Community Rallies to Protest School Budget Cuts
By Brian Larzelere, Staff writer
California education code mandates that by March 15th teachers must receive notice, or “pink slips,” that they are no longer guaranteed a job because of deep state budget cuts on schools. As of now, 26,590 California teachers have received pink slips. Because March 15th falls on a Sunday, Friday the 13th has been dubbed ”Pink Friday.”
Fountain Valley High School has, and will continue to be, affected. The layoffs come in the wake of $11.6 billion in California budget cuts to public education. In the Huntington Beach Unified School District alone, 114 teachers may lose their jobs. At FVHS, more than 5 certified teachers and our librarian are in danger of losing their jobs.
The California Teachers Association organized “Pink Friday–Stand Up For Schools” to show solidarity and protest the budget cuts to education and the teacherd layoffs.
Today, teachers, parents, students, and supporters demonstrated throughout California. Locally, educators from Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, and Westminster demonstrated with a march from Ocean View High School to the intersection of Beach and Warner in Huntington Beach.
The march lasted from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and ended at Lamppost Pizza where free pizza and drinks were served. Pink Friday supporters carried signs such as “Schools Need to Come First” and “You\’re reading this sign because a teacher taught you” and wore pink and black shirts saying: California Spending [on education]: 47th [in the nation] to protest the pink slips and the cuts to education.
