I mentioned earlier that California is facing serious budget problems and that these problems could begin to affect students expecting grant & financial aid payments through the state. In addition to this, teachers are now preparing for a massive wave of job cuts and layoffs.
CBS is reporting that as many as 26,000 teachers could lose their jobs this year in the state – and preliminary pink slips are starting to be delivered.
Since the deadline for notification is March 15, many educators wore pink shirts and carried pink protest signs to voice their opposition to the flood of pink slips being shipped into schools.
The current budget shortfalls are forcing schools to absorb as much as an $8 billion cost reduction, and it is still unclear if the federal stimulus package is going to offset some of these losses. California lawmakers are also considering an emergency spending and debt financing bill, but arguments about how it will be paid and the falling credit rating of California state have complicated the progress toward securing funds for schools.
While the affect of such cuts is disasterous for the teachers involved, students are perhaps the biggest losers in the system. Many of the debts taken out on behalf of the state government were spent on projects and services that were allocated long before the students were of age to become beneficiaries. Without a proper education, the future of the economy also suffers. Infrastructure and social services alone cannot build a financial system if the future workforce doesn’t have the proper education to meet the economic needs of their community.
Between suspending college grant money and slashing K-12 education budgets, the students of California are finding little support from the government that has had no problem spending like crazy in the past. Unfortunately, the children of our current generation have inherited a mis-managed economy that seems to favor political patrons over the future of our population.
Maybe, is it too much to ask that people give up their Ipones and lattes so the children can get a proper education? I’m sure such a request is too extreme to be taken seriously in the political halls…
May 1st, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I always feel sad when hear or read people lose their job. Teaching is a special work that not many can do. I wish the California state would cut jobs from other sectors than teaching. I couldn’t imagine where will the 26,000 unemployed teachers will find work.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
I wish California would not have to hand out pink slips to teachers.
March 19th, 2010 at 11:45 am
$700 BILLION Spent in Iraq War.
$300 BILLION already spent in Afghanistan War.
We have the money!
We have the money!
We have the money!
we are spending it in the wrong place.
“We” meaning our imperialistic militant government.
May 27th, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Teachers have knowledge and the ability to teach that knowledge. There is huge demand for teaching in, for example, Asia. Many of those teachers in California will start their own e-learning initiatives, for example teaching English to the Chinese. The Internet makes it possible to deliver your knowledge from your home office and save on travel expenses. There really is no need to be physically present!