A TALE OF TWO CALIFORNIAS

Charles Dicken’s classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities opens with the lines, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” This historic fiction tells the plight of a revolting underclass and their thirst for equality. The ambivalence of French aristocrats toward the impoverish peasants is ominously similar to California’s elected officials ambivalence toward our impoverished public education system. For far too long, officeholders on both sides of the isle have recklessly razed public education through underfunding schools and demoralizing teachers.

California continues to be the 9^th largest economy in the world. Our academic standards are among the most rigorous in the country yet our investment in education is among the lowest. We rank 46^th among 50 states in per-student spending.

The funding discrepancy among school districts in San Mateo County is blaringly unbalanced. For example, according to Ed-Data.org, per-pupil state and local revenues for Millbrae school district for the 2009-2010 school year was $6,747. Hillsborough school district was more than double that, spending $13,966 per student.

To add insult to injury, on March 15^th more than 1,500 teachers in the greater Bay Area and nearly 20,000 teachers statewide received pink slips, the equivalent of a lay off notice.

Cynthia Dolmacio is a 16-year veteran teacher with three children. This is her fourth year in a row receiving a pink slip from the Brisbane School District. “I grew up [in Brisbane] and attended our public school as do my own three children,” she said. “After teaching 12 years in another district, I came here to be a more integral part of our children’s education.”

Unfortunately, her efforts to support her community have not been reciprocated. “Each fall I set up a classroom for a year filled with learning and joy [and] at the end of each school year, I pack it all up and haul it all home…this affects not only me and my own family but affects our whole community. Each year I form bonds with my students, their families and my colleagues and each year it ends in tears.”

Teachers, administrators, and classified staff have worked tirelessly to make up for the budget shortfalls but news of more teacher layoffs, more kids crammed into a classroom and the elimination of librarians, school nurses, counselors, coaches and every extra-curricular education program is despairing and disgraceful.

No one is advocating for a revolt on the scales of the French Revolution, however, this blatant punishing of educators and the children they teach needs to be addressed and corrected so that all our children receive a high quality education, not just those whose parents have deep pockets. There is a Chinese proverb that moralizes, “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” California representative have been told of the devastation their cuts have inflicted. They have been shown the disproportion of funding. Now, we must get involved. For more information on San Mateo County elected officials, voter registration, voting options and more, visit www.shapethefuture.org. To contact State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, or the California State Board of Education members, go to www.cde.ca.gov. To learn about the efforts made by the California Teacher’s Association, visit, www.cta.org.