State Officials

Let’s Not Neglect State Officials

As CVUSD has made plans to close two elementary schools in 2009, hundreds of parents have come forward in protest of the decision and asking officials to reconsider budget and spending priorities so that such a step won’t be necessary. Such active involvement is to be commended, but if we as parents truly want to make a difference in our public schools, we must also make our concerns known to our state officials.

Currently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has suggested 10% across-the-board cuts in education. That works out to a $4.8 billion cut for K-14 education, on top of a $400 million reduction for education in the current year. The net effect is about $750 less per student than K-12 education would normally receive or about $18,750 per classroom. His proposal calls for the suspension of Proposition 98—the state’s minimum funding guarantee for public schools and community colleges—in order to help address a $14.5 billion state budget shortfall. The proposed cuts are the largest ever contemplated for public schools in California and come in a state that already spends well under the national average per pupil. CVUSD estimates it could lose $5 million from it's $170-million budget, and has already notified as many as 90 teachers that they may not have a job next year.

We need to make some of the same demands of our elected state officials that we have made of our CVUSD officials. Are they truly looking at the impact these kinds of budget cuts will have on our children? Should they be looking elsewhere to make cuts or increase revenues? Could they be looking to overhaul state educational spending in ways that provide more direct benefits to our kids? A great source of information about the California education system, particularly as it relates to financing education is at www.edsource/org – there are many facts and figures presented in a straightforward, non-partisan manner that can be used to get a better understanding of how the state funds our schools. It’s not just the amount of money the state provides to public schools that causes severe problems on local levels; many of those problems are caused by the way the state allocates the money and by the way it determines how much each school district should receive.

Included here is contact information for the governor, our local state representatives, and the members of the education committees in the Senate and Assembly. Let’s tell them that we care passionately about our children’s schools and let them know what type of impact their decisions are having in our community. We believe that California can do better, and we need to make sure our voices are heard in Sacramento.

Tammy Ditmore
Newbury Park
fourditmores@verizon.net


Contact Information for California state representatives from our district

State Senator: Tom McClintock
Although McClintock is our state senator for the remainder of this year and should be voting on this year’s budget, he is now running for U.S. Congress in the Sacramento-area district where he has actually lived with his family for more than 10 years – his kids do not attend school in Ventura County. None of the links posted on the California Legislature pages lead to a State Senate home page for McClintock; I tried several different ways, but all I found is this website, http://www.tommcclintock.com/, which is a campaign website for his congressional campaign. There are places on that website to leave emails and campaign contributions.

Here are mailing addresses for him:
Capitol Address
State Capitol
Room 3070
Sacramento, CA 94248-0001
(916) 651-4019

District Address
223 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Suite 400
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
(805) 494-8808

Assembly Member: Audra Strickland
Home page: http://republican.assembly.ca.gov/members/a37/index.aspx?page=home
Email: Assemblymember.strickland@assembly.ca.gov,
or through contact page at: http://republican.assembly.ca.gov/members/a37/index.aspx?page=Concern

Capitol Address:
State Capitol
Room 4208
Sacramento, CA 94249-0037
Phone: (916) 319-2037
Fax: (916) 319-2137

Westlake Village District Office
2659 Townsgate Road, Suite 236
Westlake Village, CA 91361
Phone: 805-230-9167
Fax: 805-230-9183

The Assembly Education Committee includes Gene Mullin (Chair), Martin Garrick (Vice Chair), Julia Brownley, Joe Coto, Mike Eng, Lori Hancock, Bob Huff,
Betty Karnette, Alan Nakanishi, and Jose Solorio

You can find links to contact information for each of the members and more about the committee’s schedules, publications, etc. at http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/newcomframeset.asp?committee=6

The Senate Education Committee includes Jack Scott (Chair), Mark Wyland (Vice Chair), Elaine Alquist, Jeff Denham, Abel Maldonado, Alex Padilla, Gloria Romero, Joe Simitian and Tom Torlakson.

Some contact information and other information about the committee can be found at http://www.sen.ca.gov/ftp/sen/committee/STANDING/EDUCATION/_home1/PROFILE.HTM

However, links to the Senators home pages do not appear functional. In theory, most senators (not all accept email) can be reached by email at Senator.LastName@senate.ca.gov. Example: Senator.Scott@senate.ca.gov

Governor:
Website: http://gov.ca.gov/
For email, use form at: http://gov.ca.gov/interact

Address:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841

Fax: 916-558-3160 ( new number )