Oak Park community rallies against school cuts
Letter, e-mail campaign targets Sacramento
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

California's elected officials may not know much about the community of Oak Park, but they soon will. Teachers, parents, students and other representatives from the community plan to send letters to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Woodland Hills) and state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) urging the Sacramento officials not to cut education funding.

Packets and e-mails addressing the issue and urging families to send letters went out this week from five Oak Park parentteacher organization presidents. Sample letters were provided for those who do not wish to write their own letters. Letters may be delivered to specially marked boxes at the schools before spring break, which begins Fri., March 21, where they will be assembled and mailed by the parentteacher groups, or individuals may mail them directly. Stamp donations for the campaign are encouraged.

Teachers, programs and services in Oak Park and in school districts statewide are in danger of being cut if Schwarzenegger's proposed $4.8billion education cutback goes through. That translates into a loss of nearly $2 million for Oak Park, representing 7 percent of the small district's $29.5-million budget. Oak Park schools include 3,700 students.

Although the governor's plan is a proposal, the state's education code requires school districts to provide layoff notices to certificated employees by March 15, forcing districts to plan 2008-09 school year budgets incorporating the proposed cuts. In Oak Park possible cuts include the layoff of 40 of its 200 teachers, the elementary music and physical education programs, counselors and class size reduction in grades K-3 and grade nine.

"We are required to plan for the worst, but we must still hope for the best. Two-thirds of the state legislature must approve the budget," Oak Park Schools Superintendent Tony Knight said. "In reality, we do not expect that the legislature will enact this exact plan and that although it will most assuredly not be good, it will hopefully not be this bad."

In the meantime, parent leaders hope the letterwriting campaign will help to at least limit the state funding cutbacks, said Merrill Weinstock, who is heading the campaign and is the parent of a Brookside Elementary School student.

"We need to rally as parents and as families to protest what the governor and legislature plan to do to our funds," Weinstock said. "You're taking away so much money. What about our children? They will have no music or science specialist. They are being left behind."

The parentteacher organizations already provide funding for many school programs and can't take on additional responsibility.

"The PTOs can't take the fall," Weinstock said. "This just shouldn't be happening."

The letter-writing campaign will be followed up with a communitywide press conference to further protest the proposed state cuts and educate the public about how the school district will be affected.

Additional information about the budget cuts is available on the Oak Park schools website at www.opusd.k12.ca.us. Information on the letter drive is on each individual school's web page, accessible through the district's site.