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Thursday, March 6, 2008

Students Walk Out

Chanting and holding signs, hundreds of students walked out of class Wednesday to show their anger at the school board's decision to gut funding for high school sports as a way to offset a $4.5 million budget shortfall, the Oakland Tribune reported today.

Trustees initially were considering eliminating every penny from high school sports and closing the school district's two swim centers, which would have saved $465,000.

But during a special meeting that stretched into the early hours Wednesday morning, trustees opted instead to cut $265,000 from sports and the pools, which the public also use.

Athletic directors at the high schools will decide now how to allocate what's left of the money.

Along with a slate of cuts, the school board decided to put an emergency $120 residential parcel tax on the June ballot to help generate cash.

The annual tax would stop after four years — but it would be on top of the $189 tax Alameda homeowners already pay for local schools.

The belt-tightening approved by the board includes eliminating music instruction for first- through third-graders, plus cutting back on middle school counselors and ending class size reduction for high school freshmen.

When Superintendent Ardella Dailey first suggested no longer paying for high school sports last month as a way to help make up the shortfall, the proposal quickly came under fire from parents, teachers and students, who packed the special board meeting at Chipman Middle School.

The cost-saving measures that trustees approved cover just this fiscal year and total about $1.4 million.

Dailey proposes cutting an additional $2.2 million during the next fiscal year, including possibly closing schools.

The student walkout Wednesday culminated with a rally inside Kofman Auditorium in Historic Alameda High School.

Posted at 11:02 AM | Permalink

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