This training event is free and will be held at the San Mateo-Foster City School District Office at 1170 Chess Drive in Foster City (view map). Dinner will be provided!

Agenda:

• 5:45 PM — Registration and Networking
• 6:00 PM — Dinner and training overview
• 6:30 PM — Training workshops begin
• 8:45 PM — Workshops end

Workshops will be provided for all of the following positions:

• President/Vice President
• Treasurer
• Auditor
• Financial Secretary
• Secretary
• Historian
• Legislation and Advocacy
• Membership and Outreach
• Parliamentarian/Bylaws
• Reflections Art Program

Please RSVP as soon as possible to Christine Semenza, San Mateo-Foster City Council President, and include your name, school, e-mail address, telephone number, and which training you’d like to attend. We hope to see you there!

We would like to thank the many PTA volunteers who signed the petition to put the “Local Control of Local Classrooms Funding Act” on the statewide ballot in November 2010. We know that many of you worked very hard to collect signatures from your fellow PTA members, neighbors and family members. We truly appreciate your efforts.

Unfortunately, we were not successful in qualifying the initiative for this year’s ballot. We fell far short of the signatures needed. The bulk of the signatures came from San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Contra Costa County and Los Angeles County.

Despite being unsuccessful in our original goal, this effort did demonstrate that there are thousands of voters in California interested in efforts to support their local schools. We will continue to advocate on this issue. Senator Joe Simitian’s SCA 6 is a bill currently in the Legislature, that would reduce the threshold for local school parcel taxes from the current two-thirds to 55 percent. PTA has a Support position on this bill and will continue to work with the Senator’s office, should the bill move forward.

Once again, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to our many members for their support and tremendous efforts on this issue. Although our advocacy efforts do not always succeed in the short term, we know that they are never wasted, as we are building a base of support for this issue in the longer term.

A historic lawsuit was filed today against the State of California requesting that the current education finance system be declared unconstitutional and that the state be required to establish a school finance system that provides all students an equal opportunity to meet the academic goals set by the State.

The case, Robles-Wong, et al. v. State of California, was filed in the Superior Court of California in Alameda County. Specifically, the suit asks the court to compel the State to align its school finance system—its funding policies and mechanisms—with the educational program that the State has put in place. To do this, plaintiffs allege, the State must scrap its existing finance system; do the work to determine how much it actually costs to fund public education to meet the state’s own program requirements and the needs of California’s school children; and develop and implement a new finance system consistent with Constitutional requirements.

The lawsuit was filed by a broad coalition, including more than 60 individual students and their families, nine school districts from throughout the State, the California School Boards Association (CSBA), California State PTA, and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).

“Filing this lawsuit was a last resort,” said CSBA President Frank Pugh. “Education funding has been in a deteriorating spiral in California for decades. A failure to act now threatens the future of California’s students and the future of our state. The Governor and lawmakers have known for some time that the current school finance system is harming students and they’ve done nothing to remedy the crisis. The $17 billion in cuts to education have only made a dire situation even worse. California’s unstable, unsound and insufficient school finance system is robbing our students of an education.”

“This lawsuit seeks to ensure that the State, the Legislature and the Governor comply with the Constitution and fund and deliver the promised education program to all students in the state,” said Bill Abrams, a partner at the law firm of Bingham McCutchen and counsel for plaintiff students and families. “The Constitution requires that school funding ‘first be set apart’ to meet program demands, and provides that education is a fundamental right and must be made equally available to every child. Too often, this isn’t the case, and the State balances its budget on the backs of its students by cutting or underfunding education programs, and thus prevents schools from meeting its own education standards.”

California’s broken school finance system has undermined the ability of districts to educate our children by making no connection between what is expected of schools and students and the funding provided in order to meet those expectations.

California has set clear requirements for what schools are expected to teach and what students are expected to learn. But the state has failed in its obligation to provide the resources necessary to meet these requirements. The state’s failure to support the required educational program adversely affects all students. Academic achievement results show California’s irrational, unstable and insufficient school finance system denies students the opportunity to become proficient in the State’s academic standards.

“Numerous reports during the last decade have documented the state’s failure to remedy the broken school finance system. The Governor’s own Committee on Educational Excellence in 2007 concluded that our current system is not producing the results that taxpayers and citizens are counting on and that our students deserve,” said Chuck Weis, president of the Association of California School Administrators. “We are asking the courts to require the State to meet the expectations set by law in the Constitution.”

California’s unique revenue and expenditure system makes our schools almost completely dependent on the state, and yet the Governor and Legislature have failed to make education a priority.

The Constitution gives education financing a unique priority by requiring that “from all state revenues there shall first be set apart the monies to be applied by the State for support of the public school system.” Instead, school financing has been battered by instability that prohibits necessary planning to deliver what has been promised to students, and as a result all students suffer. Only half of all California students are proficient in English-language arts; and less than half (approximately 46 percent) are proficient in mathematics. In addition, fewer than 70 percent of California students graduate from high school.

“We require students to meet high education standards and then deny them the resources they need to meet those standards,” said Jo A.S. Loss, president of the California State PTA. “We must have a system that allows schools to deliver a high-quality education for all children – in good times and in tough times.”

Currently, the state ranks 47th among all states in its per-pupil spending on education, spending $2,856 less per pupil than the national average.

Yet most Californians, according to a recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, believe there is not enough state funding going to public schools, and a majority single out K-12 education as the area that they most want to protect from spending cuts.

“Since I started going to school at Alameda High as a freshman, I know that summer programs have been cut. I know that teachers have been laid off. And I know that programs that are supposed to help my classmates and me go to college have been cut,” said Maya Robles-Wong, a 16-year-old 11th-grader and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “I’m not an expert in education finance, but I know enough to say that it’s not because my teachers and our schools aren’t trying to give us what we need. I know that the real problem is that the State is not providing the support my school needs to teach me everything I need.”

Ignoring the facts about our state’s education finance system will deny generations of students the opportunity to be competitive and successful in our global economy. California educates the most diverse student population in the nation and yet we rank nearly last in per- pupil funding. Unless the State fixes the broken school finance system, students will be denied the opportunity to become informed citizens and productive members of society.

For more information about the school finance lawsuit, please visit www.fixschoolfinance.org.

###

Watch California State PTA President Jo Loss present at the May 20 press conference [Facebook Video]
Read all of the press statements from the San Francisco and Sacramento conferences [PDF]
View a Fact Sheet about the lawsuit
Download a Copy of the Robles-Wong v. California Complaint [PDF]

SACRAMENTO – Jo A.S. Loss, president of California State PTA, issued the following statement in response to the Governor’s May Revision of the 2010-2011 budget proposal.

The Governor continues to propose cuts to education, children’s programs and critical social services that are intolerable and unconscionable. The first responsibility of our elected officials is to meet the fundamental needs of all of our children, including a quality education.

The Governor stated that a budget should be a reflection of what we value most. Yet, his proposal does not at all support what Californians care about most: our children.

The Governor also spoke about the need to create jobs and stimulate our economy. Healthy, well educated students are critical for a strong economy.

Any responsible approach to solving the current fiscal crisis requires a balanced approach, including additional revenues. These brutal cuts jeopardize the future of our children and the future of our state.

We are deeply disturbed that the Governor’s May Revision chooses to solve the state’s current fiscal crisis with massive cuts. This was not the only option. Choosing to impose these cuts on our children is unacceptable.

We call upon all Californians to speak up and demand a budget that invests in and meets the needs of California’s 9 million children.

We have seen more than $17 billion in cuts to public education in the last two years. The Governor’s May revision proposes to continue cutting education funding at the same levels as proposed in January. Class sizes are increasing, and we are already losing arts, music, gifted programs and extra-curricular activities. Our most vulnerable students are losing academic support programs and intervention services. School libraries are closing or reducing the hours they are available to students. Already among the last in the nation in the number of nurses, librarians and counselors per student, we are losing even more of these critical members of our education communities.

PTA is equally worried about the threats to the health, safety and well-being of California’s children. Eliminating CalWORKS and decimating child care and other programs as proposed in the May revision will have a devastating effect.

The people of California want a budget that reflects their values. 79 percent of California voters are opposed to making further cuts to public schools to reduce the state budget deficit. A majority of Californians believe that there is not enough state funding going to public schools, and 66 percent would be willing to pay higher taxes to maintain current funding for public schools.

Business officials agree that investing in education is critical. Top Silicon Valley business leaders note that improving K-12 education is one of the most important things the state should do to improve the business climate. Good schools are needed to recruit the best employees.

The future prosperity of our state requires a well-educated workforce able to compete in the global economy. Brutal cuts to our schools and critical services to children jeopardize California’s future.

# # #

This evening, the California Budget Project plans to post a quick overview of the May Revision on its website – www.cbp.org.
As details emerge regarding the budget, we will send more information to you. We will also post updated information on our website -www.capta.org.

Workshops will be offered for President/Vice President, Secretary Treasurer, Auditor, Financial Secretary, Historian, Legislation/Advocacy, Membership, Parliamentarian/Bylaws, Reflections, and Student Involvement.

The evening will also include 17th District’s May General Meeting and Keynote Speaker Jo Loss, California State PTA President. Also attending will be Carol-Ann Koch-Weser, State PTA Vice President of Membership, and Brenda Steffen, State PTA Finance Commission Vice-Chair and Resolutions Committee Chair.

Spotlight on PTA will be held at Ralston Middle School in Belmont (view map). Registration begins at 5:45 PM, and a free dinner will be served at 6 PM along with the program and general meeting. Workshops will begin at 6:45 and conclude by 8:45.

Please RSVP to Keiko Smith and Sara Otus-Green by Wednesday, May 12, indicating which workshop you would like to attend. For more info, you can download the Spotlight on PTA flyer [PDF]. (Or, download the Microsoft Word version.)

The 203 pieces that were judged at the district level will be displayed at a Reflections Art Exhibit on Thursday, March 18 at John Gill Elementary School in Redwood City (view map). The open-house exhibit will take place during 6-8 PM, and all are invited to come see the visual entries, hear the music entries, and watch the film and dance entries. Snacks and activities will also be provided for the kids.

NEW! Congratulations to the following winners at the California State PTA level! These two students will have their entries on display at the State PTA Convention in Sacramento:
Cameron Marsden, “Beauty is…”
Borel Middle School
Award of Merit in Middle/Junior Literature

Alice Zheng, “Beauty is World Peace”
Brewer Island Elementary School
Convention Display in Intermediate Visual Arts

Next year’s Reflections theme (2010-11) will be “Together We Can”. Students are encouraged to start thinking of ideas for next year! If your PTA is interested in starting a Reflections program next year, or if you have any questions about this year’s judging or the March 18 Art Exhibit, please contact Contessa Messiana, 17th District Reflections Chair.

The full list of winners from 17th District is below the jump.

Photography

Visual Arts

Literature

Music Composition

Dance Choreography

Film/Video Production

Please sign the petition to qualify the Local Control of Local Classrooms Funding Act today! As you know, the California State PTA has endorsed the initiative to lower the passage rate for parcel taxes from two-thirds to 55 percent. We need your help to collect 1 million signatures by the beginning of April to ensure that this measure qualifies for the November 2010 statewide ballot.

The California fiscal crisis is affecting every one of our schools. Passing local parcel taxes is one way to ensure a reliable source of local funds for schools, but they currently require a supermajority vote of two-thirds to pass. The Local Control of Local Classrooms Funding Act will lower the passage rate to 55 percent, making it easier for communities to invest in their local schools.

Please download and sign the petition today. We urge you to download a petition, forward it to your entire membership, and ask them to sign as well. There’s no need to wait. As per our policies; units, councils and districts need not vote to affirm a California State PTA position on a statewide measure in order to take action. Signatures may be collected at authorized PTA meetings or events held on school grounds, as long as you have secured the appropriate use of facilities permission from your school district, and provided that district funds are not otherwise used to support the signature gathering. You should not collect signatures on school grounds in any other manner. Check with your local school district office and/or your school’s principal to verify this complies with your own district’s policies. You may also collect signatures outside of the school in your community – talk to your friends, neighbors and colleagues.

It’s easy! And we can make a strong statement and strengthen our voice in supporting our local schools and speaking out for all children. Just follow these instructions.

1. Go to www.improvedschoolfunding.com.
2. Click the “sign petition” button.
3. Pick a package for the number of signatures you want to submit. You can sign a single petition or choose to collect multiple signatures.
4. Read the instructions and check the box at the bottom.
5. Click the link, “Click here to download the signature package as a pdf.”

After doing this, you will have the signature package ready to print, sign and mail to the campaign. Remember, you can sign as an individual, or you can sign and collect other signatures as well.

PTA is looking for members willing to serve as key contacts for the campaign throughout the state. If you are willing to volunteer, please forward your name, e-mail address, telephone number, city or town and PTA District number to us at legislation@capta.org. Someone from the campaign will follow up with you.

Do it TODAY! Together, we can make a difference.

If we collect the approximately 1 million signatures required, we will be the first and only organization to successfully qualify an initiative for the ballot without using paid signature gatherers. Help us to make history! This will enhance the strength of our organization and help local schools save programs from future cuts.

If you have any questions, you can visit the campaign website at www.improvedschoolfunding.com, send an e-mail to petition@improvedschoolfunding.com or call 800-915-4768. Click here to read an important message from Delaine Eastin, former California Superintendent of Public Instruction. [PDF]

Thank you for your support.

Collect Signatures for a Ballot Initiative — PTA is serious about supporting public schools. The California State PTA recently announced that it is actively backing the Californians for Improved School Funding’s ballot initiative, the Local Control of Local Classrooms Funding Act. If qualified for the November 2010 ballot and approved by voters, the proposed Act would lower the threshold for passage of local educational parcel taxes to 55% (still a supermajority!). It requires advance disclosure on how funds will be spent, annual audits, oversight by an independent citizens’ committee, and offering an exemption to senior citizens. Funds raised under the initiative could not be taken or offset by the state in its educational funding decisions.

Talk to everyone in your community — friends, family, neighbors – about why their support for funding health and education is needed. Write a letter to the editor of your newspaper.

Attend the State PTA Convention in April — Join the rally at the Capitol on April 29 and the Superintendent of Public Instruction Candidates Forum on April 30. The Forum is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Schedule a visit to your legislators’ district offices — Talk about local impacts of budget cuts and hand-deliver signed letters from your students. Now is the time, as the budget is being drafted.

Sign up to get Legislative Alerts! — The California PTA web site, www.capta.org, has a wealth of information on current legislation in Sacramento (see the Advocacy Program).

In the past two years, the state has cut $17 billion from schools, and deep cuts to social services have added to the burden borne by children and families. An additional $2.4 billion is now being proposed in new cuts to schools, as well as the possible elimination of entire health programs that serve children. PTA strongly opposes these proposals.

Keep your PTA strong by keeping parents informed and involved. Elect your new PTA officers this spring to give them time to organize for the upcoming year. Send representatives to your council meetings and sign up to attend the 17th District Spotlight on PTA in May.

If your PTA or PTSA needs help or information on these or other issues please let us know!

Sincerely,
Colette J. Rudd
President, 17th District PTA

Please join us on Tuesday, February 9, and extend an invitation to your superintendent or principal, vice-principal, incoming PTA president, and site council chairman. Registration begins at 11:00 AM; the General Meeting will start at 11:45 AM, followed by lunch and the program at Noon. The event will take place at Dominic’s Restaurant at Oyster Point, 360 Oyster Point Blvd. in South San Francisco (view map). The cost to attend is $20 per person. Please make checks payable to 17th District PTA.

The deadline for reservations is Thursday, February 4. Please return the RSVP form [PDF] with payment to Olga Keeney, Founders Day Co-Chair; the address is indicated on the form. We hope to see you there!