Thousands of college students and teachers braved a steady downpour this morning to protest budget cuts at the state Capitol.
As lawmakers prepared to convene floor sessions inside, the drenched crowd chanted "no more cuts! No more cuts!" on the west steps.
Police closed 10th Street to accommodate the stream of protesters, who had marched from the California Auto Museum in Old Sacramento. Many had signs: "Tax the Rich!" and "No Brown Budget."
Lawmakers are poised to approve Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal, which called for cutting $500 million from California State University and $500 million from the University of California budgets. K-12 education is held harmless in Brown's proposal -- assuming voters approve extensions to 2009 tax increases on income, sales and vehicles. So far, however, Republicans have declined to provide the votes to allow the extensions on the ballot.
If the tax extensions do not occur, the cuts to higher education could be doubled, and $4 billion to $5 billion cuts to K-12 education imposed, according to a review of options by the state's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
Photo Caption: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and hundreds of school superintendents, principals, teachers and parents gathered at the south steps of the state Capitol on Monday to urge legislators to support the tax extension proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Photo by Randy Pench
Latest posts:
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.