Thanks to everyone who participated in March 4 Start the Day for Students. The day was a great show of support for public education. We must continue to build on the March 4 momentum. Here are a few things you can do to continue to engage and inform the public about the impact these budget cuts are having on you, your students and your classroom.

• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about the devastation the cuts are having on your school. Make sure to include a solution (example: closing the corporate tax loopholes). Make sure to tell your own personal story—how these cuts are affecting you, your students and your family.
• Make your own video and post it here and to YouTube.
• Create a flier and put a real face on program cuts and layoffs in your local community. Post your local RIF information on your association website, Facebook page, and anywhere else the public can see it.
• Continue to contact your legislators using the toll-free hotline: 1-888-268-4334 and tell them NO MORE CUTS! They need to hear your personal stories from educators.
• Support other coalition efforts like the CFT March for California’s Future.

These are just a few quick ideas. Please post any others you have to the comments section. Let’s make sure we keep sharing the message everyday.

Thank you for your participation and support of the Statewide Day of Action for Students and California’s Future

• In the last two years, $17 billion was cut from schools and colleges.
• Entire art, music and PE programs were eliminated.
• More than 16,000 educators were laid off.
• And large California corporations enjoyed tax breaks.

This year, in the wake of all these cuts, our students and schools are being threatened again. We can’t let that happen.

We need your help in this urgent effort to speak out about the painful effects
cuts are having on our students, schools and communities. Together with education supporters all over the state, on March 4, we launched our campaign to fight for the resources our students deserve. We must reform the state’s tax structure and repeal the tax breaks handed out to large corporations. It’s time everyone paid their fair share.

We all know that education is essential to building a better California. Working
together, we can make sure our students get the resources they need to succeed.