"Today we are ten thousand strong"announced the Reverend Jesse Jackson to a wildly cheering crowd at the California State Capital April 5, as he led them on a "war to save our children...to save our state and nation." Jackson who advocates that "We must invest in our children while they're children.” He said we must "stop closing schools and building jails.... Teachers cost less than wardens."
During Easter break thousands of teachers and parents, opposing cuts in school funding, rallied on the state capital steps to join forces with liberal leaders including former governor Jerry Brown, United Farmworkers President César Chavez, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson in support of Proposition 98 which assures 40% of the state's operating budget in schools.
Due to state fiscal shortfalls, the law was suspended by Governor Pete Wilson because the state budget faces nearly a 3 billion dollar deficit. And according to California systems analysts, schools already received a 5% budget increase; "however, schools still stand to lose about 2 billion dollars if Governor Wilson suspends Prop 98 in order to balance the state budget."
Sonoma County schools sent a caravan of nine chartered buses and private carpools of over 700 teachers and administrators to the capital to protest the state budget cuts. Sebastopol teacher Sue Maclean of John Reed School in Rohnert Park commented, "What blew me away was seeing the State Capital ringed with hundreds of yellow school buses. Buses came from as far away as Kern County. CTA officials were quick to point out that school districts did not pay for the buses, they were rented out.
An estimated 500 Sonoma County administrators who attended the Sonoma County pre-rally met with state senators Filante and Barry Keene, and assemblymen Dan Hauser and Mike Thompson. Jim Hansen, who was not present, sent an aide.
Sonoma County schools sent a caravan of nine chartered buses and private carpools of over 700 teachers and administrators to the capital to protest the state budget cuts. Sebastopol teacher Sue Maclean of John Reed School in Rohnert Park commented, "What blew me away was seeing the State Capital ringed with hundreds of yellow school buses. Buses came from as far away as Kern County. CTA officials were quick to point out that school districts did not pay for the buses, they were rented out.
An estimated 500 Sonoma County administrators who attended the Sonoma County pre-rally met with state senators Filante and Barry Keene, and assemblymen Dan Hauser and Mike Thompson. Jim Hansen, who was not present, sent an aide.
Many educators were concerned by the apparent lack of support from their elected leaders. One Sonoma County teacher grumbled, "with the exception of Thompson, they all gave wishy-washy statements of assurances to vote for Prop 98 with a package deal." Both Thompson and administrators were in agreement that Prop 98 needs to be a stand-alone line item—not buried in a "package deal", and taxes need to be raised in order to support public education.
The rally organized by the Coalition for the Future, a group comprised of the Rainbow Coalition and the California Teachers Association, scheduled on the anniversary eve of Martin Luther King's assassination was very much like marching on Selma, Alabama, and equal rights, though Jackson's speech was punctuated with political rhetoric and presidential themes such as "We must invest in our children's future because we are morally right, we will win because our children will win." And "Don't give up, don't surrender" which seemed to accurately sum up the mood of the crowd.
The rally organized by the Coalition for the Future, a group comprised of the Rainbow Coalition and the California Teachers Association, scheduled on the anniversary eve of Martin Luther King's assassination was very much like marching on Selma, Alabama, and equal rights, though Jackson's speech was punctuated with political rhetoric and presidential themes such as "We must invest in our children's future because we are morally right, we will win because our children will win." And "Don't give up, don't surrender" which seemed to accurately sum up the mood of the crowd.
I don't know when or where this was published, probably in the paper, I don't have a tearsheet, this was from a dot matrix print out. Hellish to read.
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