The LA Times is reporting that 26,000 thousand California teachers are being laid off today.
26,000.
That figures to about 1 in 1000 people in California. I know that some people are claiming that these numbers have been inflated for political effect. By whom? By some coordinated effort amongst school districts mostly run by cranky retired people who hate paying taxes for whippersnappers? I don't think the Teachers Unions were down for that gambit either.
My wife was one of the 26,000.
She is a former county teacher of the year. She has earned tenure in two different school districts. She's laid off. So, yes, this is personal for me, even though my precious function as an attorney dwarfs her income.
flip
Remember back in the stone ages when the Legislature was fighting over a budget, and arms were being twisted to get votes? And all the responsible folks said this is what we have to do? I called bullshit. I've been calling bullshit since last Fall, and now that it's coming home to roost, I feel vindicated.
No offense to construction workers, but their cry of 20,000 jobs lost during the budget stalling seems to ring a bit hollow now, doesn't it?
There are few things in education science that routinely show results in controlled studies. One of those is teacher to pupil ratio. This will blow that up.
There are--what--six more bullshit referenda on the ballot this May, and none of them could be a vote on whether it really makes sense to do this? Monetary policy (which the state does not control) has been exhasuted. Stimulus is required. The feds did it. But California? BOOM. Reverse-stimulus.
And here's the kicker. This wonderful fix, which is subject to these six votes, is already $8 billion short!
I agree that with another diary that there are good people in California but the system is set up to fail. But those good people did nothing to reform the system. There's no incentive. Safe districts. Party leadership discipline to get on the Waste Board when you're termed out of the Legislature. Punt on tough issues to "voter initiatives."
All so what? So you have time to introduce a bill and shepherd it through to censor Google Earth?
Well, here's what I say to the Legislature, to the spineless Democrats and the meanspirited Republicans and the useless Governor, to quote Jon Stewart this week:
FUCK YOU
You have failed.