Palo Alto parents and school board members gathered at Café La Dulce Vita Friday, April 11 on California Avenue to write letters to Gov. Gray Davis and other state officials in an effort to protest the sate-proposed budget cuts from basic-aid school districts.

Organizers of the protest hope to influence the May 15 budget rewrite, when state officials will gather in Sacramento to reconsider the status of basic-aid schools and other proposed cuts. Friday’s meeting produced nearly 100 letters of protest according to organizer Camille Townsend.

“Our goal is to encourage the Governor to change his budget so as not to cut our local property taxes to basic-aid school districts,” Parent Teacher-Student Association organizer (PTSA) Townsend said.

The letters also addressed the injustice of the budget cut proposal, which came about earlier this year in an effort to balance the thirty-four billion-dollar state deficit. This would mean a devastating $23.1 million cut from the Palo Alto Unified School District budget, 25 percent of its budget.

“Our main message is that this is short sighted public policy to take public funding from well functioning schools,” school board president Mandy Lowell said.

The event is the fourth in series of letter writings organized by PTA member Camille Townsend that began in early February. Parents who attend are provided with phone numbers and prompts with space for feedback to members of several top offices including Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell.

Parents of PAUSD students gathered to protest the injustice of these potentially devastating cuts.

“We already spend so little money on our children,“ Paly parent Shawn. “Our children are the key to future. There’s got to be another way to do balance the deficit.” Mathews-Hoover said.

Parents are desperately trying to express the importance of education in their letters to the governor.

“Governor Davis needs to understand that education holds the key to our future generations,” parent Wendy Akure-Ghose said. “Education funds should not be touched.”

Lowell expressed concerns about the Governor’s disregard for the status of basic- aid schools.

“We are trying to correct the misconception that everyone in basic aid schools is wealthy,” Lowell said.

School Board member John Barton expressed hopes that the letter writing would influence the governor’s decision.

“I expect the governor to accept the lack of wisdom in the proposal and withdraw,” Barton Said

So far feedback has come back in the form of pre-written responses.

If the governor does not choose to hear these protests, school board members see a grave future for PAUSD and other basic aid districts.

“We will have to lay off a lot of teachers and cut programs and we’ll have to run a court to stop it if it goes through.” Barton said.

Townsend will continue to run her letter writings and distribute phone numbers of influential officials in front of schools and via e-mail. She has planned to set up a final letter writing session before the May 15 revision alongside city council speakers at Addison Elementary School following Palo Alto’s annual May Fete Parade on May 5.

“Our goal is to make it easy for people who care to do what they need to do,” Townsend said.