California State University system

Following a tuition-increase protest last month by students in the University of California and California State University systems that resulted in 16 arrests, California educators are voicing grievances of their own.

Tens of thousands of teachers at nearly 900 schools throughout Los Angeles left their classrooms Friday to protest California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed state budget cuts to education, according to an article in The New York Times ("California Teachers Challenge Proposed Cuts," June 7, 2008).

During the scheduled hour-long protest, teachers and parents voiced their opposition to the budget cuts, which, if passed, would reduce funding for Los Angeles schools next year by $340 million, says A.J. Duffy, president of the United Teachers of Los Angeles union representing 48,000 teachers.

Teachers took to the streets, despite an attempt by Los Angeles Unified School District officials last month to win a court injunction that would have prevented the educators from leaving their classrooms to join the picket line.

To account for the teachers’ absence, administrators and substitute teachers from neighboring districts were brought in to sit with students in school auditoriums, gymnasiums, and on playgrounds, writes New York Times reporter Rebecca Cathcart.

The suggested education budget cuts and college tuition hikes are part of Schwarzenegger’s plan to help reduce the state’s projected $17-billion budget deficit.