Santa Ana educators protest layoff plan

Santa Ana, CA – Over 200 educators rallied to the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, January 29 to protest budget cuts and layoffs of up to 546 employees.

Elementary and secondary school teachers, counselors, curriculum specialists and social workers, as well as local union members, parents and children filled the chamber. Even more were forced into the overflow room and hallway of the district building.

Last month Santa Ana School District (SAUSD) approved a “Budget Stabilization Plan” that threatened to cut many of these workers. District Superintendent Jerry Almendarez said the decision was a necessary sacrifice that would not severely impact students and families. At the same time, no management positions were considered for layoffs: Almendarez received $447,561 in compensation in 2022, and the meeting agenda originally included a proposed 3% salary raise and one time 3% bonus for him before community backlash changed the board’s mind.

Ironically, despite this crisis, it was not public educators but pro-charter school activists who were first to speak. Compass Charter School advocates complained about large class sizes in public schools and praised hybrid and homeschool teaching, which are unrealistic models for working-class families in Santa Ana. Parent Max Page said he felt “safe” dropping his kids off at Compass, insinuating that SAUSD schools are dangerous. All of the Compass Charter students and teachers were white, in a city which is 77% Latino/Chicano according to 2020 census data.

Meanwhile, public school teacher Vladimir Benitez said in Spanish, “First of all, to all the immigrant families, we see you! We love you. We are here to support you. I know what is happening in your lives – my parents were also undocumented immigrants in the 90s when we had Pete Wilson, but we are still here! And we are going to remain here!”

Benitez continued, “Cutting the number of teachers that they want to cut in this historical moment – history is going to see, ‘What did we do?’ If you don’t feel any shame for cutting resources to these children, then I do not know why you are here!”

Educators in the overflow room cheered and demanded “No layoffs! No cuts!” despite warnings from the board to be silent.

Special education teacher Edith Esqueda said, “I’m here tonight as a concerned teacher, deeply invested in the future of our district.” To the board members and superintendents, she said, “One day you guys are gonna pack your stuff and move to the next best thing; we are here to stay!”

Esqueda said, “The heart of our district is not in offices, but in our classrooms where all our students are at.”

Protesters in the audience held signs that read “351 layoffs is the unimaginable,” a reference to SAUSD slogan “Imagine the unimaginable” plastered on district promotional materials this year.

Tanya Guzman, a teacher with SAUSD for 31 years, said, “As I pondered the magnitude of the proposed eliminations before us, I couldn’t help but ponder the ‘imagine the unimaginable’ theme for this school year. This theme has taken on a new significance as we imagine the unimaginable consequences that these cuts will create. It is unimaginable that learning will not be impacted by the proposed reductions.”

Erica Gonzalez spoke as an SAUSD alumni and parent, and she reinforced the previous speaker Albert Castillo’s points about “the $10.4 million dollars annually that goes to the 85 Santa Ana Police Department officers that are on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even during the summer.” She said, “SAUSD has the third largest school police agency in all of California.”

Social worker Luz Gonzalez spoke on the vital support she offers to students, giving real-life examples of her work, “Third student of the day walks into her session, confiding her fears of looming mass deportations. Her family plan? Her parents would leave her 18-year-old sister in charge of her and her 11-year-old brother. She’s overwhelmed and terrified.”

Looking directly at Almendarez and in response to potential social worker layoffs she asked, “How much are you willing to risk?”

Public pressure forced the meeting to end near midnight without a vote on teacher layoffs. The board scheduled a special meeting to decide on the Stabilization Plan on Friday, January 31.

Protesters at the meeting included SAUSD educators, Santa Ana Educators Association (SAEA) members, National Union of Health Care Workers union members, and Communication Workers of America Local 9510 members (CWA).

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Source: https://fightbacknews.org/santa-ana-educators-protest-layoff-plan?pk_campaign=rss-feed