The author is a public school
teacher at Fairmount Elementary in San Francisco and participated in
the week of action in Sacramento and San Francisco.
Hundred of students and teachers
descended on the Sacramento State Capitol on May 9 to kick off a week
of action called by the California Teachers Association.
The day started with a press conference
and prayer followed by a procession around the state capitol. Even
though the procession was advertised as a silent procession, a group
of teachers voiced their anger and opposition about the attacks on
public education chanting “Who do we tax? The rich! When do we tax
them? NOW!” Teams of teachers from all over the state—including
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego and elsewhere—then
lobbied legislators about the effects of budget cuts.
The most inspiring action took place in
the rotunda of the state capitol at 5pm. Over 300 teachers and
students entered the rotunda chanting “Tax, tax, tax the rich, we
can chop the deficit!” They marched and chanted for the better part
of the hour, carrying signs and banners about the need for public
education and demanding that there be no more budget cuts to social
services. The crowd then sat in the rotunda for an impromptu rally.
Betty Olson-Jones, the president of the
Oakland Educators Association, opened with an appeal to teachers and
students to come together to take action against the budget cuts. A
student from Santa Cruz spoke about the desperation and frustration
students are feeling as they are denied access to education. She
warned the legislators that if they didn’t take action soon they
would see the result of this frustration and anger. The author, a
San Francisco teacher and member of Party for Socialism and
Liberation, spoke about the need to build a movement independent of
the Democrats and Republicans in order to defend public education and
social services.
Midway through the rally, as students
and teachers continued to speak out, the California Highway Patrol
ordered everyone to disperse or be arrested. Sixty-five people
continued to sit in and were arrested over the course of 2 hours.
Some were released that night and others were held until the next
morning. They were charged with misdemeanor trespassing. The specific
bogus charge was “skiing on a closed trail.”
Cuts to education over the last 4 years
have totaled $20 billion; 40,000 teachers and paraprofessionals have
been laid off and thousands more secretaries, janitors, nurses and
specialists have lost their jobs. There is no doubt that public
education is in a state of crisis.
Across the state, teachers’ unions
have made concessions in pay, healthcare contributions and other
wages. School years have been cut down by days and weeks as districts
institute furloughs—both cutting teachers’ wages and denying our
students important time for learning. Music, art and physical
education programs have been cut.
In the midst of the crisis, we are
being told that there is no money for education and public services.
While banks received bailouts, corporations continue to pay little to
no taxes and the federal government uses trillions for wars and
occupations in foreign countries, while school and social services
are being cut.
California governor Jerry Brown’s
plan for “saving” education is to push through a budget that has
$18 billion in further cuts and extend sales, vehicle and income
taxes already in place. This is not a plan for defending public
education. The $18 billion in cuts are drastic attacks on welfare,
housing and education. The tax extension continues to tax poor and
working people more heavily than the rich in order to pay for public
services.
There are very clear solutions to the
budget crisis. The money that lies in the hands of bankers and
corporate bosses should be redirected to fund education and public
services. But both the Democrats and Republicans in the White House
and halls of the Sacramento State Capitol refuse to make the real
change that is needed.
The CTA, one of two state union
federations representing teachers, called for the May 9-13 week of
action to confront the state of emergency in California. The union
rightly recognized the crisis and called for actions throughout
California. Thousands of teachers have engaged in grade-ins, sit-ins,
forums and protests this week to bring attention to the plight of
public education.
Unfortunately, the CTA was not willing
to take a strong political position for this week of action. They
have merely focused on calling for support of Gov. Brown’s budget
and the proposal to extend taxes. The CTA leadership is so tied to
the interests of the Democratic Party that it has been unwilling to
organize real mass action to confront the attacks on education or
take a principled stance against the budget cuts, calling for real
solutions to the crisis.
Despite the union’s weaknesses, the
week of action is and continues to be an important event for
defending public education. The attacks on education—and housing,
health care, public transportation and other services—will not be
stopped by legislators and wealthy politicians. An independent
movement is needed that can push back the attacks on education and
demand that education be treated as a right, not a privilege.
Thousands of teachers, students and
families and their supporters will be rallying in 5 major cities
across California on May 13 as a culmination of the week of action.
