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FROM THE EMERSON PTA:
Dear Emerson Families —
As you can see from Ms. Hodge’s note, Wednesday 5/22 will not be a normal school day at Emerson as many of our teachers, staff, students and families head to Sacramento to fight for increased school funding. Please use the link above to let us know your attendance plans so that Emerson can plan accordingly!
We encourage Emerson families to join with thousands of others in Sacramento to call for full and fair funding for education. The Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT) has arranged for busses leaving from Berkeley at various times. Families can also team up and carpool to Sacramento. Bring your students! Here is more detail from BFT about their busses (from their web page: http://berkeleyteachers.org/resource/may-22nd-day-action-faq ):
We know that not all Emerson families will be able to join in Sacramento. Another way to support this excellent cause is to cut-and-paste the following email and send it to our state lawmakers. These are the people who need to hear from ALL families about how important full and fair funding is for our students:
Here is a letter to send to lawmakers. And below the letter, we’ve included more information from BFT about the 5/22 Day of Action.
[We probably need a PTA closing, like a “Thank you” or something. Sarah P can you add whatever we usually use?]
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Dear California Leaders,
Public education is facing a crisis in this state, and every district is facing tremendous challenges. California continues to rank among the lowest 20% of states in per pupil funding, and as a result most districts in the state are having to make drastic cuts just to keep their budgets balanced. Between this school year and next, my local school district, Berkeley Unified, will have cut $ 3.8 million from our General Fund budget.
These funding issues simply cannot be solved on a local level by continued cuts. We parents and caregivers of California students demand the urgent FULL AND FAIR FUNDING of education when lawmakers vote on a budget by June 15th, 2019.
We also make an urgent call to fully fund special education, and to support wages that address California’s high cost of living for all workers serving California students.
Need more information? This website summarizes issues and has resources for understanding the funding crisis facing our California public schools: http://www.fullandfairfunding.org/.
Thank you for reading this letter, and for working with us to ensure that public education is fully funded in California.
Sincerely,
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Below is more information from the Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT):
On Wednesday, May 22nd there will be a Statewide Day of Action in Sacramento to fight for more funding for public education in our state. Thousands of teachers, classified staff, parents, families and community members will converge on Sacramento to call upon our legislators to take action to change California’s shameful place as 46th in the nation in per pupil funding. As the state with the highest level of wealth in our country, and one that is the 5th largest economy in the world, California must do better, and citizens must push our legislature to address this crisis.
In Berkeley, we are at risk of losing dozens of excellent teachers and staff if we cannot provide a meaningful increase in compensation, and we need to provide more classroom supports for our Full Inclusion model. State action to provide more base funding to districts is key to this challenge, and a great reason for all of us to head to Sacramento on May 22nd. In addition, multiple studies have shown that districts need more funding in order to expedite progress on closing equity gaps.
This day of action is being organized by the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), the California Teachers Association (CTA) and a grassroots group called California Educators Rising. This is historic collaboration among these groups, and something we should all support in the interests of our children and students. By attending we show that parents, teachers, classified staff and citizens demand that California create a plan to return to being one of the best public education systems in our country.
A tentative schedule for the day is included at the end of this email. We encourage you to bring your children with you on May 22nd and to make this a family affair. Students are the most impacted by the inadequate funding of schools in California.
BFT does not believe that any schools will be closed on May 22nd. At all sites staff are collaborating to make a plan for 5/22. BUSD is allowing teachers to use Personal Leave to go to Sacramento on 5/22, so principals are able to know in advance who will be absent, and plan for the day.
We hope you can join us on May 22nd. Please do not hesitate to send us any questions.
Thank you for anything you can do to spread the word about this important Day of Action!
-- Cathy Campbell, BFT President & Matt Meyer, BFT Vice-President
Tentative Schedule for May 22nd:
1pm: Rally at the California Charter School Association office; Some lobby visits with legislators
2pm: March to the Capitol
3pm: Group Photo at the Capitol Rotunda
4pm: Music
5pm: Rally!
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