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Berkeley Unified School District’s superintendent and board directors, at Wednesday’s meeting, blasted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s education budget cuts, calling on constituents to write protest letters to the governor and legislators and promising further action. 

Superintendent Michele Lawrence had placed a resolution on the consent calendar stating, in part, that BUSD “strongly opposes the governor’s 2005-06 budget proposal and urges the governor to uphold the education funding protections the voters say they want.” But after Student Director Lily Dorman-Colby moved the resolution to the action calendar “because it needs more attention,” directors took the microphone one-by-one to denounce the cutbacks. 

Last year, Schwarzenegger won support for one-year budget cuts from state education leaders in return for his promise that the money would be returned in the 2005-06 budget. But when the governor released his budget proposal last month, he reneged on that deal, requesting that the cuts in public education be made permanent. 

Director Joaquin Rivera called it “extremely disturbing that the governor is going back on the promise he made.” Dorman-Colby called Schwarzenegger’s actions “upsetting.” In an op-ed article released this week to newspapers around the state, Dorman-Colby wrote that she was “calling on everyone in the state to speak out in defense of public education funding, but I am calling most specifically on students across the state. We must stand up and be counted.” 

Director Terry Doran said that “every citizen will be affected if our education is allowed to deteriorate.” He added that “there are many other suggestions for solving our state budget problems than cutting education.” 

Director John Selawsky said that the education cutbacks “may actually galvanize people into action. That’s what I’m hoping for.” Selawsky said that “we in Berkeley have pounded on that drum for years in saying that education must be fully-funded. But others are now taking up that drumbeat.” 

Lawrence said that the resolution, which passed unanimously, was only the “first of many actions we’re going to be taking” in opposition to the budget cuts. 

She said that the California School Boards Association and the California Teachers Association are working on a joint legislative action day to bring constituents to Sacramento. In addition, Lawrence said that superintendents representing Alameda County’s school districts met this week to plan actions, and would soon be writing letters to legislators and meeting with legislative leaders to plan strategies over the anticipated budget fight. Beginning in March, Lawrence said that the district will start organizing Berkeley-based actions, with information-action meetings planned with school PTA’s and community groups around the city.  

Dorman-Colby said, following the meeting, that she was meeting with Berkeley High School student leaders this week to plan actions, and would move from there to contact student leaders around the state for possible coalition efforts. 

After the shots at Gov. Schwarzenegger, the rest of the school board meeting was short and less eventful. The board: 

• Approved the hiring of Berkeley-based Design Community and Environment company (DCE) to assist the district in the West Campus, Oregon/Russell, and Old City Hall projects. BUSD is moving its administrative offices to the West Campus site, closing its Old City Hall operation altogether and moving personnel from the Oregon/Russell property. DCE announced that they want to hold four community meetings between March and May at the West Campus site to discuss the proposed move, with the first meeting scheduled for March 3. 

• Approved master plans and proposed projects by landscape architect Miller and Company for $180,000 landscaping and playground improvements at LeConte and Washington elementary schools. Money for the improvements will come from the Berkeley Schools Excellence Project (BSEP). If the BSEP Site Committees for the respective schools approve the projects, construction could begin as early as this summer. 

• Approved a waiver of credential requirements in order to allow the appointment of BHS counselor Roland Stringfellow as interim Vice Principal of Berkeley High School. Stringfellow’s appointment was made necessary after Vice Principal Mark Wolfe unexpectedly resigned last month for personal reasons. 

• Confirmed Margaret Rowland to fill out BUSD’s three-member Merit Commission. The commission—which is composed of one district representative, one classified employees union representative, and one member chosen jointly by the district and union reps—makes the final decisions in hiring and other personnel decisions regarding the district’s classified employees. Rowland fills the “mutual chosen” slot on the commission, joining commissioners Shirley Van Bourg and Roy Doolan. Her term expires in December of 2006.