School Principals Turn to Parents to Help Gov. Brown Obtain Money for LAUSD Schools

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has asked principals to hold special meetings urging parents to write to their legislators to allow a vote for Gov. Jerry Brown's Revenue Initiative.

"We've been talking about these budget cuts since the beginning of the school year," said Walgrove Avenue Elementary School Principal Arlene Fortier, who has been in constant communication with parents about the issue. "We have a wonderful, active group here [at Walgrove]. I'm beginning to mobilize parents to help curb these cuts and I'm going to use this toolkit [from the school district] to get parents to start this letter writing campaign and make some phone calls."

Fortier said she is helping parents understand that this not just an LAUSD issue, but also a state issue. (See Patch's article on the ramifications of the cuts on public schools throughout the state here).

The letter sent by LAUSD this month calls on parents to include the following in their letters:

“I am writing to notify you of the ‘doomsday’ budget of LAUSD . . . because my child’s school is really feeling the impacts at our campus. . . The Governor’s balanced budget proposal is one that really prioritizes education and it acknowledges the disproportionate cuts education has taken during the economic downturn. It is now time to reverse that trend.”

(A full copy of the letter is in the PDF file under the photo to the right.)

LAUSD Communications Officer Monica Carazo told Mar Vista Patch, "We need all the help [with the letter writing campaign from parents] because we're drowning here. [LAUSD] has experienced nothing of this magnitude and we're still not done with cutting the $408 million deficit."

The district's efforts to close the budget gap means that teachers stand to lose their jobs. At Walgrove, Fortier said that three teachers have already received pink slips, meaning that nearly a quarter of the 13 teachers at the school could be out of work by June 30.

In addition to cuts at Walgrove, other local elementary schools are also feeling the pain. Parents and teachers protested at Mar Vista Elementary School last week after .

At Beethoven Street Elementary School, Principal Althea Ford said that while she wasn't able to go into specifics, she could reveal that "several"of the school's teachers  received preliminary pink slips.

"I thought that last year would be it, but [the school district] is going deep with these cuts," she said, adding that Beethoven could lose up to half of its teaching staff.

Ford also said that Beethoven could lose its school nurse and psychologist. The school district already announced that it would no longer fund the school librarian after the current school year.

Ford said that she is working with parents to write letters to their legislators as per the district's schoolkit and she also plans to write a letter to her legislator this week.

"I will continue to inform parents about these measures, that these are a continuation of the taxes we pay to Sacramento," she said. "Parents have already been informed about [these cuts] and I've met with the PTA and the school site council (a decision-making body made up of parents and teachers). I know that we'll need their support [through these budget cuts] more than ever."

As of Tuesday, the California legislature still hadn't approved Gov. Brown's plan to let voters decide in June whether to extend current income taxes, vehicle fees and other taxes for another five years. The ballot initiatives have the support of Democrats in the legislature but are being resisted by Republicans.

Parent advocacy groups such as the "Let Us Vote" campaign, a statewide parent-led campaign that supports quality public school education, are urging parents to direct their letters to legislators who don't support the ballot initiatives.

Crystal Brown, a mother from the "Let Us Vote" campaign, : “It’s silly if we don’t have the right to at least one vote. Our children are caught in this political crossfire and that’s unfair.”

Politicians opposed to the vote include:

Connie Conway, R-Visalia (click on name for direct email)
State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 319-2034  
(916) 319-2134 fax

Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga
State Capitol, Room 305, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4031

Bob Huff, R-Diamond Barr
State Capitol, Room 5097, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:(916) 651-4029
  Fax: (916) 324-0922

Bill Emmerson, R-Rancho Cucamonga
State Capitol, Room 4082, Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 651-4037
 Fax: (916) 327-2187

Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach
 State Capitol, Room 5094 Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4035 
Fax: (916) 445-9263