March 4th a Success--Thousands Rally to Defend Public Education

On October 24, 2009, students, faculty, and parents from around the state gathered in Berkeley to plan a statewide response to increases in class size, increases in fees, mass layoffs and chronic underfunding of our schools.  Accounts from attendees at the mobilizing day concede that not much was agreed upon other than to begin organizing a statewide day of action on March 4th.

March 4th became the culmination date of a series of direct actions at campuses across California.  A unique element of these sit-ins, building occupations, and protests was the broad participation of faculty, staff, and students.  On March 4th, close to 50 events statewide were widely attended by K-12 teachers, administrators, students, and parents, along side college and university folks.  Nearly every UC campus had large and lively demonstrations.  Some critics have suggested that March 4th events had low turnout, but this was not the experience of the thousands in attendance.  Possibly more important than numbers was the diversity of attendees and the consensus amongst them that education in California must be a priority in the State budget.

The California Budget Project recently released a presentation on the top 10 budget myths and truths.  According to the CBP, we spend 52.6% of the state’s general fund on education, 40.4% on K-12 and 12.2% on higher education.  This seems like a large percentage of the budget, but relative to other states our education spending is very low.  We rank 46th in per pupil spending.  If the Governor’s budget proposal passes, we will be spending $1543 less per student in inflation adjusted dollars in 2010-11 than we did in 2006-07. The K-14 proposal barely satisfies the constitutionally mandated level of funding and would reduce 2009-10 funding levels by nearly $2 billion.  The budget proposal, which came out in early January, offers to restore $305 million of UC’s 2009-10 funding cuts, and increase enrollment funding if federal assistance comes through.  This shift in higher education funding was largely credited to the wave of protests that occurred on college campuses after fees were increased in October 2009.

So, was March 4th as successful as previous protests?  In terms of media coverage and exposure of the issues to the public, March 4th was a huge success.  We had unprecedented media coverage leading up to and after the event, including national coverage by major papers and networks, and extensive coverage by Democracy Now. 

The political and budgetary implications of March 4th remain to be seen.  Once again, we wait for the May revise and hope that the democrats in the legislature will come up with some ways to raise revenue.   By May, March 4th will seem like distant history to our representatives in Sacramento.  We’ll need to keep organizing to push our legislators to a budget that doesn’t compromise on education. 

Within the UC’s, we continue to see campuses prioritize buildings and construction over undergraduate education.  The most recent revelation in this regard is the $25 million dollars in student fees that UCLA planned to use to renovate Pauley Pavilion. After intense media scrutiny, UCLA decided to reduce its use of student fees for the Pavilion by $15 million dollars.  UC-AFT believes the $15 million should immediately be redirected to backfill program cuts.  UCLA claims the projected cost of the renovation was reduced, alleviating the need to use student fees.   The reality is that post-March 4th, stories about UC’s financial indiscretions, particularly concerning student fees, have much more traction with the media and public.  If the Pauley Pavilion situation is any indication, UC administrators are feeling pressure to at least use student fees for education.

As we approach the May revise, the Commission on the Future of UC is pushing ahead with recommendations that would continue UC’s path toward privatization.  If we can take our March 4th momentum and focus it on the work of the Commission, or, as proposed by Bob Samuels, on the Alternative Commission on the Future of UC, we may have a real chance to push UC in the right direction.  Fortunately, March 4th created a lot of momentum.