Raucous protesters fill SF Civic Center�|�The Guardsman

Raucous protesters fill SF Civic Center�|�The Guardsman

Raucous protesters fill SF Civic Center

Posted on 10 March 2010 by Guardsman Staff

By William Chamberlin, Alex Emslie and Greg Zeman
The Guardsman

More than 5,000 students, labor representatives and citizens concerned with California public education arrived at San Francisco Civic Center Plaza at 5 p.m. on March 5.

United Educators of San Francisco helped organize the San Francisco portion of a 40-California-county and 34-state cry against educational and labor budget cuts.

“Right now we are all suffering,” UESF President David Kelly said. “We don’t want to suffer anymore. We are here to change the priorities of California’s government.”
At the rally’s high point, the crowd swelled to approximately 10,000 and filled the plaza to Larkin Street.

“Look around you!,” Ocean campus Associated Students President Ryan Vanderpol shouted from the stage attached to a teamster semi. “If you are with me, you are outraged too!”

There were over 30 different community organizations on foot handing out flyers and signs.
There were dancers in assorted places through the crowd and even a girl walking by on stilts.

“I’m hoping that we can double or triple this for the March in March,” City College trustee Chris Jackson said. “We need that type of a movement to get these politicians to recognize that prisons are one thing and education is a whole separate other thing, and to prioritize prisons over education is an abomination.”

Numerous speakers at the rally encouraged students to sign petitions and vote to change California tax and budget policies they blamed for the current crisis in public sector funding.

Hal Hundsman, president of the City College Academic Senate, said the large turnout was indicative of the dire situation faced by state-funded sch

'Invest in Kids' report calls for more funding of after-school programs - San Jose Mercury News

'Invest in Kids' report calls for more funding of after-school programs - San Jose Mercury News

'Invest in Kids' report calls for more funding of after-school programs

By Diana Samuels

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: 03/10/2010 09:40:36 PM PST

Updated: 03/11/2010 12:21:02 AM PST

Educators often say California doesn't spend enough money on students, but when it comes to after-school programs it has the rest of the nation beat. California spends three times more on after-school programs than the other 49 states combined.

In a new report released Wednesday, the anti-crime nonprofit "Fight Crime: Invest in Kids" urges state lawmakers to expand funding for the successful after-school programs. Local law enforcement officials and after-school program leaders on the Peninsula echoed the organization's findings, saying they see firsthand how keeping children off the streets after school helps prevent crime.

Travis Martin, executive director of Mountain View's Police Activities League, remembered two students who had been "involved in the gang life" and were arrested by the police officer who coaches the PAL boxing program. PAL aims to bring together police officers and at-risk youths through activities such as soccer camps and tennis lessons.

The two students became involved in the boxing program, and have stayed in it since.

"They both have grown over the past couple years, dropped all of their gang connections and drastically increased their grades," Martin said. "And one of them I think actually wants to become a police officer."

State and federal funds provide money for more than 4,200 K-12 after-school programs throughout the state, serving more than 400,000 students, according to the new report by Invest in

California's College Dreamers - WSJ.com

California's College Dreamers - WSJ.com
"Memo to marching students: The governor can't save you. You guys need a new legislature. This one is selling you out. Organize an opposition and vote them out in November. Plan B is quit school and become a state billboard inspector."

Hundreds of University of California students rallied against a 32% tuition hike last week. Let's hope their future employers get a better work product. With just a little research, the students could have discovered that compensation packages won from the state by unions were a big reason for the hike.

Last year, the state cut funding to the 10-campus system to $2.6 billion from $3.25 billion. To make up for the reduction in state funding, the UC Board of Regents increased tuition to $10,300, about triple 1999's cost.

Understandably, students have gone wild. The UC system is supposed to offer low- and middle-income students a cheaper alternative to a private college education. Now a year at a UC school can cost students as much as at many private schools.

Who's to blame? UC President Mark Yudof rightly notes he had no other means of closing the university's budget gap. The university used $300 million in reserves last year and cut staff salaries by furloughing them between 11 and 26 days this year. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says "we've done everything we could, but the bottom line is it's not enough. We need to put pressure on the legislature not only this year in a year of crisis, but in the future."

The California legislature? Good luck with that. In 1999, the Democratic legislature ran a reckless gamble that makes Wall Street's bankers look cautious. At the top of a bull market, they assumed their investment returns would grow at a 8.25% rate in perpetuity—equivalent to assuming that the Dow would reach 25,000 by 2009—and enacted a huge pension boon for public-safety and industrial unions.

The bill refigured the compensation formula for pension benefits of all public-safety employees who retired on or after January 1, 2000. It let firefighters retire at age 50 and receive 3% of their final year's compensation times the number of years they worked. If a firefighter started working

San Fernando Valley Sun - Students Face Civil Penalties After Education Protest

San Fernando Valley Sun - Students Face Civil Penalties After Education Protest

Students Face Civil Penalties After Education Protest

Written by Alex Garcia, Sun Contributing Writer

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Anthony Garcia shows the citation he received for not dispersing after a confrontation between CSUN students and police last week during a protest over education cuts. On March 24, Anthony Garcia will show up for a hearing at the San Fernando Courthouse to respond to an arrest and citation for not disbanding at the end of a protest over education cuts held at California State University Northridge [CSUN]. The demonstration, called a "Day of Action", was held up and down the state. "This is not an issue just of education funding. We're representing everyone who is affected by the economic crisis across the state. We look to officials to protect us and help us, but what is happening right now is the opposite," said the student who majors in literature. Garcia is not the only one facing disorderly charges after a confrontation with police and students who were participating in a march last week. Nearly 3,000 students and faculty members demonstrated at the school as part of protests held throughout the state in opposition to cuts in public education. At colleges, the cuts would mean fewer classes, professor layoffs and less funding for financial aid. On Thursday evening, some 25 demonstrators broke off from the larger group and sat in the middle of Reseda Blvd., near Prairie Street and refused to move. In total, seven people, including 73-year-old Native American studies professor Karren Baird-Olson, whose arm was broken in the altercation, were arrested and face charges.

Santa Cruz schools board call on state to fund education - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Santa Cruz schools board call on state to fund education - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Santa Cruz schools board call on state to fund education

By Megha Satyanarayana

Posted: 03/11/2010 01:30:52 AM PST

SANTA CRUZ -- As talk continues among advocates to sue the state government for not properly funding public education, Santa Cruz school officials passed a resolution Wednesday night demanding state officials live up to their constitutional mandate to fund schools by raising revenue.

The district has sent preliminary pink slips to at least 50 employees, and agreed to administrative furloughs to rectify a $5.4 million budget shortfall for its roughly $60 million budget for 2010-2011. Early estimates provided by district officials Wednesday showed the cuts will continue into 2011-2012 to the tune of $4.5 million.

"It's time for the legislature to stop doing creative accounting," said Trustee Ken Wagman, referring to Proposition 98, which mandates a basic level of state funding for education.

Education analysts have said some changes to the formulas to calculate the basic level lowers that limit by $2 billion for K-12 education.

The talk of new taxes is ongoing through AB 656, among others, which would tax oil extraction. California is the only major oil-producing state that doesn't tax its removal from the earth.

The resolution lists the shortfalls in the state budget, the role of education in boosting California's economy and emergence from the current recession and the assertion that Santa Cruz schools can find no more cuts

15 groups spent $1 billion to sway policy

15 groups spent $1 billion to sway policy:

"The California Teachers Association spent $211.8 million - more than any other special interest group - over the past decade to influence state voters and politicians, according to a state report released Wednesday."

Three Indian tribes dumped another $200 million into the political process and big business shelled out more than $500 million, the California Fair Political Practices Commission said in its report, "Big Money Talks."
"The reality in politics is that money talks. Sometimes money shouts," the report says. "If it didn't, special interests simply would not spend so much money trying to influence public policy and elections. ... This report leaves little doubt where the vortex of power lies in this state."
In all, 15 groups - two labor unions, six corporations, three Indian tribes and four business associations - spent more than $1 billion over the past 10 years to sway the outcomes of elections and government decisions, the report said.
These labor unions, Indian tribes and drug, utility, oil, telecommunication and tobacco companies "have a disproportionate amount of influence on California elections and public policy," the FPPC concludes.
The report warns that there is "no end in sight to the spending binge," noting that more than half of the money - nearly $660 million- was spent on state and local ballot measures. Often, the report says, the top-spending 15 special interest groups "win by spending money to defeat ballot measures" to maintain the status quo.
For example, the California Teachers Association, which represents 330,000 public school teachers in the state, spent $26 million to defeat a school voucher system in 2000 and another $50 million to kill three other ballot measures. The Pharmaceutical

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/10/BAMB1CDSQG.DTL#ixzz0hsAiA3s6

The Orion - University leaders help initiate change

The Orion - University leaders help initiate change

University leaders help initiate change

By Christine De Jesus

Tegan Silva

|

Published: Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Updated: Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Chico State students rallied Wednesday to voice disapproval over elected official’s failure to prioritize higher education.

Several important figures at Chico State came together to express their frustration because of the government’s failure to prioritize higher education.

The Action Rally Coalition was made to mobilize and empower the student body, said Luis Munoz, director of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan and Action Rally coordinator. The coalition is composed of students and numerous representatives from various groups on campus.

The rally has taken months of planning and meetings with Chico State President Paul Zingg, the Senate, department chairs, professors and the California State Student Association, Munoz said.

“The rally is student initiated, student organized and a student implemented program,” Munoz said. “It’s a student voice.”

The rally’s aim is to empower students through action and awareness, Munoz said.

“A lot of our students are still ill-informed about how the budget is affecting our system of higher education,” Munoz said.

Severe impacts have happened through the budget cuts that have affected the entire student body, said Amro Jayousi, director of legislative affairs.

Thousands rally at Chico State, call for lawmakers to invest in education - Oroville Mercury Register

Thousands rally at Chico State, call for lawmakers to invest in education - Oroville Mercury Register

Thousands rally at Chico State, call for lawmakers to invest in education

By RYAN OLSON - Staff Writer

Posted: 03/10/2010 10:21:34 PM PST

Click photo to enlarge

Chico State University students protested cuts to education during a rally on campus...

CHICO -- Chico State University students Wednesday added their voices to a chorus to keep higher education a priority.
Chico police estimated 2,000 people participated in a rally that started on campus and continued to the Chico City Plaza.
Protesters heeded organizers' calls to speak out but refrain from violence. Last week, a handful of similar demonstrations across California and the country ended in violence or jeopardized safety.
The local protesters were vocal but orderly as they marched on sidewalks to City Plaza, chanting slogans and waving signs. Law enforcement was present, but appeared to remain at a distance.

• PHOTO GALLERY of the event

Juan Mota, a freshman from Riverside studying molecular biology, watched the crowd gather in front of the plaza's band shell. He said the protest itself may not lead to major improvements, but it showed people are getting involved.
"It's starting something," Mota said.
Mota was concerned about cutbacks in state funding. He said less financial aid would jeopardize his ability to go to school and faculty furloughs cut back valuable instruction time.

Education demonstration - News - Local Stories - March 11, 2010 - Sacramento News & Review

Education demonstration - News - Local Stories - March 11, 2010 - Sacramento News & Review

Education demonstration

Students, professors and university employees protest budget cuts at the Capitol

By Kari Westerman
More stories by this author...

This article was published on 03.11.10.

At the Capitol last week, students of all ages gathered to protest massive cuts in the state’s education budget. PHOTO BY WES DAVIS

Related photo gallery: Education demonstration photos

Students, faculty and staff from many of California’s higher-education institutions demonstrated March 4 at the state Capitol as part of larger statewide demonstrations challenging continuing education budget cuts. The protest drew 2,000 people, twice as many as expected, according to organizers.
For student demonstrators, fee hikes and class cuts were only part of a larger heap of woes. The rising cost of college often means students being forced to work two or three jobs, simply to cover living and escalating school costs.
Alma Lopez, 23, a biology major at Sacramento State, was among those who traveled in a group from the Sac State campus to the demonstration. This semester Lopez is working two jobs while attending CSUS, an improvement from the three she worked last semester.
“I have to repeat some courses next semester because I was working too much to do well, and I couldn’t get into those courses this semester,” Lopez said.
Lopez’s story is similar to many other CSU students who have suffered a fee hike of 182 percent since 2000. James Damiani, 22, sociology and communications major at CSUS, said that since fees increased, his existing budget can no longer cover his expenses.

California Teachers Happy over Loss of 'Race To The Top' Money

California Teachers Happy over Loss of 'Race To The Top' Money

California Teachers Happy over Loss of 'Race To The Top' Money

WEDNESDAY, 10 MARCH 2010 21:15

Hardy L. Brown

The state of California was denied federal funding on “Race to the Top” in education and as usual the teachers association and some professional educators are saying that is alright. We have Black students lagging at the bottom of every category of every indicator of a successful education and they say that is alright that we did not get funding. Now when it comes to their salaries they scream that it is the money that counts. In doing a quick survey of Black publishers in California they are fed up with these associations wanting more money with our support with no accountability for educating our kids.

In a front page article by reporter Chris Levister, she quotes the head of the California Federation of Teachers Association Marty Hittelman as saying; “I won’t say that I’m in sorrow of California losing it. There wasn’t a great deal of support. The teachers union had opposed for example, basing teachers evaluations on standardized test they say are flawed”. Now mind you last year when these same teachers got lay off notices and President Barack Obama sent federal stimulus money to save their jobs not one peep came from them about lack of support.

As a matter of fact these teachers were out stirring up the community that our children would be harmed if teachers were impacted.

Let us take a look at who is impacted. The staffing of teachers in California is 70.1%white with only 27.9%ofthe students being white. You can see who gets the money but what about accountability and what is happening in our schools when it comes to African American students.

Black students make up 7.3% of the student population with 4.3%of us as teachers. According to the Department of Education African American students score (674) at the bottom of the Accountability Progress Reporting, Performance Index Report. The California High School Exit Exam places Blacks at 23% passing Math and 33% passing English Language Arts. They list our adjusted dropout rate at 32.9%which is 10%higher than the closest group. In some districts the dropout rate for Blacks is greater than 50 percent. Then when you look at over20,700 are expelled and over 770,000 are suspended each year, the question is who is in school to teach?

State revises low-achieving schools list, bumping four East Bay schools and adding two new ones - San Jose Mercury News

State revises low-achieving schools list, bumping four East Bay schools and adding two new ones - San Jose Mercury News

State revises low-achieving schools list, bumping four East Bay schools and adding two new ones

By Theresa Harrington
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 03/10/2010 09:37:52 PM PST

Updated: 03/10/2010 10:45:42 PM PST

Four East Bay campuses learned Wednesday that they may escape being labeled among the state's persistently lowest-achieving schools, while two others discovered they may be added to the dreaded list.

Mt. Diablo and Pinole high schools were dropped from the list of the lowest-performing schools, while Glenbrook Middle School in Concord and Helms Middle School in San Pablo were added. The change was attributed to the middle schools' lower test scores, according to a revised list released late Wednesday by the California Department of Education. In Alameda County, Hayward and Mt. Eden high schools were taken off the list, replaced by schools in other parts of the state. The updated list, which will not be finalized until the State Board of Education votes on it today, includes 18 schools in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, down from 20 that were listed Monday.

Schools land on the list if they have posted low scores on reading and math tests in the past three years and have shown little improvement, based on the state education department's analysis.

The revised list caught many school officials by surprise. Many said it was too soon to comment, while others said they had not yet heard of the changes.

Steven Lawrence, superintendent of the Concord-based Mt. Diablo district, said the revision did not alter his outlook. He still must figure out how to improve achievement at the six schools that remain on the list, and to decide whether

to apply for federal grants of $50,000 to $2 million annually for three years to help pay for interventions that federal officials said will be needed to bring the schools up to snuff.

16% rise in undergrads on California's state campuses predicted - latimes.com

16% rise in undergrads on California's state campuses predicted - latimes.com

16% rise in undergrads on California's state campuses predicted

Report cites need for funding to cope with the expected enrollment crush. An additional 387,000 undergraduates are expected by 2019.

Students crowd the bike rack area at UC Santa Barbara. By 2019, 387,000 additional undergraduates are expected on state campuses. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times / January 13, 2010)

California's public colleges and universities must prepare to serve 387,000 more undergraduates by 2019 than in 2008 -- a 16% increase -- and will need an additional $1.5 billion in enrollment funding for the task, according to a report released Wednesday by the California Postsecondary Education Commission.

By 2019, demand for slots at California's community colleges is expected to rise by 313,253 students, according to the report. At the California State University and the University of California, demand will peak several years earlier, according to the projections, making the need for funding solutions more immediate.

Called "Ready or Not, Here They Come," the forecast was presented at a commission meeting in Sacramento. It is designed to provide short- and long-term guidance to the governor and Legislature as they assess funding needs for higher education. The commission is responsible for statewide education planning and coordination.

The report also said that if the state does not fully fund enrollment for the three college systems, at least to 2008-09 levels, as many as 277,000 students face being turned away next school year.

The report's release comes as California grapples with a fiscal crisis that has eaten into state support for higher education by more than $1 billion in the last two years, resulting in fee increases, furloughs and elimination of courses, the report says.

UC Lacks Funds, Space For Future Enrollment - The Daily Californian

UC Lacks Funds, Space For Future Enrollment - The Daily Californian

A state report released Monday indicates the University of California lacks the funding and classroom space to accommodate a projected increase of 20,243 students to the system by 2019.

Titled, "Ready or Not, Here They Come," the report, authored by members of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, also projects that by 2019, the demand for undergraduate enrollment across the California public higher education system will increase by 16.4 percent, or 387,386 students.

Based on recent graduation and enrollment trends, the report projects that most UC campuses do not have the physical capacity to accommodate the projected increase, with just one exception.

"(UC) Merced has the physical capacity to handle enrollment growth and we expect it to continue to grow," said UC spokesperson Ricardo Vazquez. "But, like the rest of our campuses, Merced cannot enroll more students if state funding to support them is not forthcoming."

The report projects neither UC Berkeley nor UCLA have the land available to adequately expand their facilities.

"Campuses need to think about intersegmental agreements where facilities can be shared," said Stacy Wilson, senior researcher for the commission. "Perhaps Berkeley could partner with ... community colleges to share facility space."

Wilson added that campuses could also increase capacity by offering more weekend and evening courses or

learning opportunities that do not require physical use of facilities.

UC campuses currently have a total deficiency of 17,424 square feet of lecture and laboratory space, which will increase to 25,660 if the system does not accommodate for the increase in undergraduate enrollment.

According to the report, the projected increase of 387,386 additional students to the state's public higher education system will require an additional $1.5 billion in funding by 2019. If current funding levels are held constant, the system will be unable to accommodate 277,733 of the prospective students.

California Leads the Nation in After-School Investment | FightCrime.org

California Leads the Nation in After-School Investment | FightCrime.org

California Leads the Nation in After-School Investment

Law enforcement report shows nearly 2,000 low-income schools still lack programs, endangering public safety

Contact: Jennifer Ortega, (916) 837-3904, jortega@calfightcrime.org

SAN FRANCISCO — California is leading the nation in its commitment to after-school programs. According to a new report released today by a statewide anti-crime organization, state- and federally-funded after-school programs provide safe and enriching activities for more than 400,000 California students each day, thanks to significant investments over the last dozen years. Yet many more low-income children are left unsupervised because there are still not enough programs to meet demand.

California’s After-School Commitment: Keeping Kids On Track and Out of Trouble, by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California – a bipartisan, non-profit anti-crime organization led by 400 sheriffs, police chiefs, district attorneys and victims of violence – shows that California invests over three times more in after-school programs than the remaining 49 states combined.

“Quality after-school programs are a crucial weapon against crime,” said San Mateo Police Chief Susan E. Manheimer, President of the California Police Chiefs Association and executive committee member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California. “Our public safety depends on California’s continuing, strong leadership on after-school programs.”

Crime-prevention and academic benefits
Research shows that after-school programs can help shut down the “prime time” for juvenile crime, which is 2-6 p.m. in California. It is also the time when kids are more likely to become the victims of crime. After-school programs offer constructive alternatives to gangs, drugs and crime. They also provide academic assistance and can keep students engaged and excited about going to school, and boost school-day attendance, academic achievement and graduation rates. For example, after three charter schools in South Central Los Angeles implemented THINK Together’s after-school program for the majority of their students, twice as many students scored at proficient or above on English and math standardized tests.

State, federal and private funding
The majority of funding for California’s after-school programs came from a 2002 voter-approved measure, which received wide bipartisan support and was championed by the Governor prior to his election. Proposition 49 – the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Act – provides