Los Angeles public school teachers protest budget cuts and layoffs

[dcsmart]

Thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District public teachers were joined by parents and other workers in a demonstration in central Los Angeles on January 29. The demonstration was called to protest the proposed state and local budget cuts.

The protest began at the LAUSD headquarters west of downtown and swelled at Pershing Square, as columns of teachers arrived from across Los Angeles in buses and trains. Addressing the teachers were officials from the Los Angeles Teachers Union, rank and file teachers, parents and students.

As a consequence of California's budget crisis, the Los Angeles Unified School District is anticipating a $500 million budget reduction. This will result in the layoff of some 2,300 non-tenured teachers next term. The LAUSD employs a total of 75,000 teaching and non-teaching employees. It is the second largest school system in the United States.

In addition to the impending sackings, teachers face the prospect of higher health care premiums and higher deductions on their health care benefits. The LAUSD also anticipates what LAUSD superintendent Ramon Cortines calls ‘drastic cuts' among the districts' 40,000 non-teaching employees. The California State legislature is currently considering a mid-year budget cut for primary and secondary public education of $10.8 billion.
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FULL ARTICLE
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/scho-j31.shtml

[sam sarrha]

1. sounds like the corporate bonus looting of $18 Billion dollars could have served the people better

children need it more than Millionaire CEO's. and the new GOP leader just said they were going to stand and fight and not give one inch to prevent the Have it All's from giving up one F'n dime.. they have declared war on change.. the have declared that Corporate Fascism, Right Wing Plutocracy, and Cleptocracy will continue to suck the guts out of this nation's economy and destroy the New Deal Middle Class.

what it all comes down to is Ideology.. that Wealth is a measure of God's Favor of a man and it is a Sin AGAINST GOD's WILL to Tax a rich man or prevent hom in any way from taking more money from anyone who isn't favored, in any way or manner regardless of the consequences to the 'others' oe to the earth. they are insane,

they have as a group declared themselves Psychopaths with definite and deliberate intensions... TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AGAINST THE WILL OF ITS PEOPLE.

they have declared war on us, and the Constitution