URGENT! Educational Budget Cut Petition/Letter/Links
R Milburn
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Attached you will find a petition protesting the proposed budget cuts recommended by Governor Schwarzenegger last week. If you have not already done so, please sign it. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/stop-cutting-californias-education-budget Our goal is to get 1000 signatures!
Contact your legislators and elected representatives – attached below is a letter template for your use or modification – fill in your school’s information, print it on your college’s letter head and get signatures on campus and fax them directly to your representatives or to the Student Senate for California Community Colleges’ office and we will fax and hand carry them to your legislators for you! Facsimile: 916.324.8486
Also, if you are not already mobilizing on your campus, you need to start. The Legislative Analyst’s Office recently came out with a report recommending a fee increase beginning 1 January 2009 – that is 47 days away – from $20 per unit to $26 per unit. Additionally, the LAO recommended an additional tuition increase of $30 per unit recommended for 1 July 2009 – all told, tuition could potentially increasing by as much as 50% in less than a year. California’s economic crisis is not something that the students can bear the brunt of, especially in a system that is tragically underfunded already! Though we will all need to do our part - there are other options out there for generating revenue! Tell the Governor and our State Legislators that education is something that we need to invest in if we ever hope to return our economy to the strong and prosperous position that it has enjoyed in the past! Education is a right and a vital investment!
Please get the word out to your local student governments and your entire student body. We have precious little time to act as the current legislative term will be ending in just over two weeks!
Also, please start preparing to march on the Capital ASAP! You will need to potentially charter a bus or busses and get students and advisors to get to Sacramento to show our elected officials that we will not tolerate fee increase or further budget cuts! TENTATIVE rally date of 21 November being discussed! Look for confirmation on this date or an alternative date and time to be announced. Do not let education become a privilege that we cannot afford!
NO MORE CUTS!!!
Please ensure that this message or one tailored to your liking gets widest dissemination! California has approximately 3.6 million people living in our great state – 2.7 million of them are community college students! United, we are unstoppable!!!
Useful links:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html (locate your local legislator’s contact info)
Legislative Center (join the point and click letter writing campaign)
www.Studentsenateccc.org (additional information and links)
http://www.lao.ca.gov/2008/bud/nov_revise/nov_revise_overview_111108.pdf (LAO Report)
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My apologies if some of this information is redundant but we need to get the word out and we need to act before it is too late! Please feel free to call or e-mail me if you have any questions or if you need any further information.
Regards,
Senator Milburn
Reid E. Milburn
Executive Secretary, State Senator, Region V,
Student Senate for California Community Colleges
Cell: 209) 409 - 4209
Reid.M...@gmail.com
www.StudentSenateCCC.org
www.GoColumbia.edu
www.Groups.Google.com/Group/RegionVSSCCC