jackson at 916-325-1550
President David A. Sanchez released the following statement today about the lawsuit by the California School Boards Association, California PTA, and the Association of California School Administrators
BURLINGAME – “California educators know firsthand how the chronic underfunding of public schools is destroying the progress our students and schools are making and is denying a generation of children a real opportunity to succeed. CTA believes every child has the right to a quality public education and that California has a constitutional obligation to provide adequate funding to all schools.
“We are proud to support the goals of the lawsuit filed by the California School Boards Association, the Association of California School Administrators, and the California State PTA requiring state lawmakers to uphold their constitutional duty and design and implement a school finance system that provides all students equal access to a quality educational program.
“Three years ago, the comprehensive Getting Down to Facts research studies showed that California needed to spend 40 percent more—an additional $17 billion at that time—to ensure that all students were able to meet the state’s rigorous academic standards. Since then, more than $17 billion has been cut from K-12 funding, showing that the state is definitely headed in the wrong direction.
“All students should have a right to attend schools with reasonable class sizes, qualified teachers and adequate resources. It’s unfortunate that lawsuits must be filed because our governor and legislators have failed to fulfill their constitutional obligation and invest in our state’s most important resource—our children.”
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The 325,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.