Students and faculty members continue to protest the 32 percent fee increase expected to be approved by the University of California Board of Regents today.
UC police have arrested 14 people associated with the on-campus protest.
If approved, undergradute fees would soar above $10,000.
UCLA's student-run newspaper, the Daily Bruin, has live streaming video of the UC Board of Regents meeting.
The 2010-11 budget calls for $884 million in state funding.
From the Los Angeles Times:
The budget plan requests $305 million to restore one-time cuts imposed in 2009-10; $283 million to restore money for collective bargaining agreements not funded in 2008-09 and 2009-10; and $296 million for mandatory cost and compensation increases and improvements in student services and instruction.
The University of California Board of Regents finance committee is set to approve a series of highly controversial fee increases today that will raise undergraduate tuition by more than $2,500. It will be the eighth fee hike since 2002.
UC officials are seeking a $913 million increase in state funding.
The fee increases will impose strains on California families at a time when many are struggling in the recession, according to an editorial appearing in Wednesday's San Francisco Chroncile.
The committee is meeting at UCLA, and large protests are underway there and at other UC campuses
*Update: Fee increases have been approved, 14 protestors arrested.
From City News Service:
LONG BEACH - Despite the state's continuing budget difficulties, a California State University Board of Trustees committee approved a budget proposal today that requests nearly $900 million in additional state funding for the 2010-11 fiscal year.
"This is a very ambitious budget in these very challenging times," said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. "We are asking the state to not only restore funding of one-time cuts that were imposed for this year, but to also provide the needed revenue for mandatory costs, compensation increases, as well as fund our collective bargaining agreements for the past two years.
"This budget reflects the true fiscal needs of the CSU," Reed said.
The budget approved by the trustees' Finance Committee -- and expected to be discussed by the full board Wednesday -- asks for $3.2 billion in state funding, up from the current year funding of $2.3 billion.
In the face of cuts in state funding, the CSU system has implemented employee furloughs and other budget cuts. Enrollment for the fall semester was slashed by 4,000 students, with another 6,000 reduction expected in the spring.
CSU officials conceded that the increased funding request could be a long-shot, noting that the state is already facing a projected $7 billion deficit heading into the next fiscal
year.
Despite that deficit, CSU financial officials wrote in a staff report that the university "has
legitimate funding needs in order to carry out its critically important missions for California."
They also note that state revenue could increase rapidly if the economic recovery "becomes more robust that currently forecast."
"Nevertheless, on balance, the consensus of state fiscal experts is that 2010-11 will be
another year of great difficulty," according to the staff report.
Reed indicated last week that if CSU doesn't receive its full funding allotment from the
state, more tuition increases could be considered. CSU fees were already increased by about 30 percent in the past year.
Tuition for full-time undergraduate students increased to $4,026. Average campus fees are $801, bringing the total average cost to $4,827 a year - - a rate that CSU officials said is still lower than many other university systems.
Pictures: (Top) David Perelmuter holds the letter he received from the White House. Pictured with David are his parents, school principal Christie Forshey and his grandmother. (Bottom) Students participate in a Korean bowing ceremony lead by parent Lori Eurich. Photos courtesy of Mark Miller.
Call it a lesson in patience.
After penning a note to President Barack Obama shortly after his inauguration, 7-year-old David Perelmuter received what he had been waiting eight months for: the president's response.
Although he won't be able to vote until 2020, the first grader at Riviera Elementary school in Torrance wrote a congratulatory letter to Obama while in kindergarten last Spring. In it, David wrote of his dream to be president one day. He also detailed an ambitious agenda should he get elected, writing of his desire to end wars and stop graffiti vandalism.
David's mother, Lauren, found the response with the Washington D.C. postmark in the family's mailbox on Friday, complete with the president's signature on White House stationary. Perelmuter gave the letter to her son after picking him up from school.
"When I showed him the letter he was jumping up and down," said Perelmuter, who added David had run out to the mailbox everyday for eight months to see if the letter had arrived. "It was so thrilling."
In Obama's response, David is thanked for taking the time to write and is encouraged to use his intellect and creativity to better his community. He read the letter at an assembly in front of the entire school Monday morning.
The letter arrived in time to coincide with the school's "International Week," when students learn about different languages and cultures by participating in activities and sampling international fare. The week cumulates on Friday, when students hold a international food festival.
After David read the letter, students performed a Korean bowing ceremony and a Hawaiian hula for their peers, teachers and about 30 parents.
"We talked about how kids are the leaders of the future, and how important it is to be active," said Christie Forshey, principal at Riviera elementary. "The students are very excited."
Talk about excitement: David was so estatic about the letter he hasn't let it out of his sight, Perelmuter said. Didn't matter that Obama probably didn't sit down to write the letter himself, she added. She thinks the simple act provided a lesson her son may never forget and credited Riveria's teachers and staff members for promoting civic participation among students.
"He carried the letter around with him for 24 hours," Perelmuter said. "He knows how special it is."
The family will frame the letter and put it next to a letter David's grandfather received while working in the Treasury Department from President John Kennedy.
If David does eventually decide to become president, he'll have some time to develop a political agenda: He won't be eligible to run until 2037.
Reporter's note:
Riviera Elementary school should not be confused with Riviera Hall Lutheran School, a private K-8 also located in Torrance, and the scene of visits by former President Bill Clinton in 2001 and 2008. (His nephew attended school there)
Unprecedented funding cuts hitting California have had wide-spread ramifications on the state's public school system, including increased class sizes, fewer resources for students and more canceled classes, according to a report released Tuesday by the Education Coalition.
According to the press release, although education only represents 40 percent of the state budget, California public schools have been subjected to 60 percent of the cuts.
More Chinese students than ever before are enrolling in U.S. universities, according to an annual report. Nearly 100,000 Chinese students studied in the U.S during the 2008-09 academic year, up 21 percent. Despite the rise, India remains the largest exporter of university students. Last year, 103, 260 students were enrolled in U.S. colleges, a nine percent increase.
From the New York Times:
Over all, the number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 8 percent to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008-9 academic year -- the largest percentage increase in more than 25 years, according to the report.
With the current recession, the influx of international students has been especially important to the American economy, according to Allan E. Goodman, president of the institute.
"International education is domestic economic development," Mr. Goodman said. "International students shop at the local Wal-Mart, rent rooms and buy food. Foreign students bring $17.8 billion to this country. A lot of campuses this year are increasing their international recruitment, trying to keep their programs whole by recruiting international students to fill their spaces."
In other China-related education news, Obama sat down and spoke with a large group of students Monday in Shanghai. Among the topics of discussion: Twitter and the world of social networking.
The Cristina Chiappe Foundation will be holding a kick-off party at 12:30
p.m. Sunday in Lawndale.
The foundation, a certified non-profit, works to promote health, education and cultural diversity across the globe. Chiappe is a member of the Hawthorne school board and a faculty member at the Centinela Valley Adult Education School.
The event will be held at Hanks Bistro, located at 14406 S. Hawthorne
Boulevard.
The Pacific Islander American Youth Summit: Navigating and Empowering a Healthy Generation will begin at 9 a.m. in the Loker Student Union tomorrow.
Here's the press release:
Concerned with the health and well-being of Pacific Islander American youth, the California State University, Dominguez Hills School of Health and Human Services has teamed up with members of the Pacific Islander community to present the "Pacific Islander American Youth Summit: Navigating and Empowering a Healthy Generation" on Friday, Nov. 13 in the Loker Student Union on campus.
Organizers say this summit represents a call to action for fundamental improvements in programs and services to address the unmet needs for Pacific Islander American youth in the Los Angeles region. The topics covered will focus on education, health, youth violence, cultural identity, and leadership.
More than 200 youth and 100 adults are expected to take part in the summit, providing government and community leaders an opportunity to learn first-hand the key issues facing Pacific Islander American youth and engage in a dialogue with them on how their voices can be heard. The overall goal of the summit is to empower youth to live healthier, active lives, and to mobilize adult participants to identify the challenges facing this segment of the population and explore opportunities to impact health care reform at national and state levels.
The summit is being sponsored by WalMart, CSUDH School of Health and Human Services, Pacific Islander Health Partnership, and Tongan American Youth Foundation.
Cal State Dominguez Hills is located at 1000 E. Victoria St., Carson, 90747
The Manhattan Beach Education Foundation is asking parents and community members who are thinking about donating to the district to make a pledge today.
"We are asking parents to make a commitment to the education foundation so that we know by January how much money parents can commit to the school district," said Susan Warshaw, the executive director of the foundation.
Typically, school districts begin their budgeting processes in January before final budgets are submitted in the Spring. Money donated to the foundation goes to preserving teaching positions and academic programs in the district. This year, foundation organizers are looking to raise $4.1 million. Last year, the same amount was raised and went to save more than 80 teaching and staff positions, district officials said.
Pledge drive events will be held this afternoon at district schools, and those interested in donating to the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation can visit www.mbef.org/givetoday or call Warshaw at 310-303-3342.
*Updated, with photo courtesy of Cindy McMahon. Eighth graders Savannah Sartini, Jina Stanfill, and Mandy McKeegan outside Manhattan Beach Middle School. The girls helped promote MBEF's Pledge Day.
Historic budget cuts and substantial decreases in enrollment have not hindered Californian's view of the state's university and community college systems, according to a recent survey conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Among the findings:
- 68 percent of those surveyed are against future student fee increases.
- 56 percent are unwilling to pay higher taxes.
- 60 percent rate the state's public university and community college systems as "good" or "excellent"
- Despite their attitude towards the state of education, Californian's have low marks for Sacramento politicians (28 percent approval for the Governor, 17 percent for the legislature).
From the survey:
While strong majorities believe state budget cuts (70%) and overall affordability (57%) are big problems, far fewer (21%) characterize the quality of California public colleges and universities the same way. Despite significant budget cuts in higher education, at least six in 10 Californians give good to excellent marks to the California Community College (13% excellent, 52% good), California State University (9% excellent, 52% good) and University of California (13% excellent, 49% good) systems. These grades are nearly as high as they were in 2007 and 2008, when about two in three Californians gave positive ratings to the three branches. Today, parents of California college students, current students, and alumni give the state's higher education institutions similarly high grades.
But residents have little confidence in the state elected officials who have authority over California colleges and universities. Californians give Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a 28 percent overall approval rating that matches his record low in July 2009. They give the legislature an overall approval rating of 18 percent, near its record low (17%) from July. State leaders get even lower ratings for their handling of higher education: 21 percent for Schwarzenegger and 16 percent for the legislature. Both are new lows. And most Californians have very little (37%) or no (20%) confidence in state government's ability to plan for the future of the higher education system (8% have a great deal of confidence, 33% only some).
This story comes from the Christian Science Monitor and highlights some events schools across American are holding for Veterans day. Among them are "Take a Veteran to School Day," which provides students with the chance to meet with war vets and discuss the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with them.
In the South Bay, most schools remained closed for the national holiday.
*Here's a link to John Bogert's Veterans Day column detailing how some local students are helping out soldiers overseas.
**And here's how some students in Long Beach acknowledged veterans in their community.
The Centinela Valley Union High School District's school chief warned of looming challenges and thanked two outgoing board members for their years of service at a meeting Tuesday.
Jose Fernandez, who was named superintendent of the long-embattled district last December, said the state-wide charter school movement and more funding reductions mandated by Sacramento lawmakers could have substantial consequences for the local public school system.
"Public education as we know it is under siege," Fernandez said. "Not only is our funding being cut, but people are questioning what we do. Charter schools are a threat to us, in the sense that they are selective in the students they accept."
Centinela Valley is made up of three high schools - Lawndale, Leuzinger and Hawthorne - an adult school, and a continuation school.
Outgoing board members Frank Talavera and Rudy Salas thanked their colleagues on the board, district officials and area voters at Tuesday's meeting, their final as minority-voting members of the long-divided Board of Education.
"I leave this spot with no enemies," said Talavera, who lost his bid at re-election to recent Lawndale grad Maritza Molina. Molina attended Tuesday's meeting, sitting in the front row.
"I know we had disagreements, but that's part of the process," Talavera added. "I tried to serve Area One (Lawndale) to the best of my ability. I would encourage everyone to move forward and get this district back to where it's supposed to be. Centinela Valley has had its glory days, and they're not over yet."
Talavera then specifically thanked Fernandez and Assistant Superintendents Bob Cox and Tom Connolly.
"I'm still going to be around," Talavera added. "Thank you for letting me serve my community these last four years."
Throughout much of their time on the board, Talavera and Salas have consistently voted against the majority made of President Gloria Ramos, Sandra Suarez and newly re-elected member Rocio Pizano. Often, tension on the board was palpable to meeting attendees. Nonertheless, the tone Tuesday evening was civil. Optimistic, even.
Pizano, who won her bid in area five (the Lennox portion of the district) against Susie Diaz and union-endorsed candidate Jessica Felix, thanked her constituents and vowed to continue to work with district officials to stabilize the district.
"I wanted to say thank you to the community for having faith in myself," Pizano said. "I will be putting 110 percent of my ability into serving for the next years. I know we're moving in the right direction. If we stay focused and on track we can make so positive changes."
Her comments were met with applause.
When his time came to speak, Salas warned about future challenges facing the school district.
"Public schools are under attack," he said. "They're under attack by charter schools and under attack by funding."
We have differences but we do provide a great service to our community," Salas added, speaking to board members. Salas lost his seat on the board to former Hawthorne school board member Hugo Rojas.
He implored members to monitor federal legislation that may impact federal funding and increase the number of charter schools, which can drain enrollment pools and subsequently affect state funding for Centinela and other public school systems.
Lastly, Salas thanked the board, district officials and members of the community.
"I owe Centinela Valley more than it owes me," he said. "I've learned so much over the last four years. I've grown immensely. Thank you so much."
His comments were also met with applause.
Fernandez, speaking last, echoed Salas' comments and closed the portion of the meeting with a word of hope, specifically thanking Salas and Talavera for their service on the board.
"There is still a place for traditional education," he said. "We are on the right path. We've been crawling out of an abyss and are working are way up. This is a new start for the administration and the board. Whatever water is under the bridge, let it flow. It's not of the benefit of the students and the community to fight those battles."
Look for a story on the district's new assistant superintendent of educational services in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.
Here's an article on the recent Centinela Valley Board of Education elections.
Today's report comes from Rosewood Middle School in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Parents at the school, frustrated with the lack of money for student programs, came up with a new idea to raise funds after last year's chocolate sale flopped: The school would sell test points to children. For example, 20 points could be bought for $20 and students could add 10 points to two tests of their choice.
"Last year they did chocolates, and it didn't generate anything," Principal Susie Shepherd said.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the idea was nixed after a report of the proposed fundraiser was published in the The News & Observer.
Here's more on the cash-for-grades fundraiser.
Lauded as an event 40 years in the making, city and school officials from Torrance shared the stage to discuss the state of their respective agencies and outline potential areas of collaboration in an attempt to cut costs.
"This is a first step in a long process, but I think we owe it to the citizens to be innovative," said Don Lee, a member of the Torrance Unified Board of Education and a former city councilman. "There's a lot of possibilities, and I'm excited about the possibility of providing a better product to our citizens."
As far as anyone could remember, it was the first time in four decades that members of the Torrance City Council and Torrance Unified Board of Education gathered to hold a joint meeting.
Like many cities and school districts across the state, the two governing bodies have been reeling with funding losses and are looking for ways to trim operating expenses.
At the public meeting, which was held Monday evening at the Torrance Cultural Arts center, officials spoke about possible areas where the two organizations could work together and share expenses, including running co-elections and sharing the use of city-owned and district-owned facilities. Among them are the city's cultural arts center and a potential gymnasium at the new Hull Middle School. The school is under construction and expected to open in 2011.
The two agencies already share some services. The city provides crossing guards to district schools and a school resource officer for each high school. High school swim teams use the Benstead Plunge Swimming Pool for practices and the city has donated video cameras for use in the district's board room. Maintenance services are also shared, including field mowing and tree trimmining.
In an attempt to downplay worries among service employee groups of layoffs, council and board members stated numerously that jobs were not at stake, despite talk of potentially combining services.
"We are in charge of educating the children and the city is in charge of providing essential services," said board member Mark Steffen. "The goal is to save dollars, and not at the expense of employees."
Nearly $27 million in state funding has been cut from Torrance Unified's budget the past two years.
"The school district is in more dire straits than the city," board president Al Muratsuchi said. "We're looking at every dollar we can get to keep the cuts outside the classroom and away from the kids."
The potential savings that could be had by holding joint elections came up several times throughout the evening. Typically, council elections are held in March while board of education elections are held in November.
The Nov. 3 election cost the district $280,000. Councilman Patrick Furey called the sum " agross waste of money."
"It's hideous that we'd go on this way and have a separate election system," he added.
The district hasn't been alone in their financial difficulties. Sales tax revenue in the city is down 20 percent.
Mayor Frank Scotto called that number a "serious hit."
As the meeting came to and end, board member Terry Ragins commented on a lack of dialog she said was once perceived in the community between members of the council and board of education.
"When I came on the board six years ago, there was friction," Ragins said. "It wasn't just perceived, it was there."
But throughout the evening, officials commended each other for reaching out and vowed to continue talks.
"This discussion tonight it the beginning of a discussion that will last a couple of years," Scotto said.
Now, the next step: City staff members will develop an "action list" within 90 days of six to 10 potential areas of collaboration.
And the nations largest public university system is looking to cut more. Spring admissions have already been eliminated and university officials are expected to ask Sacramento lawmakers to restore $804 million in lost funding. The California State University Board of Trustees is expected to vote on an annual budget Nov. 17. If funding is not restored by the state, fee increases, program cuts and more faculty furloughs could be implemented.
Overall, university officials said they are looking to trim enrollment by 40,000 students across the 23-campus system.
Here's an article about how students are responding at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
And here's the press release from the Chancellor's Office.
The state senate approved a bill Tuesday that would make California more competitive for federal Race to the Top funds. Senate Bill X5 1 would also allow students at under-performing schools to transfer out of their districts and seek to eliminate the cap on the number of charter schools in the state. The bill now moves on to the Assembly.
In a statement released Wednesday, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell (who recently said he won't make a run for governor) applauded the legislation's passage.
"Race to the Top presents California with an unprecedented opportunity to boldly reform our public education system so that we can improve student academic success and further our efforts to close the achievement gap," O'Connell said. "While last night's Senate approval of this bill is a major step forward, we should not lose sight of the hard work that remains ahead of us to win the Race to the Top. I look forward to working with the California State Assembly to gain approval of this measure."
Here's more on the bill from the Sacramento Bee.
Maritza Molina, Hugo Rojas and incumbent Rocio Pizano are leading the race for three open seats on the Centinela Valley Union High school District Board of Trustees.
With nine precincts reporting, Molina leads Frank Talavera with 51 percent of the vote, Rojas leads Rudy Salas with 57 percent of the vote and Pizano leads Susie Diaz and Jessica Felix with 43 percent of the vote.
In Torrance, Mark Steffen, Al Muratsuchi and Michael Wermers are leading with one precinct reporting.
Steffen has 25 percent of the vote, Muratsuchi has 24.5 percent and Wermers has 17 percent. Kathleen Wood is coming in with 14 percent, G. Rick Marshall has 11 percent and Sameer Bhavnani has two percent.
Kevin Bellenfant, who dropped out early in the race, has six percent of the vote.
Voters in six South Bay school districts are set to go to the polls Tuesday to elect members of their governing boards.
Here's a list of districts and candidates:
Centinela Valley Union High School District: incumbents Rocio Pizano, Rudy Salas and Francisco Talavera; challengers Susie Diaz, Jessica Felix, Maritza Molina and Hugo Rojas.
Hawthorne School District: incumbent Nilo Michelin; challengers Nadia Barrera, Eugene Krank and John Vargas.
Hermosa Beach City School District: no incumbents; Carleen Beste, Jack Burns, Jake Pike, Sienna Tucker and Ray Waters.
Lennox School District: incumbents Maribel Amaya, Marisol Cruz and Maria Verduzco-Smith; challengers Rose Joseph, Juan Navarro, Humberto Rivera and Sonia Saldana.
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District: incumbents Barbara Lucky and Malcolm Sharp; challengers Karen Hunter Bird, Anthony Collatos, Heather Haddon Matson and Gregory Royston.
Torrance Unified School District: incumbents Albert Muratsuchi and Mark Steffen; challengers Sameer Bhavnani, G. Rick Marshall, Michael Wermers and Kathleen Wood.
Polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
More information is available online at lavote.net
Of the 325,000 school jobs across the country White House officials said were saved by federal stimulus funds, 18,878 positions were either retained or created in California. About 15 percent of those positions were classified, non-teaching staff, 84 percent were certificated positions and one percent were vendors. All said, California received more than $4 billion for education.
