Low-Income Preschoolers in Freefall
By Vivian PoNew America Foundation
In a scene that is likely to be repeated in school districts throughout California in coming weeks, teachers and staff at the Helen Turner Children’s Center in Hayward spent last week packing boxes, hugging their colleagues and students goodbye—and collecting their last paychecks.
The center, which provides nearly 12 hours of care a day to 267 low-income preschoolers, was forced to shut its doors on Thursday, a victim of some $1.2 billion in proposed budget cuts to early childcare programs around the state.
In May, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would slash spending on extended-care programs by 40 percent, forcing districts to make deep cuts and working parents—most of whom have very limited options—to scramble for new childcare arrangements.
In preparation for the cuts, Hayward’s school board voted to issue pink slips to 48 full-time-equivalent positions last spring.
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Earth To California Voters: We Have Created A Train Wreck!
By Hannah Beth JacksonSpeak Out California
The latest poll shows that Arnold Schwarzenegger now holds the embarassing distinction of having the same 22% favorability rate as Gray Davis had when Davis became the first Governor in modern-day California to be recalled by an angry electorate.
Of course the public is angry again and for good reason: we're at a 12.3% unemployment rate; we have one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country; the Republicans in the legislature continue to demand that we cut the taxes of fat-cat corporations and the well-heeled oil industry and yet demand more from hard-working Californians, while providing us with less.
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