August 26, 2008

TO: All Glendale Council Units and Board Members
RE: Proposed State Budget

While rumors of new proposals and possible deals on a state budget seem to surface and change hourly, there is still, of course, no state budget. The Big Five, consisting of the leadership of the Senate and Assembly and the Governor, have not met in the last few days and are not currently scheduled to meet. There are floor sessions scheduled in the Assembly and Senate this week, at this time. There is no scheduled vote on any budget proposal.
So what does this mean for PTA? What message do we send out to our members? And what actions are we asking them to take? As school is starting, we need to update our members and to encourage them to continue their efforts in contacting legislators and the governor. Our work, while fabulous to date, is not done.

The California State PTA continues to urge both houses to pass the original Conference Committee Budget. This proposal takes a balanced approach and includes new revenues to prevent deeper cuts to education and children's services. The Education Coalition sent a "Floor Alert" to all members of the Senate last week. California State PTA has also sent similar floor alerts to both the Senate and Assembly.

Last week, the Governor proposed an "August Revise" with additional severe cuts to education and revenue increases that are not permanent. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have embraced his proposals. There continues to be rumors that the legislature is considering balancing the budget through additional borrowing and/or short-term fixes. In addition, there are proposals being considered to implement a spending "cap" for future years. These latest developments are not at all encouraging, which means we must continue to mobilize all of our members.

Key Messages for Legislators and the Governor are:

• California State PTA supports the Conference Committee Budget because it takes a balanced approach and prevents deeper cuts to education and children's services.
  
  
• Reject any budget proposals that further cut the funding for K‐14 education below the level of Proposition 98 funding in the Conference Committee Budget.
  
  
• Any budget package must include permanent and ongoing revenues that provide a long-term solution and invest in California's future.
  
  

No more borrowing, gimmicks, caps, or other distractions from a responsible budget. Borrowing to buy time for the state only exacerbates the structural deficit and results in an immediate reduction in support for education. Spending restrictions being considered would result in a de facto cap on future state spending that would lock in education funding at its current inadequate level.


It is vital that we keep communicating with our members and encouraging them to keep contacting their legislators.

Please, plan to have information on the first day of school, at your first meetings, in your emails to members. Ask your members to once again contact their elected officials using the key points listed above. You have all been part of a very successful statewide campaign to advocate for funding that protects education and children's services. However, we must now plan our SEPTEMBER STRATEGY. We must not let the groundwork our members have done so far go for naught. We must Save our Schools!

For more information:  www.capta.org or www.pta1stdistrict.org  or Contact Patty Scripter at pscripter@capta.org

Download pdf of this page.

Education Coalition Letter - August, 2008

Flunk the Budget - May 15, 2008 Press Release

Sample Scrip to Call Legislators

Unit Letter Writing Campaign To-Do List

Sample Letters - 3 to choose from - Sample #1, Sample #2, Sample #3