Don Raczka, president of the 1,600-member Poway Federation of Teachers, and Poway Unified Superintendent Don Phillips said that the governor’s claims that his budget will increase education spending are bogus.

They also said the governor broke his word last month when he proposed a budget that would renege on a January 2004 deal under which public schools were promised $1.1 billion this school year and more than $2 billion next school year.

These cuts would cost Poway Unified a total of $6 million.

Both men cited a quote from the governor on Jan. 8, 2004, the day that deal was forged: “This Proposition 98 funding will be restored as required by law and our agreement. Today, I am making a promise to our teachers and students.”

Phillips and Raczka also stressed that a change in property tax disbursement that favors cities and counties over school districts is something that the governor does not mention when he talks about increased spending on public education.

Also addressing the board was Palomar Council PTA President Carolyn Epple, who strongly encouraged local parents to call the governor’s office at (916) 445-2841 and complain.

“We are not a special interest group,” said Epple, noting that the governor does not seem to understand that parents have no ulterior motives when compared to other lobbyists. “We are parents who have witnessed the effect of four years of cuts on our students.”

Meanwhile, parents Linda Cialeo and Lorene Joosten proposed to the school board the creation of a new grass roots lobbying group to fight the governor and his new budget, and their suggestion was immediately embraced by Raczka and school board member Penny Ranftle.

Cialeo and Joosten envision their group, which will be called the Poway Unified Education Advocates, as a new way to lobby on behalf of parents and students.

“We observed that due to the lack of parental involvement in lobbying efforts in the state, that the legislators were seeing the same advocates: District lobbyists, school board lobbyists, teachers and unions,” said Cialeo and Joosten in their presentation to the board. “And these groups were increasingly viewed as special interests.”

The women also noted that the state PTA is not an effective lobbying group because of its bureaucratic structure and unwillingness to consider innovative ideas.

In stark contrast, Cialeo and Joosten envision a group that would have only one goal: Quality education for California children the way parents see it. And there would be no equivocation or political maneuvering within the group.

Raczka and Ranftle immediately agreed to join the new group, which would hold regular meetings, set lobbying goals, inform parents how to lobby politicians in Sacramento and Washington and reach out to other like-minded districts and parents across the state.

Raczka told the board that he strongly agrees with Cialeo and Joosten.

“This is the worst time in my teaching career,” said Raczka. “The program is devastated. We can’t do for the kids what we did five years ago.”

For more information about issues affecting public education in California, please view the links below.

Budget Crisis General information 

Education Coalition Statement on Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Proposed State Budget 2005-06

Save Public Education: Comprehensive Website with News Archives and More

Protect Students: Education Coalition Website

K-12 Education Funding Myths

Governor's Budget 2005-06

LOGIC for Adequate School Funding

Learning Curve: Proposition 98 glossary

Proposition 98 guarantees a minimum level of funding for public schools

School Finance Highlights 2004-05

California 's Fiscal Outlook 2004-05 through 2009-10

California Spending Plan 2004-05

California 's Economy and Budget in Perspective, LAO 12/02

Proposition 98 Funding per ADA
 

Capitol Update: Education Funding 1/25/02

A Guide to California 's School Finance System, March, 2004 

California Budget Numbers. Chapter 2

California Budget: Free Money

California Education Report Card

Proposition 98: An Introduction; Updated July 2000

Analysis of the 2004-05 Budget Bill

Afterschool Alliance - Proposition 49

Learning Lesson Of Ballot-Box Budgeting

California League of Middle Schools Legislative Update

California Department of Education

California Financial Crisis and Management Team News

POETIC SOS : One mom's passionate website about the school funding crisis

PTA Talking Points on Proposed 2005-2006 State Budget

PDF Presentation on Governor's Budget Proposals: Prepared by the Poway Federation of Teachers

ACSA Q & A School Funding: School Funding Q & A

PDF Budget Presentation by Capistrano Unified School District

Park Village PTA Legislative Action Website: Concise Guide to Key School Funding-Related Websites

Where Did the Lottery Money Go?: Answers to Questions About Lottery Money

EdSource On-line School Finance Overview 

EdVoice Newsroom Has News Information on the State Budget: EdVoice Newsroom

Legislative Analyst's Office Website

Ed-Data Glossary of School Finance Terms (Select Glossary from left sidebar): School Finance Glossary

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC): Read Public Opinion Research

Proposition 98 Primer Website 

Legislative Analyst's Office Summary of K-12 Education Budget

Rand Report (CA Per Pupil Funding is 48th in the Nation)

California State PTA State Budget Advocacy Packet

Letter to the Editor of the Poway News Chieftain regarding Poway Unified Education Advocates (PDF) Written by Palomar Council PTA Representatives

Campaign for Excellence

Standard & Poor's School Matters


Initiatives & Petitions

Initiatives Under Circulation: Initiatives Being Circulated - Signatures currently being gathered.  Many of these affect schools.

Initiative Measures Active - Office of the Attorney General: Read the actual initiative text.  Many of these impact schools.

Governor's Reform Petitions (CTA): Reform Petition information from the California Teachers' Association


Articles & Interviews

"Overriding Prop 98: Schwarzenegger's PTA Problem": San Francisco Chronicle Article, 2/1/2005

"No need for special election Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should call off plans for a special election in November": Editorial, The San Francisco Chronicle

The Merrow Report "1st to Worst" PBS Special: Read Interviews Online

"Schwarzenegger Budget to the Back of the Class": Article in Education Matters by Sandra Nichols, 1/15/2005

"Local Moms Travel to Sacramento to Lobby State Legislators": KPBS Story by Beth Ford

"Education at a Crossroads": Article by Senator Jack Scott, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee and Senate Budget Subcommittee on
Education

"Education Coalition's New TV Ad Highlights Parent Disappointment with Gov's Broken Promises to Schools": CTA Press Release, 4/11/2005

"With Pension Plan Now Dead, Governor Should Drop His Other Flawed Schemes, CTA President Kerr says":  CTA Press Release, 4/7/2005

"Teachers and Parents Join in New CTA Ad Campaign to Tell Governor to Keep His Promise on School Funding": CTA Press Release, 4/5/2005

"Getting our Money's Worth in Public Education/Are we buying our 'McStudent' lie?" A teacher's perspective by Robert Freeman

"Gov.'s Irvine Stop Draws Cast of 2,000": An article by David Haldane, Los Angeles Times

"Governor's Agenda Losing Traction": An article by Robert Salladay, Los Angeles Times

"Education shortfall put at $213 million": An article by Chris Moran, Union-Tribune

"Reprieve for teachers": An article from the San Francisco Chronicle

"Expect governor to be taught a political lesson": An article by John Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle

"Blaming the teacher": A Personal Perspective by Louis Freedberg

"Educators frown upon governor's reform plans": An article by Luis Zaragoza
Mercury News

"Governor breaks deal with schools": An article by Jill Tucker,  Inside Bay Area

"Educators say governor broke a deal on funding": An article by Ed Mendel

"Governor challenges legislators": An article by Ann E. Marimow and Kate Folmar, Mercury News

ACSA, CSBA, CFT and CTA Join Together to Expose Flaws in Governor's Education Proposal

  "Poway USD Preparing to take on governor over budget cuts": An article by David Garrick, Poway News-Chieftain

Is Proposed State Education Funding a Cut or an Increase?: Written by a PTA Legislative Representative

"In the Classroom": An article by Ashley Kellars, Los Angeles Times

Budget Creates Costs Without Identifying Funding: Written by Park Village PTA Advocacy Committee

"Paying for Schools" series : An article by Deb Kollars, Sacramento Bee


Contact Information for Politicians & Responses

Find your State Assembly member

Find your State Senator

Draft of a letter to personalize and send to Governor Schwarzenegger: Las Lomas PTSA

Drafts of letters to personalize and send to Governor Schwarzenegger: Poetic SOS

Drafts of letters to personalize and send to state officials: Poetic SOS

Write letters  to federal officials: Poetic SOS

E-mail letter to Governor Schwarzenegger: Poetic SOS

Response from Governor Schwarzenegger via e-mail: 4/19/2005

Response from Senator Bill Morrow, District 38: CAPITOL UPDATE: January 21, 2005

Response from Assemblyman George Plescia, 75th District: Plescia's News and Notes, February 2005

Response from Assemblyman Mark Wyland, 74th District and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Education, letter dated April 4, 2005

Response from U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein: March 24, 2005


Write a Letter to the Editor

Drafts of letters to personalize and send to the press: Poetic SOS

Send a letter to San Diego Union Tribune

Send a letter to the North County Times

Send a letter to the Poway News-Chieftain

Note: Please follow any directions given by each newspaper.  Try to limit your letter to 200 words or less. Newspapers need an accurate phone number to contact you and verify your letter before they will publish it.

Organizations

California Budget Project

California Department of Finance

California State PTA Advocacy Website: California PTA Advocacy

Education Coalition Website: Education Coalition

California School Boards Association: California School Board Association

California Federation of Teachers: Teachers' Union

California Teachers Association: Teachers' Union

California State PTA: PTA website

Association for California School Administrators (ACSA) Website

California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO)

California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA)

California School Boards Association (CSBA)

California School Employees Association

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Ed-Data: Fiscal, Demographic, and Performance Data on California's K-12 schools

EdSource: Policy News and Data on California Education

Alliance for a Better California: Representing nearly 2 million teachers, nurses, firefighters, and health care workers

Caravan for Kids (PTA)

Informative Websites at the Local Levels

Poway Unified School District Links

Torrance Parents

Support Our Schools Santa Cruz County

Orange County Education Coalition

Ventura Education Partnership

Cupertino Coalition for Education

Resolution of Opposition to Governor Schwarzenegger's Education Budget adopted by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education

Castro Valley Unified School District

Acalanes Union High School District's Website 

Las Lomas High School: Las Lomas Foundation & Las Lomas PTA

Las Trampas Creek Council

Mt. Diablo Unified School District P.A.C.E.

Mt. Diablo Unified School District Save The 4th Grade Band

South San Francisco Unified School District

John S. Malcom Elementary School

Fremont Unified School District Joins Fight Against Schwarzenegger School Funding Cuts

Irvine Unified School District

Alameda School Board President Mike McMahon's Website

Also, although Mr. McMahon is not a group or party, he has been "electronically clipping" articles related to the State budget crisis since he took office. The purpose of the each webpage below is to track annual developments that occur in the media and in the legislature in order to provide context for the ongoing debate.

2003 State Budget Developments
2004 State Budget Developments
2005 State Budget Developments