More than 500 parents, teachers and students rallied in Ventura on Thursday to protest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget, accusing him of breaking a promise to keep his hands off education dollars.
Led by state schools chief Jack O'Connell, speakers at the campaign-style rally said California voters have made it clear that education is a funding priority and that Schwarzenegger should honor that sentiment.
"We need a governor who will listen to the will of the voters and not try to run them over with a Hummer," O'Connell said to enthusiastic cheers.
The rally was organized by Ventura parents upset with the 2005-06 state budget unveiled by Schwarzenegger in January. Though it calls for a $2.9-billion increase in school spending, it withholds an additional $2.3 billion that school districts are entitled to under Proposition 98.
That initiative, approved by voters in 1988, provides a guaranteed funding level for the state's public schools. Last year, during a state budget crisis, education leaders agreed to forgo $2 billion on Schwarzenegger's promise that funding would not again be withheld.
O'Connell and other Democratic leaders say the January budget proposal breaks that promise. A spokesman for Schwarzenegger said the governor did the best he could for schools while facing a nearly $9-billion state budget gap.
"Education spending has the largest year-over-year spending increase in this budget," said H.D. Palmer, the governor's spokesman. "It more than covers projected growth in student enrollment, inflation and funding for new initiatives."
Accommodating additional education funding would have meant "deep and drastic reductions" in health and social service programs, Palmer said.
Aside from immediate budget worries, education leaders say they are fighting to return long-term stability to education funding in California.
Schwarzenegger has suggested that education should not be exempt from across-the-board spending cuts when state revenues fall short. But education groups say voters have indicated that education should be spared from reductions because it is vital to the state's economic health.
Even with Proposition 98's funding formula, California ranks among the bottom 10% of states in per-pupil spending, said Charles Weis, Ventura County schools superintendent.
"We've seen 30 years of erosion in funding for public schools," Weis said. "We have now the largest class sizes, the fewest librarians and the fewest administrators. It's time we changed course."
