Video: The Occupy Seattle Public Education Work Group Invites the Gates Foundation to a Policy Throwdown
Seattle Protest and March for Public Education
March 1 National Day of Action for Education
Banks got bailed out, students and teachers got sold out!
Thursday, March 1
2:45pm – Gather at Westlake Park
3:30pm – March to the Gates Foundation Headquarters (5th & Mercer)
4:15pm – Rally, teach-in, and grade-in led by the Seattle Education Association and UW professor Wayne Au
4:30pm – ‘Policy Throwdown’ with the Gates Foundation (if they have the guts to show) – a General Assembly style open discussion of education and charter schools facilitated by Garfield High teacher Jesse Hagopian
RSVP on Facebook
Students and teachers should not have to pay for the crisis created by the 1%. We refuse to accept the dismantling of our schools and universities, while the banks and corporations make record profits. We refuse to accept budget cuts, educational re-segregation, attacks on teacher unions, rising class sizes, massive tuition increases, outrageous student debt, and increasing privatization and corporatization.
They got bailed out and we got sold out – but through nationally coordinated mass action we can and will turn back the tide of austerity.
The Washington State Supreme Court recently ruled that the State is out of compliance with its “paramount constitutional duty” to fully fund education. K-12 education’s share of the state budget has been in decline since 1981. Since the “Great Recession”, Washington State has cut $10 billion from public education and social services, with over $3 billion slashed from K-12 funding alone. Washington State now ranks 42nd in the nation in per-pupil spending and has the 3rd highest class sizes in the country. State universities have raised tuition by over 47% in the last three years.
But rather than devote more funding to providing quality public education, state politicians are putting forward legislation that would open the door to charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately owned and run. These unaccountable schools are exempt from state standards and union contracts. The Gates Foundation is a leading backer and promoter of charter schools nationwide, despite the fact that their own Stanford University study showed that charters, on average, perform worse than public schools. Charter schools are nothing more than a stepping stone toward privatization of education.
This article in the Washington Post, Gates spends millions to sway public on ed reform, and the leaked secret memo it excerpts, describe the Gates Foundation’s plans to secretly manipulate public opinion by taking advantage of the dire financial condition of the national school districts.
We call on all students, teachers, workers, and parents from all levels of education — pre-K-12 through higher education in public and private institutions — and all Occupiers, labor unions, and organizations of oppressed communities to mobilize on March 1st to tell those in power:
The resources exist for high-quality education for all.
We demand:
- Full funding for public education and social services
- Tax the 1%
- No budget cuts
- No tuition hikes
- No attacks on teacher unions
- No privatization of public education
Organized by the Occupy Seattle Public Education work group. For more info, contact ospubliceducation@gmail.com.
Endorsed by:
Occupy Seattle Labor Caucus
Parents Across America
Parents for Skateparks
Social Equality Educators
To get involved in helping to plan and organize the Seattle day of action, come to an OS Public Education work group meeting — every Tuesday, 6pm, east-side of the 2nd floor of the Washington State Convention Center, Pike between 7th & 8th.
Hope to see you there!
Please RSVP on Facebook
Flyer available here
To endorse the Seattle day of action, please contact: ospubliceducation@gmail.com.
