LEGISLATION & BUDGET UPDATES
Please call the following numbers right now if you can and support SB 847. They are meeting to vote on this at 10am today in Sacramento!!
It will bring money to the schools. It's super easy- I just called myself and you just have to say that you are calling to ask them to vote in support of the bill so the money from the Education Jobs Fund can be dispursed to our schools. See CAPTA leg alert for details.
Here are the numbers:
Senator Mark Wyland
916-651-4038
Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher
916-319-2075
858-689-6290
Governor's Office- I wasn't able to get through but here are the numbers.
916-445-2841
Thanks for your support!! Lisa Naritomi (VP Leg & Advocacy)
Take Action!
Congress has approved funding for education jobs. Tell your legislators in Sacramento
that your schools need this funding NOW!
Please call your State
Assemblymember, Senator and the Governor to urge them to Support SB 847 so that
we can get our teachers, administrators and other critical school staff back to
work to serve the needs of our students. Full Article.
Find Your Legislators
click here
Contact the Governor
click here
Congress
just passed and the President signed into law the Education Jobs Fund, which
provides $10 billion to states to save up to 160,000 education jobs.
California
will receive more than $1.2 billion, which is estimated to save up to 16,500
jobs in our state.
The Jobs
Fund legislation requires education funds provided to states be spent by local
education agencies to prevent teacher layoffs in the 2010-11 school year. It clearly states that these funds are not to be used to supplant or replace
state education funding or provide a funding reserve.
An estimated
22,000 California teachers received pink slips this spring. Thousands of classified employees were
also released. These funds have
the potential to return many of the teachers and other critical school staff
back to our classrooms and to enable schools to serve the needs of students.
States are
encouraged to apply immediately.
The funds are expected to be allocated within two weeks of the approval
of the application. The California
Department of Education (CDE) has stated that, in the absence of a state
budget, it needs legislative authority in order to disburse the funds to school
districts. Earlier this week,
California State PTA representatives and other members of the Education
Coalition met with Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Speaker of the Assembly
John Perez to discuss the budget and to urge them to support legislation to
authorize the disbursement of these funds.
As a result, Senator
Steinberg has authored SB 847, which authorizes the CDE to disburse the $1.2
billion, less a small portion for state administration, to school
districts. As the legislative
session is due to end on August 31, there is an urgent need to ensure that this
bill passes and goes to the Governor before the end of the session.
The method of allocating the funding among local education agencies in California
is still under discussion.
California State PTA is advocating for a method that provides an
equitable distribution among all school districts in the state. We will be working with our partners in
the Education Coalition and the CDE this week and will continue to keep our
members updated.
Still No State Budget ...
Almost two
months after the constitutional deadline of June 30 to pass a state budget, we
do not have one in place. The
latest budget plan, put forward by the Legislative Conference Committee,
rejects the massive cuts to education proposed by the Governor. This plan also acknowledges the $11.2
owed to schools, as a result of an agreement signed into law in July 2009. The conference committee budget
recognizes that a budget solution cannot be accomplished through cuts alone and
identifies additional revenue sources.
It would delay the start of the new corporate tax breaks that were part
of last year's budget deal and calls for a new oil severance tax and additional
revenue generated from tax reform.
Targeted cuts of $8.3 billion are also part of the plan, but the plan
rejects the Governor's proposed elimination of CalWORKs and other health and
human services programs.
However,
the conference committee plan calls for the suspension of Proposition 98, the
educational funding guarantee.
California State PTA is standing with our partners in the Education
Coalition in opposition to this suspension. In accordance with Proposition 98, we believe K-12 education
should receive its full share of general fund revenues, especially since K-12
education suffered disproportionately in past years when revenues declined.
California
State PTA representaties have been actively advocating for a budget solution
that provides additional revenues to protect education and other critical
children's services. When you contact your legislators and the
Governor, don't forget to urge them to support a budget solution that does not
suspend Proposition 98, and that provides additional revenues to prevent deeper
cuts to education and other critical children's services.
To read the latest Education
Coalition position paper on the conference or committee plan, click here.
Stay tuned
for further information as the budget negotiations committee.
Status of Current Legislation by Subject Area
Complete status and calendar reports of current legislation being
followed by California State PTA, organized by subject area.