Teachers protest pink slips on Pink Friday

Today is Pink Friday, the deadline for California teachers to receive preliminary layoff notices, and teachers are out in full force protesting across the state.

Prompted by billions of dollars in state budget cuts, more than 26,000 teachers have already received pink slips, including 2,300 in the Los Angeles Unified School District. These notices are warnings and must be finalized later this year. Educators are hopeful many will be rescinded by the May ballot if propositions 1A and 1B -- which would provide billions in new education spending -- are approved by voters.

Locally, students are planning a walkout protest at Fremont High School this morning, and United Teachers Los Angeles leaders will hold a news conference at the Miguel Contreras Learning Center. Across the region, protests are planned in Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, San Clemente, Moorpark, Monrovia and elsewhere.

-- Seema Mehta

Photo: Teachers Cathy Brooks, left, and Dan Hyke join others at Alhambra High School in Alhambra on Pink Friday.

Photo by: Al  Seib  / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Leza]

Why are you covering the teachers protest and not the tax revolt raly that ook place last saturday?

[Joe]

God bless the teachers. They do amazing work every day are by far the most underpaid profession. To think that we're going to lay off some to fit the budget makes me sick. The education of our children should be our top priority. If anyone thinks having 35 kindergarteners to1 teacher is a good idea raise your hand.

[Leza]

Please do be fooled by the LA times.
Vote no on prop 1A

Join the tax revolt, kfi 640.com for more information

[Michael Seegmiller]

Good morning to all ! this is a sad day for our childrens welfare and education as today the LAUSD sends out lay off notices to teachers across the state of california.

I cannot describe how disappointed i am right now to our state politicians and state government to cut the necessary funding for the future of our childrens wake up america! to all parents out there like myself who works hard everyday to provide better lives for our childrens are we willing to sacrifice the quality of educations that our childrens get? maybe it is time for us as parents to speak out and stand up for the welfare of our childrens. we work so hard everyday knowing that our childrens get a good education from their schools. To all parents out there it is time to stand up for our kids because it is our childrens who will suffer from these teachers lay offs.

I certainly hope that my vote last november for a change in this country does not go into waste! to President Obama i do know that all of us are in crisis right now but i beg you please do not allow this to happen to our children they are the future of this great nation of ours. i am willing to sacrifice more for my children for them to receive a good quality education but they need the necessary funding for to achieve this. to our state politicians we are indeed the most powerful country in the world but is this the best you can come up with ? i dont mind if you raise all the taxes in this state if that is the sacrifices we need to face then so be it. but please do not do this at the expense of our children. they deserve a good quality education they are indeed the future of this nation we love so dearly.

[Janet]

Over 10,000 turn out to protest the highest tax increase in US history (AFTER the Republicans and Governor promise that there will be no new taxes), yet the Times does not deem that news-worthy and doesn't cover it (while the OC Register puts it on their front page)...but, you cover teachers wearing pink as a protest over deceptive "pink slips" that are handed out almost every year. Incredible.

[Leza]

Are you guys crazy or what?

the schools in California are a failure, a complete failure.

the teachers and the adminstrators are a failure.

the drop-out rate is 50%, god only knows how many are illiterate.

We need to tear down the system and re-build, to keep going is our ruin.

Listen to KFI 640 for the tax revolt

[MELISSA]

The news only seems to report that teachers will be getting "pink slips" but what they fail to report is not only are teachers getting these pink slips but office managers, secretaries, maintenance workers, custodial staff, cafeteria works, teacher aides & special education aides as well as school nurses. Please remember there are other workers that are also helping to maintain our LAUSD schools. The people who paint the school when they graffiti it, the plumbers who come and fix the toilets when the students stuff papers in them. The maintenance workers, who fix the leaks, fix the broken doors; replace the sinks, or broken lockers. People who clean up the blood from the floor or the students vomit, or even pick up the students trash. The people who prepare the students breakfast and lunches, the aides who provide services to our special education classrooms, the little people that get lost in the shuffle. I understand that it’s sad to see that teachers will be loosing their jobs but again we need to remember that it’s not just them. Thank you.

[Rudy]

Every politician should be voted out of office in the next election, then we can replace them with new politicians who will screw us once they learn the ropes and start getting comfortable with the perks of public office.

[adoptivefather]

The irony is these teachers are exhibiting exactly why the public schools are failing.

If these morons came to a job interview dressed like this would they get hired? The true 'colors' of the crappy teachers ruining our kids comes out.

Fire them all and start over.

[Annette]

I am a visitor to the US. I was just astounded to hear that teachers are being laid off... I have never heard of such a thing in any other civilized country. But then it occurred to me that this is an inevitable outcome of the choices that Californians have made at election time. You can't have your cake and eat it... And you can't choose not to pay reasonable taxes AND have a stable, high-quality education system (and health system, and road system, and on and on). It's one or the other. To all those people acting shocked and dismayed that teachers are being let go (and that the education of a generation of school children is being disrupted), how did you vote? A tax system that would provide universal health care and good education wouldn't cost the majority of Californians a lot more than what they pay already. In most first-world countries, the rich pay more tax. As long as Californians value the rich and their interests higher than everyone else, there will be crazy, third-world situations like this spectacle of teachers being laid off. Californians should be worried about the future.

[Jason McKee]

CA has the highest paid teachers in the USA according to the American Federation of Teachers. Look it up on the AFT.ORG website.

LAUSD student enrollment is down 7% since 2003. How can you justify 100% staffing if there's only 93% of the kids? THERE ARE MORE THAN 52,000 LESS STUDENTS TODAY THAN IN 2003!!!

The LAUSA's Graduation rate is 44% according to the LA Times and the Bill Gates Foundation. FIRE ALL OF THE FAILING TEACHERS.

VOTE NO ON 1A.

[Mariusz]

The reporting here is rather dishonest or uninformed. The notices are not necessarily the actuall lay-offs. They are required and sent "just in case." It would help to find out what is the estimated number of probable lay-offs. 100? 200? Maybe more? Or maybe less?

[Lin]

I feel for the teachers, I really do (although I can't quite say the same for the teacher's union). We're experiencing an economic situation unlike any experienced in most of our life times. Budget cuts are inevitable and if it's not education, it's medicare or unemployment or layoffs elsewhere. There is no way you can please everyone in this situation. You can make huge detrimental cuts to a few social programs, or take a piece out of all programs, which unfortunately also includes education.

[LA father]

I agree with you all regarding the teacher. Unfortunately, they are being used as media propaganda tools to make this budget cut look really really bad. When in reality, most of the money is being wasted in administration costs. The superintendent of LAUSD David Brewer, makes $300,000 a year, has a $3000/month housing allowance, and $45,000 a year expense account. He needs to go. And he isn't even qualified for the position. If we get rid of the wasteful spending then perhaps we can get more teachers into the classrooms.

This is just one example. You can also look up how much the LAUSD pays for paper and staplers and compares those prices to what you can buy if you just walk into a staples store yourself. You will be shocked at how they piss it away. Simply pathetic. This school district needs to be massively overhauled.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez7-2008dec07,0,877150.column

[Mike]

The problem here is that California Teachers are the highest paid in the nation, averaging $60K and with unbelievable benefits, yet districts like LAUSD have huge dropout rates. This is contributing to the budget mess. California teachers are not underpaid compared to other states. Why won't they and the their union reduce their salaries/benefits so that no teacher is laid off.

[LA father]

I agree with you all regarding the teacher. Unfortunately, they are being used as media propaganda tools to make this budget cut look really really bad. When in reality, most of the money is being wasted in administration costs. The superintendent of LAUSD David Brewer, makes $300,000 a year, has a $3000/month housing allowance, and $45,000 a year expense account. He needs to go. And he isn't even qualified for the position. If we get rid of the wasteful spending then perhaps we can get more teachers into the classrooms.

This is just one example. You can also look up how much the LAUSD pays for paper and staplers and compares those prices to what you can buy if you just walk into a staples store yourself. You will be shocked at how they piss it away. Simply pathetic. This school district needs to be massively overhauled.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez7-2008dec07,0,877150.column

[Jack Thomson]

I agree it is sad day for teachers and children. BUT, what some people don't seem to realize is that there is no more money. Not only is there no more money, our great state politicians spend outrageously more money than the state takes in.

So, my question to all of you is this. What would you prefer to cut instead? State unemployment? Infrastructure projects? Healthcare for the poor?

We abosolutely can not raise more taxes. We already pay the highest taxes of any state in the union. We spend more money per pupil than any other state or country in the world on education. It's broken. Throwing more money at the problem is NOT working.

Just my opinion.

[CornerJ]

Exactly where do some of you posters think state revenues come from? They don't magically materialize in the state treasury's vaults, they come from taxes on businesses and working people. If businesses are being driven out of state by the people you elect, and are having to lay off people to survive, there is less revenue for education.

Furthermore, if the people you elect allow existing revues to be spent on "free" education, health care, and legal services for illegal aliens, there is less revenue to be spent on legitimate, tax-paying citizens.

In other words, there is indeed a price to be paid for "free" services to millions of illegal aliens. If you keep electing people who don't understand that, then stop whining when the state runs out of funding for services you need.

[Rob]

The notion that smaller class size is somehow connected with an improvement in education has to be one of the biggest lies put forth by the teacher's union. Sure, for younger kids it might make sense, but for older classmen, especially high school, there is no advantage in having a smaller class size (unless you're an out of work teacher looking for work). It is much better to have fewer, COMPETENT teachers, rather than hordes of union protected failures. Look at UCLA and UC Berkeley, some of the best educational institutions in the world... they frequently have classes with hundreds of students, and yet somehow those kids get a better education than anyone in the state. Wonder why that is?

Teachers: You need to stop blaming your failures on large class sizes. Small class sizes may be good for you job security, but they aren't good for the tax payers who pay your salary.

Parents: You need to stop blaming your kid's failures on the system. The system is fine, it's YOUR kids who are screwed up. A good education starts at home, so get with the program. Oh and by the way, I hate to break it to you, but chances are, your little Johnny is not "special". So get used to it, and act accordingly. If your kid is getting bad grades, maybe intellectual pursuits just aren't his or her forte? Look at the bright side, if you're honest with yourself, at least you won't have to pay for college, right? Every society needs ditch diggers, the good part about raising one is you can get him out of the house and into the working world fast and cheap.

[Engineer]

How childish of the Teachers to act like this. When there are large layoffs in Aerospace, Construction, and Automotive industries, you don't see those workers throwing costumed temper tantrums like the Teachers do. How unprofessional of them, and what a bad example to set for the students. They all need to grow up!

[Gerry]

The idea that these protests have anything to do with education is laughable. Note how student walkouts are always part of these demonstrations. A little hypocritical, don't you think?

[sandy]

I work in education, and I am truly disappointed in the comments that are being posted. We actually do not spend the most per pupil in the nation, we are towards the bottom on per pupil spending. I do agree that way to much money is being wasted in the district offices. If they had an unbasis party come in and give it the true overhaul needed, monies could be better used.

[Andre Peneur]

California teachers make an average of $63,000 per year. They should be darn happy they have jobs...

In Los Angeles County (LAUSD) there is a 50% drop out rate among students. Teachers are NOT doing their jobs correctly, yet they ask for more and more money. This is offensive and an insult to tax-payers in this county.

Also, this "pink protest" is silly and a disgrace. These so-called teachers need to wise-up and get with the program. They're acting like rich brats.

[Fred Williams]

The highest paid teachers in the country are throwing temper tantrums over having to face the same financial situation as the rest of us. And I love the way they rope "the children" into this charade. BTW, those same children are being irrevocably damaged by the pathetic 50% dropout rate in the LASD. If anyone of us produced a 50% failure rate in our jobs, we'd be out on our butts. I'm so sick of paying sky-high taxes for some of the worst public servies in human history. Worthless unions like the CTA are the reason this state is in the toilet but their vampirism knows no limits.

[KimNorth]

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND means education of all illegal’s which in our school district here in California is %68 English learners.
So what happens to the American child/student when all our tax money is spent on special programs to help the illegal students succeed. Our American/legal children ARE LEFT BEHIND
That law should have read...no illegal alien child left behind...that's where all the money has gone...to illegal immigrants. They thrive on American taxpayers while we foot the bill...