Mar 15, 2008 12:27 am US/Pacific
Students Join Protests Over Bay Area Layoffs
CROCKETT (CBS 5 / KCBS) ―
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Alameda students walk out of class to protests budget cuts at two high school campuses last week.
The next few days are expected to be rather unsettling for teachers throughout the region and the state.
The California Teachers Association says more than 1,600 teachers across the nine counties that make up the Bay Area will be getting notices that they may be losing their jobs.
The notices of anticipated layoffs come as the local education officials brace for a cut in state funding for education.
The first round of pink slips going out are considered preliminary, complying with a state law requiring notification.
School districts have until May 15 to tell those teachers who will be actually losing their jobs.
Students, parents and teachers have been expressing their concern over the proposed budget cuts. On Friday, more than 200 John Swett High School students walked out of their Crockett classrooms, to protest proposed cuts.
"He already got a layoff notice and that's why we're protesting, to protect him," one student said of her desire to demonstrate in honor of a popular John Swett teacher. "You take Trotter out, all these students won't care anymore."
"I already went to the board meeting, the other night, and I told them how I felt but it didn't seem to make a difference," another student offered.
Students marched from Crockett to nearby Rodeo to speak with school district administrators.
"If they know that we're the future, we should be given the best that is possible," said one student.
Also Friday, San Francisco elementary students at Lenord Flynn elementary protested alongside their parents, teachers and administrators in a plea to halt budget cuts and retain the school's staff.
Last week, a large crowd of Alameda students walked out of class to protest proposed cuts of AP classes and sports programs.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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