Assemblywoman Fiona Ma: Budget, back to school

California schools and teachers need our help now more than ever to bolster support for public education. As of July 2009, education funding has been sliced by $6 billion to elementary and high schools and community colleges.ÊIn addition, $2 billion has been cut from the budget, money originally allocated to state colleges and universities. These are devastating cuts and this year is the year that Assembly Democrats are saying "enough is enough."

Assembly Democrats have crafted a California Jobs Budget that restores last year's education cuts. The budget will restore education's minimum Proposition 98 funding and rejects the governor's draconian cuts. Our budget also assists higher education by reducing the governor's 15 percent University of California (UC) fee increase and 10 percent California State University (CSU) increase by half by providing UC and CSU $275 million from the Jobs and Economic Security Fund.Ê

The California Jobs Budget creates and protects 465,000 jobs in the private and public sector; keeps teachers in the classroom and cops on the beat; increases job training through community colleges; pays down debt to schools and local government; and protects education and cuts student fees.

The California Jobs Budget would provide a $10 billion jobs and economic stability fund; no hidden borrowing or broad-based taxes; protects working families and small businesses from harmful cuts; prevents the loss of more than $5 billion in federal funds; creates a $1 billion emergency reserve fund.

As of presstime, negotiations between both the Senate and the Assembly continue as the Budget Conference Committee continues to meet to develop a final plan. You can learn more about the Assembly Democrats budget by visiting the website at http://asmdc.org.

Back to School Month

The month of August calls for the end of summer and preparation to head back to school. As you may know, August is National Back to School Month, a time for community members to raise awareness about the importance of receiving an education.

The National Back to School Month campaign was initiated by Partnership for Family Involvement, an association of more than 4,000 businesses, community leaders and education institutions nationwide. This campaign urges us to celebrate learning by building support for education improvements and by fostering relationships among students, parents, teachers, schools and their communities. ÊÊ

National Back to School Month is a great way we can renew our commitment to our children's education. Organize back-to-school events and activities, such as a book drive, to encourage long-term efforts to improve reading, or make a school calendar with events that highlight ways in which parents can become involved in improving education. Ê

However you choose to help out, whether you organize a tutoring program in reading, a school parade or a class celebration for parents and students, remember our most important priority is our children's education.

Let's prepare our children for the future. Let's go back to school and let's help!

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma is the Speaker Pro Tempore at the California Assembly.