The California Teachers Association (CTA) is staging an information campaign today, March 4, at schools across the state to explain to parents how the state’s education budget cuts are affecting their students.

The effort is being called “Start the Day for Students.”

The state has cut $17 billion from its education budget since the recession began three years ago, according to information that was to have been handed out today to parents at local campuses.

Teacher unions in the Conejo Valley, Las Virgenes and Oak Park unified school districts provided information to parents on how state budget cuts have impacted their schools.

Sandra Pope, president of the Las Virgenes Teachers Association, said the financial crisis in California is not between teachers and administrators, but between the school districts and Sacramento.

“It would appear that forces have come together at both the federal and state level to take public education apart at the seams,” Pope said. “Between unfunded mandates and drastic budget cuts, districts with no other funding source are left to flounder.”

Colleen Briner-Schmidt, president of the Unified Association of Conejo Teachers, the union representing teachers in Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and Westlake Village, said representatives at each school carried large posters showing how much money individual schools have lost based on per pupil funding. Other impacts were also noted, including the laying off of teachers and counselors, the cancellation of summer school, and cuts in art, music, physical education, library services and vocational programs.

“Those of us in the education community know what’s going on,” said Briner-Schmidt. “We receive updates twice a day, but the general public doesn’t know what’s going on. People didn’t know about cuts last year.” She said that part of the problem is that some of the cuts were “masked” by the one-time federal stimulus money sent to California last year.

By the numbers

Over the last three years, Conejo Valley schools saw their budgets cut by almost $24.5 million. In Las Virgenes, budget cuts have amounted to $13 million.

Officials say the cuts will continue next year.

Oak Park schools have also felt the sting, but not as much as other districts because Oak Park Unified is a state “district of choice.” The designation means that parents can transfer their children to an Oak Park school without obtaining permission from the school district in which they live. As a result, the district has accepted about 1,200 nonresident students into its schools. The extra money per pupil received from the state has helped Oak Park’s school district.

But Joyce Thomas, president of the Oak Park Teachers Association, said Oak Park still faces a shortfall of $2.5 million next year. “Our goal is to keep parents informed about just how bad these cuts are to education,” Thomas said. “We’re growing, but because of the cuts, it is very, very hard to keep everything the same.”

Kindergarten through 12thgrade schools have suffered 60 percent of the state’s budget cuts, the CTA says.

The CTA also says the state ranks 46th in the nation in perpupil funding, although the figure has been disputed.

Additionally, more than 29,000 layoff notices have been sent to educators this year, and 16,000 teachers and classified employees have already lost their jobs.

Pope said parents “need to unite with the employees and the board to put pressure on Sacramento to stop this madness.”

School funding is based on average daily attendance, and parents can help, the teachers said.

Briner-Schmidt said if every student in Conejo Valley missed two fewer days of school each year, an extra million dollars would flow into the school coffers. Sometimes, she said, parents pull their child from school midweek for a trip to Disneyland.

Districts lose money when children are absent, she said.

“Most importantly, (parents) need to be aware,” BrinerSchmidt said. “The voters said no more taxes—they voted down tax measures—this is the result of that. We’re going to need help to make it through.”

At the state’s community colleges, the equivalent funding for 250,000 students has been slashed.

Meanwhile, the community college fees have risen 30 percent and classes have been cut.

California State University students have seen their tuition jump 32 percent from the previous year. Tuition in the University of California system has risen 10 percent.