Local teachers unions join statewide protest

The two largest teachers unions in the Porterville area plan to participate fully in a statewide protest scheduled for Mar. 4, aimed at convincing state legislators to increase funding for public education.

Sponsored by the California Teachers Association — the largest teachers union in the nation — local educators hope to draw community support for a Thursday morning showing.

On Tuesday, CTA launched a series of radio advertisements statewide asking parents and community members to join in the “Day of Action” alongside union members.

“We’re trying to get all the associations and all the schools to stand up for education and let the Governor know that taking money away from education is not the right thing to do,” Porterville Educators Association President Stan Ennis said.

Ennis, a Bartlett Middle School math teacher, said the demonstration will take place directly prior to school at major intersections throughout Porterville.

Though plans are not finalized, Ennis said he expects the protest to involve holding signs and passing out information about education funding.

Fidel Banuelos, president of the Burton Elementary Teachers Association (BETA), is making similar plans.

“Like other districts throughout the state, we’ll be participating in the statewide protest of budget cuts hitting the education system,” he said.

Though BETA’s plans are not finalized either as of yet, Banuelos said one of the ideas floated has been a balloon release to mark the occasion.

While unionized teachers are taking the lead in the protest, the two associations hope to widen their appeal and bring in others affected by education cuts in the Porterville community.

“It’s going to be mostly a show of solidarity, not just with teachers but with the entire community,” Banuelos said.

Ennis concurred. “It’s not about the teachers themselves — it’s about standing up for our students,” he said.

He said situating protesters where major streets through town intersect will allow them to reach as many people as possible without intruding into the school day.

“It’ll be a high publicity thing, but it won’t be a disturbance to the education process,” Ennis said.

He said the protest will begin at 7 a.m. and last for about 45 minutes.

For Banuelos, the statewide demonstrations will hopefully influence state legislators to vote to change current tax laws.

“Large corporations don’t have to pay enough taxes,” he said. “If they were taxed equally, based on profits, there would be a larger amount of money going into the tax pool.”

Without additional revenue to support the education process, Banuelos said, further cuts and layoffs loom in the not-too-distant future.

“Over the last two years, $17 billion dollars have been taken from education,” he said. “Last year alone, 16,000 teachers were pink slipped.”

If the next state budget removes additional millions from the education budget, as has occurred in past years, Banuelos foresees a similar scenario for the upcoming school year.

--Contact Sarah de Crescenzo at 784-5000, Ext. 1045, or sdecrescenzo@portervillerecorder.com.