Watch out, California's education system: the battle to keep your schools funded has only just begun. A recent story in the San Jose Mercury News details the impending budget cuts that are being thrust upon Bay Area schools. Yes, we've heard this one before. But this time, the amount of money being slashed from the education budget per student is bigger than ever, and the effects could be devastating.
California's schools are facing a potential $1000 cut from the budget allotted per student, a further loss of 30 days from the existing school year, and a resulting condition of near bankruptcy. Administrators and the Legislature may have to accept up to $13.5 billion in cuts by November 2011. What's even worse is that there seems to be no turning back on this deadly road; Governor Brown mentioned this Tuesday that he has given up changing the minds of GOP leaders who oppose a tax vote on this matter. This means that class sizes will go up and educators' salaries will decrease even more than in the past. Now that arts, music, and sports programs, not to mention electives, have been cut from many schools, core programs are going to be the recipients of this attack.
While many citizens will dismiss this news as yet another numbers-oriented report on the ubiquitous "budget crisis," rest assured: these measures will have brutal consequences for Califiornia's students, teachers, and parents, both current and future. One question remains: can anything still be done?
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