Groups protest cuts in education
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

A volunteer group called Californians Organized to Rescue Education (CORE) and the 12th district PTA took to the streets to express their grievances with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed education budget cuts.

On Fri., April 25, members of CORE and the regional PTA branch demonstrated outside state Sen. Tom McClintock's Thousand Oaks office. More than 50 people carrying signs showed up to demonstrate their objection to Schwarzenegger's proposed $4.8 billion in education cuts.

McClintock's office was chosen for the demonstration since he is the state senator representing the area of the 12th District PTA.

Penny Salomon, co-chair of CORE with Zeona Friedlander, said they delivered more than 100 postcards in protest of the proposed cuts to McClintock's office.

According to Aleta Smith, the Conejo Council PTA president, the postcard said, "The state budget proposal that looks at cuts alone is not a real solution because it doesn't address California's underlying problem of inadequate and unstable revenue sources. You can't talk about spending cuts without also talking about increasing revenues."

Smith said the message to McClintock was simple. If Proposition 98, a minimum education funding guarantee in the state's constitution, is "eviscerated," the consequences will be "devastating," she said. In January Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency, which allowed him to suspend Proposition 98 to deal with the budget crisis. Smith said protesters also asked McClintock to respect the will of the voters.

Salomon said, "It's the 'Year of Education,' and the goal of the state and future prosperity of the state depends on our students being well educated. We think there should be no cuts to education."

Since education funding is directly linked to the state economy, Salomon said the system is fundamentally flawed. When the economy goes into recession, funding for education and other vital services, including healthcare, are threatened.

"The funding system for establishing the budget is unstable and unreliable," she said.The state Salomom said, must change the way services are funded."

Salomon wants tax loopholes closed, especially on the Vehicle License Fee, which was suspended once Schwarzenegger took office.

Some say that if the licensing fee hadn't been suspended there would be no budget crisis today.