California Teachers Rally To Protest “Pink Friday”
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March 13, 2009
California teachers all around the state are holding rallies and protests today on what they’re calling Pink Friday. March 13 is the deadline for school districts to hand out tentative pink slips, notifying teachers they may not have a job next year. An estimated 20,000 teachers will receive the pink slips today, while last year 10,000 received them, and half of those did loose their jobs. School districts say this year's job cuts are the result of the state’s fiscal crisis that has left districts millions of dollars short.
This is the fourth year in a row that Darren Meyer has gotten such a warning. So far, the third grade teacher at Durfee Elementary School has managed to keep his job, but this time he’s not so confident.
"We want to do what’s right for the kids and for the teachers. It’s not just about saving my job; it’s about giving these kids the best education that we can."
Marty Hittelman, with the California Federation of Teachers, says California has the money to properly support schools, but the Legislature has chosen not to.
"Part of that is the two-thirds vote requirement to pass the budget and pass taxes. When you have a little more than a third of the Legislature who has pledged never to address the funding issues for California, it’s very difficult to raise the kind of revenue we need."
Melinda Dart, a fourth grade teacher at Woodrow Wilson Elementary in Daly City, did not receive a tentative layoff notice, but says the conditions for teaching have become terrible.
"You’re trying your best to teach students, deal with new curriculum, do all your responsibilities and yet you feel that at any time, your support system could fall away."
California schools rank 47th in the nation in per-student funding. If the latest round of cuts are approved, the state would likely fall to 49th. In support of Pink Friday, teachers are encouraging Californians to wear pink, and contact their legislators to ask them to fund education.