Labor Day March for Education in Oakland

MARCH TO DEFEND OAKLAND PUBLIC EDUCATION!
LABOR DAY 10:00 a.m.
Assemble at Grand Lake Theater

QUALITY EDUCATION FOR KIDS REQUIRES A GOOD CONTRACT
======================================================


August 9, 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

As you can see from the attached Oakland Tribune op-ed
piece, the OEA is determined to defend Oakland and California public education from pre-K through higher education.

Our first major community action to launch this
significant campaign for increased school funding will occur on Monday, September 6 (Labor Day) at 10:00 a.m. beginning at Lake Merritt (assembling outside the Grand Lake
Theatre).

Please endorse the rally call by completing the
following commitment form.

In Unity,

Ben Visnick
OEA President

__________________ endorses the OEA-initiated "March
to Defend Public
Education." (Name of Organization) Call the OEA office at 510.763.4020 to endorse.

_____________________________________
_______________________
Signature/Title
Date


FOR SCHOOL
EMPLOYEES!
RECRUIT AND RETAIN EXPERIENCED TEACHERS!

NO CUTS, NO CAPS, NO LAYOFFS!
REHIRE ALL LAID-OFF SCHOOL DISTRICT WORKERS!

RESTORE OAKLAND'S CIVIL RIGHTS!
CANCEL THE SCHOOL DEBT!
RETURN LOCAL CONTROL NOW!

WARD'S PLANS INCREASE INEQUALITY IN OUR SCHOOLS! STOP
DIVERTING PARCEL
TAX
MONIES (MEASURE "E") FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SCHEMES!
RESTORE TEACHERS' 4%!

OAKLAND IS NOT A POOR CITY: MAKE CLOROX, WORLD
SAVINGS, SHORENSTEIN,
AND
APL PAY THEIR SHARE!

CORPORATE OAKLAND: HELP PROVIDE OUR CHILDREN WITH
WORLD CLASS
EDUCATION,
LIBRARY
AND HEALTH SERVICE SYSTEMS!

EQUALITY MEANS ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION: RESTORE ALL
FUNDING TO UC,
CSU
& COMMUNITY COLLEGES!

FUND EDUCATION, NOT PRISONS AND WAR!

Initiated by Oakland Education Association/CTA/NEA
8/9/04
======================================================

August 9, 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

As you can see from the attached Oakland Tribune op-ed
piece, the OEA
is
determined to defend Oakland and California public
education from pre-K
through higher education.

Our first major community action to launch this
significant campaign
for
increased school funding will occur on Monday,
September 6 (Labor Day)
at
10:00 a.m. beginning at Lake Merritt (assembling
outside the Grand Lake
Theatre).

Please endorse the rally call by completing the
following commitment
form.

In Unity,

Ben Visnick
OEA President

__________________ endorses the OEA-initiated "March
to Defend Public
Education." (Name of Organization)

_____________________________________
_______________________
Signature/Title
Date

Pg/memos/080904bro
====================================================

July 12, 2004

Mario Dianda/Editor
Oakland Tribune/My Word
401-13th Street
P.O. Box 28884
Oakland, CA 94604

Dear Editor:

As a 20 plus years career teacher in the Oakland
Unified School
District
and an elected leader of the Oakland Education
Association/CTA/NEA, I
am rather disappointed by the recent coverage in the
Tribune of the
latest
woes besetting Oakland's and California's public
school systems.

In contrast, when the OEA initiated our Three R's
campaign in 1995 with
the
appearance of Jonathan Kozol (author of Savage
Inequalities) at the
Kaiser
Convention Center, we received sympathetic coverage
for our bold vision
for
Oakland's public schools: Raise Teacher Salaries;
Reduce Class Size;
and
Reallocate Resources to the Classroom.

Personally, I have worked under 10 different
superintendents on Second
Avenue: Love; Bowick; Coto; Pitts; Washington; Mesa;
Getridge; Quan;
Musgrove; and Chaconas. Academic achievement in
Oakland has only
increased
lately mainly because of our lower class size ratios
in Kindergarten
through 3rd grade and declining teacher turnover--A
direct result of
OEA's
and CTA's campaigns in the recent past for Classrooms
First!

Unfortunately, our proven success is threatened by the
revenue
shortfalls
existing at the local, state, and national levels as
the military
expands,
the economy contracts and high income/corporate tax
loopholes continue.

But, wait a minute! We are situated in the richest
region in the
wealthiest
state in the most affluent nation on earth. History
will judge us
harshly
unless the advocates of quality public schooling
demand the following
minimal support for our young people:


(over)
July 12, 2004
Mario Dianda/Editor
Page 2

1) The federal government must fulfill its promise to
our exceptional
children who are mainly educated in our public schools
because private
and
parochial schools are not legally required to address
their special
needs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) has to be
funded by Washington at 40%, not its current 17%.

2) The state government in Sacramento must
significantly increase
funding
to all our beleaguered school districts. We are
backsliding again past
35th place in the USA in K-12 per student dollars
although our cost of
living, especially for housing in urban California, is
the highest on
the
continent. If our state¹s schools were funded at the
national
average,
Oakland, Vallejo, Richmond, and Hayward would not be
under or
threatened
with unilateral state control! Bechtel,
Hewlett-Packard,
Chevron-Texaco,
McKesson, Safeway, Wells Fargo, Golden West, and
Clorox and 46 other
California companies are in the Fortune 500!

3) Here in Oakland, we see a tale of two cities. While
the ports (sea
and
air) are expanding, downtown building resumes, and the
firestormed
hills
are rebuilt, we see our public schools, hospitals,
libraries, and fire
stations threatened by inadequate tax receipts and
large interest
payments
on borrowed money. Locally, major changes to our much
less than
progressive tax structures (corporate income and
property) can help
ensure
a literate, healthy, and safe community. The East Bay
alone currently
ranks 20th in the USA in corporate wealth.

Will Oakland be a leader in the fight for economic
justice? Or will we
continue to see a "separate, but equal" city defined
by liberal
hypocrisy,
unequal schools, two-tier health care and unaffordable
housing?

Sincerely,

Ben Visnick
Teacher/Oakland High
President/Oakland Education Association