By Megan Burks
Governor Unveils Budget Plan, Puts Schools in Voters’ Hands
Gov. Jerry Brown released his budget proposal yesterday with a dire warning for schools: if voters don’t agree to raise taxes in the fall, he’ll call for an automatic cut of $4.8 billion to public education.
His proposed ballot initiative would ask to raise income taxes on those earning $250,000 or more and to increase California’s sales tax by a half-cent.
His budget also impacts schools by doing away with the state’s class-size reduction program for kindergarten through third grade. San Diego schools already surpass the state-mandated cap with 25 students per teacher, according to U-T San Diego. The move would allow them to continue saving on teacher salaries and skip expensive penalties for large classes.
Follow Gov. Jerry Brown @JerryBrownGov.
Budget Proposal Calls for Deep Cuts to CalWorks
Even if voters approve a tax hike, Gov. Brown’s budget would make significant cuts to the state’s safety net for the poor.
It would limit the length of time most adults could collect CalWorks welfare from four years to two and reduce monthly assistance for children by $71, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. His budget would also cut $450 million in CalWorks childcare subsidies.
Many in City Heights rely on CalWorks subsidies to cover basic family needs. Somali women who work as childcare providers also rely on the aid, which their clients often use to pay for their services.
The governor’s proposal is just the first step in crafting a state budget. It must go through the full legislative process and a May revision. The new fiscal year starts July 1.
Get quick Capitol updates by following @CapitolAlert.
Dream Act Opponents Fail to Get Enough Signatures for Referendum
Perhaps some happier news coming out of the Capitol for many of City Heights’ immigrant families: a referendum to overturn California’s Dream Act failed this week.
Opponents of the new law, which opens state financial aid to undocumented students who came to the United States as children and attended California high schools, failed to collect enough signatures to put a referendum on the November ballot.
See what the referendum’s sponsor is up to. Follow Assemblyman Tim Donnelly @59thAssemblyman.
College Avenue Compact Ready for Second Class
San Diego State Univeristy reports 250 Hoover High School students are on track to be accepted to the university under its College Avenue Compact.
The agreement tracks City Heights students beginning in elementary school and guarantees them admission to SDSU if they meet certain benchmarks. Its first class graduated from Hoover last year; 40 went on to SDSU.
Get SDSU news by following @SDSU_NewsTeam.
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New Year, New Features
One last bit of news: we added some features to our website. You can now access all of our food justice and public safety coverage right from the front page. You can also view our Flickr slideshow and a playlist of Speak City Heights videos produced by Media Arts Center San Diego.
This is exciting because it gives you one more way to get involved with Speak City Heights. If you email your photos to photo@speakcityheights.org, they’ll appear in our slideshow and on the front page.
We encourage you to snap photos of your neighborhood during walks to school, weekend errands and community events. You don’t need a fancy camera either—we love photos captured by your cell phone and especially love those taken with apps like Instagram.
Give it a try this weekend! And as always, you can submit letters to the editor, creative writing about your community and short videos to appear in our Voices section. Email spkcityheights@gmail.com for more information