‘Take our message to Arnold’
Elia Powers
Two hours before Maria Shriver delivered a speech inside the Balboa
Bay Club and Resort, a group of about 35 Orange County parents and
PTA members lined the sidewalk outside the waterfront property to
show their disapproval for the education policies of Shriver’s
husband, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Waiving signs such as “Fully Fund Education,” and chanting “Save
our schools,” the protesters, from the Fourth District PTA, elicited
responses from drivers passing along Pacific Coast Highway.
But their real target was the first lady of California.
“We want Maria to take our message to Arnold,” said event
co-organizer Crystal Kerins. “Contrary to what his advisors are
telling him, we are not fully funded.”
Kerins, a mother of two Huntington Beach elementary school
students, said her district receives 40% less per pupil than the
state’s average. She pointed to the recent decision to close Kettler
Elementary School in Huntington Beach and a cutback of librarians’
hours as proof that their schools are getting the short shrift.
She said she wants to see Schwarzenegger follow the guidelines of
Proposition 98, a measure that guarantees a minimum amount of state
money for public schools.
Schwarzenegger has reduced funds for Prop. 98 and has not
replenished them in his proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
Shereen Walter, the other event organizer, said it was important
for Shriver to see that PTA members and parents “aren’t a special
interest.”
She wore a laminated placard with pictures of her three children
that read “My Special Interest.”
Walter was among a group of Fourth District PTA members who
visited Sacramento last week to protest Schwarzenegger’s handling of
state education funds.
Steven Lustig, vice president of legislation for California PTA of
Orange County, said events like these are vital to keep the pressure
on the Governor.
In May, Schwarzenegger will present a revised version of his
proposed 2005-06 budget. Lustig said he hopes education funding
increases.
“This is another in a series of advocacy efforts and meetings,”
Lustig said. “We are trying to make a mom-to-mom connection here with
Maria.”
* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.
He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at
elia.powers@latimes.com.
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