On Monday, July 27, over 600 people packed the State House CORI Hearing as part of an extended CORI Day of Action. Organized by the Commonwealth CORI Coalition, supporters demonstrated the severity of the CORI crisis and raised the need for immediate reforms.

Public education in the United States is under heavy attack. And because a so-called “progressive” President is leading the charge, many education activists have been lulled to sleep while on lookout duty. Obama recently announced his “race to the top” program to “reform” education. Much like Bush’s No Child Left Behind, Obama’s plan represents progress for education in name only. In reality, Obama’s plan is to lure cash-starved schools into a “competition” to accept federal funds, with dangerous strings attached. The two most devious conditions are the widespread creation of charter schools and the implementation of teacher merit pay. Both of these items have been long-condemned by progressive educational advocates as well as the majority of the nation’s teachers. If implemented, they would have a destructive effect on public education.

In the wake of Tim Pawlenty's multi-million dollar budget cut, University of Minnesota president Bob Bruininks has announced that 1,240 university jobs will be eliminated.  Although this includes positions that won't be filled when employees retire or leave, approximately 600 workers will be laid off. The 1,240 vanished positions represent five percent of the university workforce.  Combined with a wage freeze and substantial cuts to the Regents' Scholarship program, these cuts mean that frontline staff at the U are doing more work for less money with no end in sight.

John Brown Childs, a UCSC professor emeritus, author, scholar and educator, joined the Teachers for Class War radio show on Free Radio Santa Cruz for an hour of discussion on July 13th. Topics range from Katrina to Obama, UCSC politics to his namesake John Brown, and the civil rights movement of the sixties to contemporary issues facing Santa Cruz.

The Governor and the California General Assembly approved wage reductions for in-home assistance to elderly and disabled as part of an overall budget reduction proposal earlier this year. On June 23rd, activists from "The People's Day of Reckoning" protested those cuts as well as the governor's accusations that state funded In-Home Support Services is "rife with fraud." Seventeen people, many in wheelchairs, were arrested. On July 15th, members of that coalition were joined by labor activists, educators, and students at a larger protest at the same location.

On Wednesday, July 8th, the Radical Teachers Alliance will host Jeff Duncan-Andrade from 5-7pm at UC Santa Cruz. The event is open to students, educators, and community members and will people engage with ideas of critical pedagogy, student identity and education in urban settings. This is an opportunity to discuss ideas of theory connecting with actual classroom practices -- educators taking action to work towards equitable and empowering educational spaces.

In response to the disastrous cuts to the LAUSD budget, community members have taken a number of actions in opposition and protest.

A roving campout of hunger-striking teachers, eager to add their life experience to their in-class pedagogy, along with their supporters, traveled from campus to campus. They eventually set up in front of the downtown district office, where they were visited by veteran activist Dolores Huerta.

High school students walked out of class and marched to neighboring schools and to the LAUSD office, where some engaged in direct action at a board meeting.

After nearly a month, the teachers broke their fast in front of Supertintendent Cortines' house. While the teachers have ended their strike, the dancers of Danza Cuauhtémoc have take it up, and are currently camped in front of the LAUSD office. The danzantes, who are present at almost every march, rally, and action that occurs in the Los Angeles area, normally give willingly of their feet, voices, and talent to provide their blessing. But this time, inspired by the teachers and impressed with the urgency of the situation, they have taken the extra step of sacrificing their own bodies as well. [ Read Full Reports with Pics From Newswire ]

On Wednesday, June 10th, hundreds of people who will be affected by Newsom's budget cuts took to the streets to demand that the Board of Supervisors save front-line services, and take a more balanced approach to the San Francisco budget. The demonstration followed a proposed budget, released by Mayor Newsom, that will terminate critical health and human services, while pumping up salaries for police by 25% and adding many new high paid patronage positions into his own administration.

With the growing possibility that City Manager O'Brien will replace Worcester's nine neighborhood pools with three $2.3M pools, community members continue to look for ways to help save our pools. The following reviews events concerning pools that have taken place over the last year, and the work that Save Our Poolz has done in defense of Worcester's pools. For more information, email saveourpoolz@gmail.com.

LOS ANGELES, June 4, 2009 - A combination hunger strike and protest campout has been occurring in downtown Los Angeles for the last nine days. The action is a continuance of the demonstrations that rose up in response to draconian budget cuts and layoffs issued by the Los Angeles Board of Education last month. The cuts are a result of a state and city wide deficit avalanche that is threatening to wipe away the traditional Californian "safety net " which for generations has been there for the poorest and least able amongst us.

The hunger strikers are protesting against the effect that these cuts will have on their pupils and consequently on the communities that these kids live in. Considerations such as class size and scholarly attention are chief amongst the teachers concerns. The Los Angeles Board of Education voted to lay off as many as 5,400 teachers and staff due to a 596 million dollar budget shortfall for 2010. For the last nine days the protest has been set up outside of the Liechty Middle School near downtown L.A. where forty-seven of the 65 teachers working there have received layoff notices... From the Newswire: L.A.Hunger Strikers on Ninth Day of Fast by Robert Stuart Lowden | Video Statement From Sean Leys

Stop Educator Layoffs!
--All Out to Public Education Rally--
No Class Size Increases!
Keep the cuts away from direct services to students!
When: Wednesday, June 3, 5-6 pm rally at the school board meeting.
Where: John Stanford Center, Seattle Public Schools headquarters
2445 3rd Avenue South Seattle , WA 98134

If passed, this cut will result in the loss of 943 jobs, and severe reduction of library hours. Brooklyn Public Library hours are proposed to be cut to 25 hours a week to a Monday - Friday 1pm-6pm schedule - eliminating Saturday service. These reductions would bring library operating hours to the lowest since the 1970’s.

Con Edison is a clear example that the mentality of “privatization and deregulation” has to go. Since it consolidated its private monopoly of power distribution, it has not operated in order to provide New Yorker’s with the electricity they need at a reasonable price or to provide its workers with a decent salary and benefits. Instead, Con Edison operates with the good of its shareholders in mind. As a result, New Yorkers are scraping to pay their bills, employees are losing benefits, and the public is being endangered, while executives and stockholders’ wealth is on the rise.

For 30 years, Life Lab Science Program has been helping educators and students bring learning to life in the garden. Based in Santa Cruz, Life Lab has been a leader in the garden-based learning movement locally and across the nation. On May 30th, Life Lab celebrated its 30-year history with a birthday party in and around the Garden Classroom, located on the UC Santa Cruz Farm.

If approved by the state legislature, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget plan will close 220 of 279 State Parks and Beaches, including each and every State Park and Beach in Santa Cruz County. The only public hearing on this proposal takes place in Sacramento on Tuesday, June 2nd before the Legislative Budget Conference Committee.

After many months of putting road block after road block in the way of hundreds of Worcester residents trying to open some number of neighborhood swimming pools this summer, City Manager Michael V. O'Brien and Commissioner of Public Works and Parks Robert L. Moylan released two reports at the last City Council meeting saying that NONE of the neighborhood pools are safe to open this summer.

Worcester City Councilors weighed in with their latest position on Worcester's pools this past week which ran from Councilor Rushton's belief that at least 5 pools could be open to City Councilor Haller's belief that, "It may well be there are no safe pools". Meanwhile, District 3 City Councilor Paul Clancy took the position that, "waste of time to even think about opening pools". [Pools discussion starts 2 minutes in, and cuts out part of Councilor Rushton]

LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2009 - In response to the Los Angeles Board of Educations layoff vote, 46 teachers subjected themselves to arrest in a nonviolent action at the districts downtown headquarters. The protest was undertaken despite a court order issued by Superior Court Judge, James Chalfant, which cited student health and safety as the reasons for issuing a restraining order against a one day strike that had been approved by the UTLA earlier this month. Full Report: Los Angeles Teachers Stage Civil Disobedience at Downtown Headquarters, part 1 & part 2 by Robert Stuart Lowden

Other actions in support of the teachers took place throughout the city Friday, including a large display of student support at some local high schools: From the Newswire: Report & Photos: Venice High Walk out | | VIDEO: Student walk out at Venice High

UCSC is seeking to meet budget deficits by cutting health care coverage and benefits to its graduate students, including those with families and dependents. Lisa Sloan, Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Earth Sciences, asked the Graduate Student Association to approve cuts to current levels of coverage for the Graduate Student Health Insurance Plan (GSHIP). These cuts could increase the cost of co-pays for doctor visits and emergency care, decrease life-time coverage limits and probably, and most significantly, increase co-pays for prescription drugs, even those taken on a regular basis for chronic conditions.

The "Funk Fenty" speakout and funk concert was reported to be clearly audible (every word) throughout the Wilson Building! Speakers ripped into Fenty for funding stadiums and developer giveaways while closing schools, shelters-and almost everything else real people use. WSQT Broadfast Audio

The Greece Central School District located in Greece, New York is the 8th largest school district in the state, with 20% African American students and zero African American regular full time teachers. John Niles, an African American, worked as a per diem substitute teacher for the Greece Central School District from 2006-2009. Throughout that time he applied for full time teaching positions. He never got a job interview let alone a full time regular teaching position. Those teaching positions were filled by whites. Mr. Niles is a New York State permanently certified English Language Arts teacher, holder of a master of science in education diploma from Nazareth College of Rochester and is currently completing a doctorate in educational administration. In addition, he has years of teaching experience. Read More | Also, check out Racism in the Greece schools: Interview with John Niles

More than 400 students assembled today at the Quad in Brooklyn College today to call for an end to the proposed $600 tuition hike for City University of New York students.

Anytime the District has to rally a line-up of politicians to testify on its behalf, you know something’s up.

On Wednesday night, a group of political heavy-hitters opened the School Reform Commission meeting to urge the SRC to vote in favor of the District’s controversial strategic plan – Imagine 2014.