RIALTO – Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles), Assembly Assistant Majority Policy Leader Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto) and Assembly Budget Committee Chair Bob Blumenfield (D-San Fernando Valley) today convened a summit with Inland Empire education leaders as part of Assembly Democrats’ efforts to ensure a balanced approach is taken to the state’s budget deficit by the June 15th constitutional deadline.
The summit, held at Wilmer Amina Carter High School in Rialto, is the first in a series planned throughout California aimed at ensuring passage of a timely budget that protects jobs, schools and public safety. The summit focused on the importance to students and their families of a balanced approach to solving the deficit that combines revenues in addition to the $14 billion in cuts and solutions Democrats have already approved.
"I believe we can demonstrate a statewide consensus for a balanced approach to the state’s deficit, which is why Assembly Democrats are here today bringing together leaders in education to talk about the future of our schools, colleges and universities,” Pérez said. “Our students’ ability to succeed depends on a balanced approach that allows California to provide a top-notch education. California—and the Inland Empire—can be natural homes to vital new growth industries if we invest in an educational system that produces a qualified, competitive workforce.”
The summit included roundtable discussions on the massive cuts education faced in previous years under Governor Schwarzenegger, including the impact to local schools, colleges and universities; a review of recently approved cuts and other solutions, and an examination of why additional revenues are needed to prevent further harm to students and schools.
Speaker Pérez told the summit that since a lack of action by Republican legislators means a June election on revenues is no longer an option, he has called upon his Republican colleagues to produce a comprehensive budget plan of their own by the end of this month, saying: “I believe they have the responsibility to articulate solutions in a detailed and public manner, and if they produce a plan, I think it will be healthy for California to have the debate. The people of our state are willing to make the kinds of investments that are needed to avoid laying off thousands of cops, teachers, firefighters and other Californians. We need to approach this problem together, as a state, and today’s summit is part of that effort.”
Statements from some several summit participants and a full list of participants are below.
A Budget Education Fact Sheet is attached.
The webcast from the summit may be viewed at: http://asmdc.org/en/issues/speakers-budget-summit
Statements from Inland Empire Education Summit Participants
“I am the product of local schools and also of the local school board, so I know firsthand how important quality education is to the families in our community and to families across our state. I have faith that if the people of this state make clear the kind of opportunity and futures they want for the children of California, then we will have no trouble working together and finding enough Republican legislators to join Democrats in supporting a balanced approach to solving the state’s budget problems.”
--Assemblymember Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto), Assistant Majority Policy Leader
“We must have an honest debate about the budget and our priorities. That starts with abandoning the myth that we can responsibly balance our budget only with cuts. Such a budget would devastate our schools and dim the prospects of our children who need a good education to be competitive for good jobs.”
--Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D-San Fernando Valley), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee
“The UC Riverside campus, and our State’s entire higher education system, have been deeply affected by the budget cuts of recent years. It is our hope that, through detailing the impacts of the cuts on our students and their parents, faculty and staff, we help better explain why the UC system is seeking a sustainable funding model that preserves the excellence of our institutions for the competitive future of California.”
--Chancellor Timothy P. White, University of California, Riverside
“We’re facing a crucial situation that will affect not only us, but future generations of Californians, as well. The damage to the Inland Empire is apt to be far greater than elsewhere, because our region has among the lowest percentage of college graduates in the nation – a leading reason why the Ontario-Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area has the greatest unemployment rate of any U.S. metropolitan area over 100,000. Given the profound importance of higher education to the success of our children and grandchildren, as well as to the long-term success of California and our region, we need to remain vigilant in sustaining higher education as a high priority for elected officials.”
--President Albert Karnig, California State University, San Bernardino
“Our system is vital to the state's fiscal stability. Cuts have come at a time when community colleges are in greatest demand. I believe students deserve the opportunity to come to us to get a degree, job training or to take the classes they need to transfer to a four-year university. For many of the students we serve, especially the unemployed seeking new job skills, community colleges give them a chance to get their lives back on track. I appreciate this important effort to bring education leaders to the table to discuss what’s at stake, why our lawmakers need to approve a balanced solution of cuts and revenues, and why it’s important to pass a state budget by June 15.”
--San Bernardino Community College District Interim Chancellor Bruce Baron
Inland Empire Education Summit Participants
Mr. Bruce Baron
Interim Chancellor, San Bernardino Community College District
Mr. Don Bridge
Board of Directors, California Teachers Association
Mr. Phil Doolittle
Executive Vice President, University of Redlands
Ms. Martha Fluor
President, California School Boards Association, Trustee, Newport-Mesa Unified School District
Mr. Albert K. Karnig
President, California State University, San Bernardino
Ms. Debbie Look
Director of Legislation, California State PTA
Dr. Marcia Marx
President, California Faculty Association, San Bernardino Chapter
Mr. Frank Torres
Political Director, SEIU, Local 99
Mr. Ben Valdepeña
Area F Director, California School Employees Association
Mr. Greg Washington
Vice President, California State Student Association
Mr. Timothy P. White
Chancellor, University of California, Riverside
