Yesterday was the Day of the Teacher. There was a rally in Civic Park to protest the state budget cuts. Speakers included Mike Noce from MDEA, Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Joe Ovick, Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier, Assemblyman Guy Houston, a representative from Senator Tom Torlakson's office and speakers representing local PTAs and teachers. Teachers from all over the area were present as were many parents. Do you know who wasn't there?
I saw one Northgate parent, 2 Northgate teachers, and no Northgate students. Now I can't pretend to know everybody so if I missed you please correct me. This was an opportunity to assemble a large group in front of an elected body and shout for change at the state level. MDUSD is in a crisis mode. We have a split board, a superintendent on the brink of losing his job, teachers with low morale leaving our schools in record numbers and a budget with mistakes that make required cuts even more painful. With all that said, the single greatest issue confronting us right now is the $4 billion cut in state funding and you weren't there to send a message back to Sacramento saying NO MORE CUTS. Why?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I was there! So was Linda Mayo. I also saw several other parents, including parents from Mt. Diablo High and Mt. Diablo El/Diablo View Mid.
I spoke to a few parents and teachers and took time to talk to Guy Houston (I know where the other politicians stand). I wanted to emphasize for him the serious fiscal challenges that MDUSD faces (other than our own self imposed budget problems).
I encourage all of you to support these types of events.
Also, you should know that the MDUSD Board of Education has voted to use any reduction in the cuts to fund employee compensation first (after we balance the budget, which is still not done).
I was happy to see you and Linda Mayo there. I was happy to see so many teachers and parents. I was disappointed to see SO FEW people from Northgate. We have 1500 students/families and 66 teachers, we should have done better.
I'm not a Northgate parent, but I was there. I attended with another parent and I knew 3 of the teachers personally from a local elementary... and other than Paul and Linda.. and a few others I recognized from the community or parent meetings.. there just weren't that many MDUSD people that I could see (though I'll never pretend I know everyone). San Ramon and Acalanes had good showings..
Frustrating, isn't it? I think your earlier posting about too many sites offering the content may have an element of truth - and certainly we all try to emblazon our headlines. I also think that parents are tired of seeing a HUGE amount of problems with so FEW solutions.
You just have to keep posting and plugging away. People do read it - if you have a site meter you can see how many unique visits you get, and how many posts get read. Don't give up.
Post a Comment