California Education Budget Deficits Balanced on Teacher's Backs
By Jennifer Wolfe | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 19 hrs ago
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COMMENTARY | Education is looking anything but golden in the state of California. As Obama fights to reform higher education, and California Governor Jerry Brown struggles to balance a deficit budget, school districts, teachers, parents and voters face some very tough decisions in the next month.
In communities all across California education is in a crisis. With the state sending IOUs for the last several years to attempt to correct the downward spiraling budget mess, school districts have been scrambling to create 'Band-Aid' plans to close their budget gaps. Retirement incentives, teacher and employee concessions, property taxes, and fundraising donations have all helped keep schools afloat,