The school board resolved to send a letter to the governor, voicing its opposition to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed educational budget cuts at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The cuts, which would total $ 4.8 billion dollars over the next 18 months, have potentially disastrous results for Palo Alto and the rest of the state, board member Barb Mitchell said.

“The cuts are a devastating disruption to the learning of students,” Mitchell told the board. “These cuts go beyond the abstract and typical. This represents the likely layoff of tens of thousands of teachers.”

According to Mitchell, it takes up to five years to gain teaching mastery. Since the cuts would force the state to lay off many young teachers, the cuts would be damaging in both the short and long term, she said.

“Unlike certain budget allocations, laying off teachers has a near-term and a long-term devastating effect,” Mitchell said, because if the teachers were later rehired, their training would have to be continued. “This is similar to the state investing billions of dollars in building a new highway and then ripping it up a year later.”

School board president Dana Tom voiced his agreement with Mitchell and advocated that the board send a letter to the governor against the bill.

“California public schools have never seen cuts this large,” Tom said. “The goal is to support public education across the states against these cuts. We are voicing are opposition to the governor’s proposed budget cuts.”

Community members Barbara Sprang and Dan Dykwel also voiced their opposition to the cuts.

“Palo Alto funds its schools well below the national average,” Sprang said. “Our schools are asked to deliver rigorous standards using outdated technology.”

Dykwel, representing the Palo Alto Council of PTAs, supported the board, saying, “We support any efforts to contest the governor’s budget proposal.”

The board agreed to send the letter as soon as possible, and both Tom and Mitchell also advocated individuals to send letters.

“If you own a pen or have an Internet connection, this is the time to write our legislature or our governor,” Mitchell said.

On Tuesday, the board also approved the using the services of McKinsey and Co. to work pro bono on the creation of a strategic plan.

McKinsey is a global management consulting firm, which, according to Superintendent Kevin Skelly, has a long history of doing non profit work with educators and schools worldwide. The group will assist in the creation of a strategic plan, a document the district will use as a guide for all policy decisions.

“We hope that they have something to gain, and we have a lot to gain from their wisdom and expertise,” Skelly said.

The strategic plan, which could be completed by May, will also require input from the community, Skelly told the board.

“Our goal is to have a process that’s inclusive and with proper info,” Skelly said.