Youth Persistent in Getting More Funding for Oakland Schools!
6 AYPAL Youth Leaders along with organizational members of the CQE were in Sacramento weighing in on statewide educational policy.
On March 19, AYPAL was back in Sacramento to advocate for the weighted student formula in the Governor’s Budget. Students shared their personal stories and pushed for a more equitable school funding system at the Assembly Budget Sub-Committee on Education. Here are some excerpts from the testimonies our leaders gave:
“[The weighted student formula] would make Oakland public schools work more for students and that would change a lot of people’s lives. Take my little brother for example, I really want better for him. We both come from a low income family. If they target low-income youth, my brother can break the cycle of poverty in my family. He could have everything that I couldn’t get. He could have all the resources, all the classes, all the activities! I want him to feel he can make it. I want him to know that he can make it. I think we should prioritize low income and ELL students. ”
- Tommy Phan (AYPAL Youth Intern, Sophomore at Oakland High School)
“I believe if no more money is given to education, at schools like mine courses are going to be cut, cut and cut. There won’t be any more electives or AP classes given to us, and basically we will have the core classes and this doesn’t prepare students for college. The school district is setting us up for failure in college.”
- Ryan Tern (AYPAL Youth Intern, Junior at Fremont High School)
To see the entire hearing click here.
AYPAL youth speaking up for educational funding equity!
AYPAL youth, Christopher Saechao (middle) and Nhi Nguyen (right), testify at a Senate Budget Committee Hearing this February. Photo by Tiffany Eng
“California has been facing many
budget cuts since 2007 and each of the
cuts have been leaving wounds on the
most neediest students.”
– Christopher Saechao, AYPAL youth
While improving our state’s public education system might seem like a daunting task, AYPAL is honing in on specific issue areas to make meaningful improvements to our schools — both locally and statewide!
In February, AYPAL Youth Leaders Nhi Nguyen and Christopher Saechao testified at a Senate Budget Hearing with other members of the Campaign for Quality Education (CQE) Coalition in support of Governor Brown’s proposal for a “weighted student formula”. This funding formula would help make our education system more equitable by taking student needs into account when giving money to school districts.
It’s a step in the right direction toward improving California’s public education system, especially for the low-income Asian and Pacific Islander immigrant and refugee families that AYPAL serves.
However, a fair funding formula isn’t enough – we also need to make sure that all schools have the kind of funding that once made California a top state in the nation for public education. Look out for progressive tax-the-rich initiatives on the November ballot that will increase public education funding!
PS. You can watch Nhi and Christopher’s full testimonies here: http://www.calchannel.com/channel/viewVideo/3331
Kids First 2
AYPAL is working in coalition with Kids First 2 to re-authorize and increase the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth.
AYPAL & OFCY
The challenges kids in Oakland face everyday are growing, but the resources to help them are not. The number of children in poverty is on the rise; the dropout rate is one of the highest in the state; and more and more children have no adult supervision after-school. Our children need and deserve to be a top priority and passing this measure will prevent the city from ignoring the needs of Oakland youth.
