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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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Teachers rally in protest of budget cuts

An estimated 250 teachers rallied at three different locations on El Camino Real today to protest the governor’s recent cold shoulder towards public education and to promote awareness about the threat to public schools posed by proposed statewide budget cuts.

Teachers from all over the Palo Alto Unified School District, and a couple of other local districts, rallied on the corner of Quarry Road, near Stanford Shopping Center, Embarcadero in front of Town and Country Village, and the Page Mill intersection. The Embarcadero rally numbered about 30 protesters and was comprised mainly of Paly and Jordan teachers, many clad in matching "Students are our special interest" tee shirts.

Rally members carried signs with slogans such as "Governator, don’t terminate our budgets" and "Help teachers help students" as they waved at passing cars and encouraged the drivers to honk. The nearly unbroken drone of horns supporting the teachers’ cause proved heartening, according to Student Activities Director Joann Vaars.

"We’re trying to get the feeling that we have a lot of support," Vaars said. "Recently, there have been a lot of attacks on teachers, so it’s nice to be out here and feel the honks of support. I think that we are receiving more support out here on the street than we receive in the papers."

Teachers criticized that Governor Schwarzenegger has done little to follow-through on aiding education.

"Well I think he [Schwarzenegger] has to get out of his political mode and start being a problem solver," Math Department Instructional Supervisor Suzanne Antink said. "When he was first elected, he was trying very hard to be a problem solver and he’s really abandoned that. What he’s done is become a dyed-in-the-wool Republican and I think that’s wrong."

Among the issues educators find most distressing is how Schwarzenegger has not repaid a $2 billion portion of monies appropriated to public schools by voter-initiative Proposition 98.

"As the governor and as the role model and pilot of the state you [Schwarzenegger] must live up to your promises," Varrs said. "You [Schwarzenegger] are a role model to children everywhere, much like teachers are, and we try to live up to a code of standards and we expect the governor to do the same."

"I would like to see schools funded at something like $12,000 per student, $15,000 per student," Antink said. "We should be comparable with the top eight or ten funding levels in the United States. Where we are right now is ridiculous."

The rally fell on the "Day of the Teacher," a statewide day designated towards recognizing teachers throughout California that takes place annually on the second Wednesday in May.

"Everyone shows their support in some way," world language teacher Magdalena Rivera said. "It’s a good thing to have it [the rally] on the Day of the Teacher, which is symbolic, you know, for the obvious reasons. I think it’s successful that even two of us are out here, it’s great that we’re spreading to four corners [of the intersection]."

"I like that day of the teacher. I think that teachers are highly undervalued in our culture, that people don’t show teachers enough respect," Varrs said. "I think that’s [the Day of the Teacher is] a great thing. I hope it continues and catches on and becomes more about teacher appreciation."

Teachers hope that their efforts can help raise enough support for Measure A to receive the 66.7% of votes needed for it to pass in June.

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