Simi teachers will join statewide rally for 'Pink Friday'

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers SPECIAL APPEARANCE— David Sanchez, president of the California Teachers Association, speaks at a meeting of the Simi Valley teachers union on Wednesday.

Dayle Gillick, president of the Simi Valley teachers union, knows firsthand the struggle of trying to instruct in a classroom with too many students.

Having taught in the Simi school district since 1971, she remembers the years before the state of California adopted its class-size reduction initiative, creating a cap on the ratio of students to teachers in a classroom at 20-to-1.

"When I had 34 to 36 kids in my class, I was frustrated every day," said Gillick, a longtime elementary school teacher. "I never thought I could meet each individual child's needs. I knew I was trying my best, but I always felt like I was falling short."

Gillick fears these memories are about to become the reality for teachers at schools across Simi Valley and the state if voters don't pass five measures included on the May 19 ballot.

For that reason, she and fellow members of the Simi Educators Association will join teachers across the state next Friday for what organizers are calling "Pink Friday."

On March 13—the last day for school districts to send out layoff notices as required by law—teachers will be picketing outside schools with the purpose of informing the public of the grave nature of the state's recent reduction in education spending.

About 230 teachers in Simi, those with the least seniority, are expected to receive pink slips that day informing them they might be laid off when the district makes its final staffing decisions in May.

"It's staggering," Gillick said. "I keep telling the teachers, this is like nothing we've seen before. In the '80s we went through a cycle where a number of (layoff notices) were given out, but nothing with the numbers like this. It's a nightmare."

Gillick said Simi teachers are also planning to conduct "informational picketing" outside of schools on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We want to make sure people are aware of what's happening, make sure they're aware that there's an election on May 19 and what's on the line," she said.

To help drum up support for the upcoming events, David Sanchez, president of the California Teachers Association, visited Simi and Moorpark this week.

He spoke frankly with a group of local union members on Wednesday about the ugly forecast for the state's public schools, calling Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger "a jerk" and saying the future of education in the state looks grim.

The union president said 17,000 teachers statewide could receive layoff notices.

A former kindergarten teacher in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, Sanchez said if funds for schools and teachers continue to be taken away by the state, he would consider "going nuclear" as a last-ditch effort to save public education in California.

"I think we may need to shut schools down for one day, two days, and three days—until parents wake up and put pressure on our legislators," Sanchez said. "It's only a hypothetical."

A teacher in the audience asked Sanchez if such a move would be legal.

"Probably not," he replied, before adding, "More than education is at stake. Do you want an educated work force in California? The future of the state of California is dependent on our children."

During his Simi Valley visit, Sanchez stopped by classrooms at Park View Elementary School, Sinaloa Middle School and Royal High School.

He encouraged the teachers at the union meeting to tell their colleagues and parents to support five "crucial" ballot measures in the May 19 special election: Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E. Sanchez acknowledged it would be hard to convince some parents to vote yes on the propositions that would increase their taxes.

Although $10 billion is earmarked for public education in the national stimulus package, the union head said schools still need voters to pass most of the five measures to save jobs and preserve quality education.

Gillick said many Simi Valley teachers, especially those newer to the teaching field, are feeling anxiety leading up to "Pink Friday."

"Teachers always get the job done, but when they're not in the class, and they have time to sit back and think about what's happening, they're anxious, they're stressed, some are terrified."

When asked if teachers are doing their part to shave costs, Gillick said teachers are always spending out-of-pocket to support their classrooms.

"I can speak for Simi Valley— there's so little waste in education here," she said. "Education is not like a business; we need a dedicated source of money we can count on. The kids aren't going anywhere—we need that constant source of revenue so we can provide them with the best education possible."

Gillick said anyone in Simi Valley who cares about education should show up Friday to take part in the rally. Demonstrators will be wearing pink.

"We want teachers to bring their students, parents to bring their children," she said. "We want people to stand up for education as the foundation of our country." —Acorn reporter Eliav Appelbaum contributed to this story.