Torlakson: School Survival Depends on Brown Budget Vote in Legislature

With the state Legislature poised to vote on Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget Wednesday, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson rallied support in San Bruno for letting voters decide on tax extensions that would stave off some teacher layoffs.

Torlakson, who appeared at  Tuesday, was flanked by students bearing signs that read “Where’s our bailout?” and “Yea in May.” He described the budget as "honest but painful" and urged lawmakers to put the governor's tax-extension package on the ballot. Without it, he warned, schools would see grim cuts on top of the ones they have already made.

“I urge legislators to act in a bipartisan way,” Torlakson said. “They can choose whether we will slide to the bottom of the western industrial world or rise again back to the top.”

March 15 is dubbed “Red Tuesday,” because it is the date by which school districts must let teachers know they've been targeted for layoffs in the coming school year. With  the nearly 20,000 preliminary layoff notices statewide, the “day of action” provided a supportive backdrop for Torlakson and other speakers who condemned the impasse.

The state Legislature was scheduled to begin voting at 1 p.m. Wednesday on Brown's budget, which is dependent on extending taxes  and fees already in place. But after weeks of negotiations with Republican leaders, it's uncertain how the vote will go.

The governor's budget, which closes a $27 billion deficit, proposes to protect kindergarten-through-12th-grade public education from further decimation by raising $12 billion in tax extensions and fee renewals. It would also cleave another $12.5 billion through a variety of cuts. Voters would have to approve the proposal in a special election in June. 

While Republican lawmakers have balked, business groups such as Silicon Valley Leadership and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce are trying to persuade conservatives to reconsider.

Staggering cuts over the past three years have resulted in furloughs, a shortened school year and 30,000 teacher layoffs, and the schools cannot absorb further losses, said Jed Burnham, San Bruno Park School District sixth-grade teacher. 

Teachers and administrators described a grim educational landscape, with many California classrooms packed so tightly kindergartners cannot partake in “circle time.” In many schools, students read outdated textbooks, bodies outnumber desks, libraries have closed and electives like shop, music, art, and sports have fallen by the wayside, they said.

The ranks of custodians, secretaries, landscapers and other classified workers have also been radically thinned; the number who have been pink-slipped is not known, since districts do not have to announce layoffs among classified personnel until six weeks before the new school year begins. But 1,000 are projected to lose their jobs this school year in the greater Bay Area, and nearly 5,800 statewide.

The number of pink slips peaked two years ago when combined districts handed out some 22,000 pink slips. Forty percent were rehired, but schools chiefs say they have no idea whether the money will be there to rehire any in the coming year.

In , about 48 teachers received preliminary layoff notices, said Superintendent Jeff Baier. It is disheartening, because the district devotes a great deal of time trying to make sure who, among the many applications it gets, is a good fit for the schools.

"We have gone through this for a number of years, but it never loses its impact on me, because we're talking about losing outstanding teachers," Baier said.

Contemplated cuts to non-credentialed staff equals 30 full time positions, said Randall Kenyon, assistant superintendent of business services. But that probably represents 50 individuals, because many of these positions are part-time, he said. Many of these jobs enrich education outside of pure academics, and some are in special education.

Classified staff means librarians for the eight school libraries, maintenance and custodial staff, clerks, computer specialists, science support specialists, music and art programs for grades four-six, physical education and English Language Learner aides.

If the tax extension package does not get onto a special June ballot, schools statewide would lose $4.5 billion, or 10 percent of their budget. While voters would still have approve the referendum, turning down the extensions now would certainly mean fewer teachers are rehired.

Kenyon said the LASD will have an immediate $1.5 million gap to close. In previous years of preliminary layoff notices, it has lost teachers who opted to find other employment rather than wait to see if their layoffs were rescinded when the budget picture became clearer.

"It's fair to characterize this recession as the worst we've been in, certainly in my memory, and I've been in the district 23 years," Kenyon said. "It is deeper, longer-lasting and is creating havoc with districts.

"It's getting to the point—we're creeping around the edges—of some districts going bankrupt." 

The state educates 6.2 million students in 1,000 school districts. All Californians, not just parents, depend on the outcome of a sound school system, said California Teachers Association president David Sanchez.

“The future of the state and the future of the country is right here in front,” he said, gesturing toward children. “They are in class every day.”