No more Gold in the Golden state?
With mounting financial troubles in California, public education is burdened with much of the financial cut-backs.
“School districts did not receive a full cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to account for rising salaries, utilities, and supplies. The state’s deepening fiscal crisis may require midyear cuts. School construction projects are in jeopardy due to the credit crisis. More school districts are asking their communities to pass parcel tax elections in order to compensate for unreliable state funds.” EdSource.org - Jan. 2009
For some unknown reason, we always seem to look to public education for cutting budgets whenever we’re in a pinch. When thinking about how we, as Californians or Americans, have arrived here as the most powerful and wealthy nation in the world, it’s baffling how easily we forget.
We have created an economic system fertile for business growth, for developing a nation that attracts the best and brightest, and for creating educational foundations that support the continual development of our infrastructure (eg. our wonderful quality of life!).
For some reason, there seems to be a blatant disconnect between cause and effect. Has Governor Schwarzenegger, California residents and the rest of America forgotten that our government leaders and our leaders of technological innovation were once 10 year old 5th graders, 15 year old high school students, and 20 year old college kids?
Much of the burgeoning fiscal policy seems to be a reflection of our country’s knee-jerk reaction to make expendable that which does not directly and instantly affect our situation. We are, in a way, treating education as we would a luxury expenditure rather than the vital building block for tomorrow’s workforce (and those who will be supporting us once we no longer have the faculties to support ourselves!).
Is there anything we can do? Of course, make your voice heard. Email your congressman. If you’re a teacher, advance your education with a Master’s degree in education and become a better teacher. And of course, you can vote. Certainly one large step toward supporting the development of our public education system occurred during the Nov. 4th, 2008 election.