Part of that revise includes a plan he submitted to the Legislature that funds education under the guidelines of Proposition 98, which he hopes will increase funding to schools by $1.8 billion for next year’s budget, according to details of the plan released Wednesday.
In January, Schwarzenegger proposed that $4.4 billion be cut from education when he announced the state’s budget had a $14.5 billion deficit, a number that has since grown by nearly $3 billion.
The news was welcomed on the steps of City Hall, where singing, chanting and vitriol against Schwarzenegger and his Republican party were in ample supply.
“Our legislators are very much with us,” Broderick said, referring to Assemblyman Paul Krekorian and state Sen. Jack Scott. “But the Republicans decided to say no to any kind of change and any kind of negotiation. It’s not right.”
Standing close to Broderick was a group of children shouting slogans through a megaphone behind a banner that read, “Cuts hurt kids.”
“We shouldn’t cut the budget,” 10-year-old Madeline Weerts said. “We love P.E., we love art. The governor should cut something else. He’s probably a nice person,” Madeline said, “but he shouldn’t take money from schools.”
Similar rallies were held Wednesday across the state and region, including Glendale and Pasadena.
The show of support from teachers, parents and students at Burbank’s demonstration demonstrated the gravity of the situation, said Larry Applebaum, one of the rally’s organizers and President of the Board of Education, Larry Applebaum.
“This is a real great coalition coming together to make a statement,” he said. “They need to recognize that certain things aren’t acceptable.
Applebaum admitted that minor cuts to the state’s education budget are likely to be adopted, but pleaded with legislators to limit the amount of funds siphoned from schools by making cuts to other areas, such as transportation.
Legislators are due to take up Schwarzenegger’s revised budget proposals soon as the Burbank school district will continue to brace for the worst, Supt. Greg Bowman said.
The district has a rainy day reserve fund totaling about $8.1 million and does not expect to lay any teachers off as a result of the state’s budget woes, but warned that its reserve could dry up if more cuts are not averted.
“We have our rainy day fund that will just see us through the coming year,” he said. “Legislators need to hear what the public is saying, that education is our number one priority.”
