The leadership of 25 Teachers’ Salaries, the grassroots campaign for public school funding, supports Measure A. This will provide money desperately needed by our local Davis school district.

Bruce Colby, the district’s associate superintendent, business services, told the school board on March 17, “The district will need to reduce staff by $3 million if Measure A does not pass” and, “The district is left with a $3 million ongoing budget deficit beyond the parcel tax or staff layoff if the state does not approve tax extensions to maintain funding levels.” The tax extension will not be on the ballot in June; it may be in November. Vote yes and mail your ballot today!

Public education in California and all 50 states is in a major financial crisis. The nation’s schools need a reliable, long term source of funding.

The Department of Defense budget is $685 billion this year, an all-time record. The U.S. had spent $1 trillion on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars as of last summer. In 2008 Congress passed a bank bailout bill costing $840 billion. The Federal Reserve spent $1.8 trillion in 2009 and is spending $900 billion from last November through this September printing more money.

For only $6 billion — less than one percent of the military budget — the 50 states would be able to replace or rehire the 100,000 K-12 teachers and other educators laid off in the last four years.

For these reasons we are working hard to build a campaign to shift a portion of our resources from the U.S. Department of Defense weapons budget to the states, earmarked for hiring K-12 teachers and other educators. One less Tomahawk cruise missile fired at Libya would support the hiring of 25 teachers for one year.

Visit http://www.25teacherssalaries.org to sign our petition or find out more about our campaign.

Mark Graham, Cathy Haskell, Richard Livingston, Karen Newton, Ken Wagstaff

Davis

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