As
Liz Martin (12) crossed the street, she chanted “1, 2, 3, 4, budget cuts
should be no more!” the massive line of yellow shirts began to boom with
vigorous chanting. “5, 6, 7, 8, teachers we appreciate!” As the group arrived
at Westview, the marchers became more passionate about the subject at hand.
They were greeted by teacher, staff members, and other students. “I'm a
very enthused person as it is and when you make it personal, that's when I add
the extra passion,” Martin said. “Someone needed to speak up and rally the
troops.”
Martin and nearly 600 students from Westview, Mt. Carmel and several other PUSD schools marched in the “12K for K-12” March and Rally, March 29. Organized by Westview students, the rally aimed to protest next year’s proposed school budget cuts. The cuts could have severe impacts on the lives of students next year. If enacted, class sizes will increase and certain extracurricular activities will be eliminated. A group of Westview students organized the march to show legislators and the public that students care about their education and don’t want to see these cuts happen.
Andrew
Schmedake (12), an organizer for the walk, said they hoped to make a
difference. “It was our aim to tell our state representatives that as a group
of current and soon-to-be voters, these proposed cuts are not alright,”
Schmedake said. “We believed that acting as a group of concerned and mature
young people, we could both reach our representatives and catalyze further
action.”
The march began at Canyonside Park at 8:05 a.m., where an initial 100 marchers gathered for opening speeches from student-organizers. As the line of students passed through six checkpoints, the number of students in support of the rally grew considerably. After seeing so many students attend, Schmedake said he felt proud that so many students attended, despite the different views they may have had. “What really struck me about the rally was that this mass of people all wearing yellow was all working together despite whatever private political beliefs they might have had,” Schmedake said. “It went beyond simple partisanship and an amazing number of students showed up.”
At the various stations, the waiting students held signs with the red “SOS” slogan, waving at passersby to honk and chanting, “Save our schools.” As the protesters marched down the final block, they were joined by the Westview NJROTC, one of the many groups that will be affected by the budget cuts. Upon arriving at Westview, students were welcomed by teachers to the rally portion of the protest. The rally was held in the Westview amphitheater and featured speeches and showcases put on by groups that are going to be hurt by the cuts. Figures of authority in PUSD, who said they also oppose the cuts.
In his speech, PUSD
Superintendant Dr. Don Phillips spoke about the value of education, and what
he wants to happen to California’s education. “We should not be forced
to be cutting back,” Phillips said in his speech. “Our students are the future
of our economy. We should be increasing our funding, not decreasing.”
Supporting Phillips’ statements, San Diego County Superintendant of Schools
Dr. Randolph Ward spoke about how important student-funding is to education.
“It’s one thing to ignore a County
Superintendant,
and it’s another thing to ignore a teacher,” Ward said. “But our elected
officials cannot ignore our students because [they] are our future.”
In the end, Schmedake said that the purpose of the rally was to send a message to the state legislature. “It is their responsibility as our representatives to hold true to our wishes and find a solution that does not overrule our demand to fund education,” Schmedake said, “The reduction in funding for our schools is not fair.”