March 4 rocked! Now what?

Teachers, administrators, parents and students lining up on both sides of the school. Our school, the school down the street, every school in the district. Every community in the Bay Area. Every region of the state. Simultaneously defiant and celebratory. With a little leadership, great things can happen. That’s the lesson of March 4.

And CTA joined the fray. In their most significant organizing effort during the last four devastating budget cycles, CTA finally cranked out the resources and guidance to get every California community hopping around the theme of “No More Cuts.” CTA also scored well in the “plays nice with others” category, joining hands with the California Federation of Teachers and unions representing employees from UC, CSU, community colleges, the greater labor movement, and the rest of the education coalition. Gotta say, I was proud to be CTA.

March 4 may go down as one of CTA’s best days in the last 5 years. Not since the 2005 special election has the state's largest teachers union put it all together so well. With every staff person spending energy getting local leaders to pick up the ball, effective use of the Stand Up for Schools website, great coordination with sister organizations, and mostly, just using its geographical size and scope, CTA played an essential role in the success of the day.

Of course, it’s not enough. Not yet. The shouting was fun. It was great to see the headlines. But the budget crisis did not go away. The solutions (more revenue, majority rule, no more corporate tax give-aways) have not been enacted. And some horrible compromise, which will end up solving nothing, is just a few months away. The Republican minority will again have the opportunity to reject the majority call for new funding. CTA will be asked to “bless” the compromise because more is being cut from health and human services than schools. Our recent track record says that we will reluctantly agree.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. It is hard to see past the logjam that the Republicans have built in the state legislature around budgeting and taxing. But people are getting tired of legislative logjams led by a super-minority. And the iron is hot. CTA has a presence in the communities that elected those republicans, too. Those schools are hurting, too. Parents in those communities are also upset.

Step one: make it clear to our friends in the legislature that we won’t settle for another bloodletting, that their votes should be dependent on having some real structural change in the way budgets are decided. Step two: get in the faces of every republican in Sacramento until a few of them break. Fight dirty if we have to. Put up billboards across from their local offices crediting them with every layed-off teacher and closed school library. Make sure to name every closed school or shut-down essential school service after them. Get local teachers in the act with more public rallies, more forums about school budget cuts. Step three: repeat. In other words, CTA, please don't drop the ball!

Of all of the statewide organizations, CTA stands alone in having the capacity to run this type of campaign. And the alternative is far worse. The alternative is to is suck it up and watch our neighborhood public schools get dismantled piece by piece. And about a year from now, we can start planning another March 4.