Whatever Happened To "Women And Children First"?

I don't think I've ever mentioned local politics on this blog before. I feel a responsibility to do so today.

This Clapton is for my mother-in-law's boss in Florence Unified School District in the far east part of the Phoenix metro area. It's going to be a birthday gift for her husband.

Along with my mother-in-law, my father-in-law works for that same school district. My wife works in Arizona public education as well.

Arizona, like the rest of the country, is financially in trouble. We are looking at a $1.5 billion deficit this year and much larger one the next. The first budget proposal publicly presented, developed in close-door meetings apparently by just 4 members of the state legislature, lays the entire burden of that deficit on public education. All of it.

If approved, this budget would devastate our state's public education system, which is already around the 48th or 9th lowest funded system in the country. Can't go much lower than that. Kindergarten would no longer be full day, school for all K-12 students would be 4 days a week and programs would be either eliminated or slashed. Amazingly, on top of that, it would cut way back on child care. So not only would the kids be getting educated less and the parents would have to figure out what to do with them, but they'd also have to pay more for whatever they did figure out what to do with them.

This is like making the women and children on a sinking ship go below deck to work on the problem without tools while the men row away in the life rafts. Come ON!

Dr. Gary Nine, the superintendant for FUSD, couldn't believe it when he found out about this proposal. He's taking a stand: http://www.respectforregularfolks.com/index.php/home.

This past Sunday, my family took a stand with him. Please go to the above link and read his letter. Understand the situation and this horrendous proposal's consequences.

Then help do something about it.

Peace.

SOLD - Eric Clapton 01/26/09