June 13, 2008

District 8 Report

San Jose residents get on the bus

By Dave Cortese,
San Jose Vice Mayor
Special to the Times

As many of you are aware, each year I personally sponsor (at no cost to taxpayers) a free bus trip to Sacramento to meet with our state delegation to lobby for education funding. This annual pilgrimage began in 2003, when the District 8 Community Round Table (which my office helped launch and is now an independent non profit organization) asked me to take them to Sacramento so they could directly express their frustrations on the lack of appropriate funding for public education in San Jose and hear specifically from our legislators as to what they planned to do about it.

Teachers, parents and students joined Vice Mayor Dave Cortese on the bus trip to Sacramento to protest education cuts.

Although education issues are generally outside the jurisdiction of the City of San Jose, I personally am very passionate about the topic, not just because I’m a father of four (all of whom have gone through the public education schools - my 12 year old and my 8 year old still are) but also because having spent eight years on the East Side Union High School District Board, I know firsthand how each dollar helps each youth succeed if invested properly. Plus, the city invests millions of dollars each year to support our schools through after school programs, sports field renovations, etc. So, when you consider who to give your vote in the November election for District 8 council member, remember that our next council member has to be attuned and responsive to the many issues that affect our quality of life, not just the ones that the city has direct control over.

This year we partnered with the Silicon Valley Education Found-ation on the bus trip and I am pleased to report that we had the highest turnout ever. Over 70 individuals, including students, educators, school board members, city commissioners and everyday residents, went to Sacramento to deliver a clear message about our expectations when it comes to our youth. Provided for you is a detailed account of our experience.

Assembly member Jim Beall

Beall gave the group an update on higher education, community college and concerns about the Cal State and UC systems. He mentioned that most of the kids affected by the budget cuts are middle class students. One of the major problems is that both UC and CSU have the constitutional right to raise fees without approval of legislature. For example, over the last eight to nine years, tuition has risen an average of 10 percent each year. Even though the Assembly and the Senate voted against the increase, the trustees have the last say regarding tuition increases; legislatures have little or no control over the trustees. What is needed is a revenue source for higher education. So the big question is what can be done? There are at least two options: Cut the budget from UC and CSU and have the legislature put the money directly into the classrooms to keep the fees down or raise taxes.

Senator Abel Maldonado

As a product of a vocational school education, Maldonado emphasized the need to put funding in this area, as well as in art enrichment. When asked as to what to do to address this, Maldonado responded that sadly this has been the practice for the past five years and what needs to be done is for legislators to come up with a good structural reform to fix this situation. Another way to save the arts would be to support innovative public-private partnerships that focus on this aspect of education.

Assembly member Joe Coto

Coto was asked as to why funding for the state prison system continues to grow while funding for schools continues to go down. Coto agreed that too many of our youth are going from cradle to prison, and many of these youth are from San Jose’s poorest families. He suggested that if any money goes into the prison system, it needs to be invested into programs focused on rehabilitation and giving skills to those that are incarcerated, so people can leave prison ready to meaningfully participate in the workforce. He also mentioned the need to focus on support for mental health services in our prison system.

Assembly member John Laird

Laird reminded the group that funding Proposition 98 is the minimum that is needed to support education in California. It only provides a modicum of what our system really needs to succeed and the legislature needs to focus on a long term solution for funding education. He also pointed out other factors that are barriers to success in education, such as dental care. Many families cannot afford dental care, leading to children going to school literally in pain. Making sure families have support services like these will also ensure success.

Assembly member Anna Caballero

Caballero also touched on the state prison system since she is chair of the Assembly Committee on Youth Violence and Prevention. Everything seems to fall back on education and sadly, many prisons across the state have high numbers of youth. These youth are not getting the help they need and as a result, are entering into incarceration, a system that is difficult to leave. She urged the need to focus on rehabilitation and education, bringing vocational schools and leadership training to these kids. She also emphasized how strongly she believes that all children should go through preschool; this is a good start for kids and will help them to not fall behind.

Assembly member Ira Ruskin

Ruskin drew attention to how we need to increase revenue to support education and that the challenge has been that this year 31 of 32 Republican representatives are pledging to not increase taxes. He has already put two items on the floor to close some tax loopholes, such as the yacht tax. Ruskin also pointed out that funding health care is a constant struggle but vitally necessary given that healthy youth will be successful in school.

State Superintendent of Education Jack O’Connell

O’Connell explained that the Governor’s revised budget still proposes a 10 percent cut for students except those in special education. He emphasized the importance of retaining quality teachers, and how school districts in four other states have attempted to recruit California teachers to their states. His office has called 100 districts - about 24,000 pink slips went out for teachers. Of all 50 states, when studied as to the dollar amount spent per student, California ranks 46 out of 50. The difficult budget year means that we need to mobilize - AP, IB classes, counselors, librarians, and nurses – all are at risk.

Estelle Le Mieux - California Teachers Association (CTA)

Le Mieux was very informative in giving the group an overall picture of the budget and what CTA feels needs to be done. Foremost, that Proposition 98 funding was not compromised is a small but important win. Beyond that, there are other cuts to education, such as class size reductions, that will impact the environment in which children learn and the amount of attention they receive. She also talked about CTA’s involvement in “Together for California’s Future” (which is a coalition of seniors, parents, teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, school employees, healthcare advocates, environmentalists, people with disabilities, caregivers and working families – all united to protest the cuts to education and health and human services.

Themes emphasized by the group through Q&A

Lessen dependence on Prop 98 and look for other sources of funds. Prop 98 is an example of a short-term solution but we need to look beyond getting the bare minimum funding through this proposition.

The Governor has proposed using lottery money. Again, this is a short-term solution. Think long-term.

How do we increase minority participation in higher education, such as Latinos and African Americans? The vast majority of these minority groups attend community colleges but do not go on to seek four-year degrees, due to lack of financial aid.

Do not forget about continuing to fund employee groups beyond teachers such the important counselors, secretaries, maintenance staff, and after school aides, etc. These are all vital individuals towards the success of our youth.

Not Present

Assemblymember Elaine Alquist – she sent a member of her staff.

Senator Joe Simitan – he sent a member of his staff.

Senator Ellen Corbett – she sent a member of her staff.

Assemblymember Alberto Torrico

Bus trip attendees included:

Jim Zito, Bonnie Mace, Ike White, Delores Reefer, Vera Hurlburt, Sylvia Alvarez, Sal Alvarez, Sam To, Marcelino Ruelas, Ruben Domínguez, Nicholas Taxera, “Shorty” Joe Quartuccaio, Galvin Jackson, Betty Martinez, Rose Herrera, Mat Savage, Dr. Can Nguyen, Betty Garza, Adrian Flores, Muhammed Chaudhry, Dave Cortese, Lee Ellak, Issa Ramirez, Echo Sayers, A.M. Ramaoorthy, Frank Biehl, Edie Pricolo, Michelle Pelayo, Michelle Rodriguez, Vince Songcayawon, Hoa Truong, Lisa Martinez, Arya Pathria, Mark Pan, Richard Zappelli, Jenny Hong-Gonzalez, Lucia Velez, Salud Barragán, Herlinda Monte, Rosarra Gomez, Vicente Hernandez, Dr. Fred Dalili, Bob Gill, Dan Gould, Jean Powell, Merilee Claverie, 30 + students from Chaboya, Quimby Oak and LeyVa Middle Schools.