CTA Activists At Capitol This Week

Katy Grimes: In preparation for the governor’s May budget revise this week, California teacher-activists will be descending on the Capitol all week, attempting to lather up California’s state house, rivaling the Wisconsin protests.

The weeklong protest is designed to put enough pressure on legislators to pass Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax extensions without more cuts to education, and without a vote of the people – a campaign promise made by Brown.

With such grown-up activities as sit-ins and protests planned inside of the Capitol, the California Teachers Association is also holding protest rallies in cities all over the state,calling the event the “State of Emergency.”

The teachers union, never known for its subtlety, is pushing the Legislature to abandon the ballot initiative for California voters, and encouraging lawmakers to just pass the taxes.

Proposition 98 mandated certain percentages of the state budget go to schools. With state tax revenues down, so is education spending, and the CTA doesn’t like it one bit.

Without the same level of spending, school districts face more cuts. And instead of cutting where businesses make cuts – salaries, benefits, entitlements and layoffs – the CTA and education activists keep advocating for more classroom cuts and a shortened school year.

I have noticed that local radio has been inundated with paid advertisements by the President of the CTA, David Sanchez, decrying the difficult conditions teachers are faced with, as justification for more tax money – more money right out of our pockets.

This week, watch as kids are trotted out and used as props at the rallies by some of the most despicable teacher activists. Most of these anti-teaching extremists would rather see nasty cuts to the kids and classes, instead of taking cuts to their unsustainable pensions and making contributions toward their benefits.

MAY 9, 2011