Today, in the Senate Budget Committee, legislative Democrats voted down an alternative Republican plan that protects education program funding. The Republican plan would eliminate the harmful trigger cuts which unnecessarily target California’s teachers, students, and local education communities.

“Democrats need to rethink their proposed $6 billion in education cuts,” said State Senator Bill Emmerson (R-Hemet).  “Rather than playing politics with our children’s education, we should enact a bipartisan solution to protect our students and teachers from these damaging cuts.  The Republican plan does just that.”

The recently released Democrat budget plan targets California’s public schools, community colleges and universities with $6 billion in cuts. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the uncertainty surrounding the Governor’s tax initiative will force K-14 and higher education institutions to budget as if the trigger is going to be pulled.  It is a cynical attempt to hold California students hostage for an uncertain and unpopular tax increase.

“The Democrats are using teachers and students as leverage,” said Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar). “Our plan would remove the proverbial ax being held over the head of the education community and our students. We can reduce the number of teacher layoffs and the need for additional tuition/fee increases, and we can ensure our college students can attend the classes they need to graduate.”

Republican Education Program Funding:
http://cssrc.us/pubs/120612_ProtectEducationFunding.pdf