On this April Fools’ Day, as the impact of $11.6 billion in budget cuts to schools continues to result in teachers, administrators and school employees being pink-slipped, class sizes swelling and vital programs being cut, sadly, the not-so-funny joke is on California’s students – and no one is laughing.

Though California voters have said time and again that funding our public schools should be a top priority, the latest round of cuts passed by state lawmakers and signed by the Governor, is instead severely shortchanging an entire generation of students. This is happening in a state that already ranks near dead last in the nation in per-pupil funding, has the largest class sizes and the fewest librarians, counselors and support staff of any state in the country.

And as the economy worsens, schools are being expected to provide even more social services to protect students from the cruel realities many face at home. Once again, schools are expected to be doing “more with less,” with so few resources left that they are stretched to the breaking point.

Below are just a few of the most recent examples of how school districts and students are trying to cope:

Sacramento Bee 3/31/09 As economy sinks, more schools doing social work

As the recession squeezes more Sacramento area families, school counselors, psychologists and teachers say children are feeling the pressures. And schools are increasingly being called upon to calm their anxieties, to counsel their parents and to help some families find places to live.

Chico Enterprise Record 3/31/09 High school district layoffs on agenda

The Oroville Union High School District board of trustees will decide on even more staff layoffs Wednesday at their board meeting at 6 p.m. at Prospect High School.

Associated Press 3/31/09 – PROMISES, PROMISES: Saving teacher jobs tough

Santa Ana, Calif. – English teacher Isa de Quesada is waiting to hear whether the stimulus dollars will bring her and 10 other teachers back to their school this fall. If not, class sizes at her school and others could swell, hurting the emphasis on quality education.

“Right now, I have 40 in two of my classes; we could go to 50 to 55 next year,” she said in an interview.

KQED 3/31/09 – State Subsidy for School Lunches Could Run Dry

Many low income families around the state depend on subsidized meals at school to feed their children. Between the start of the 2007 academic year and this one, that number jumped 12 percent. To cover the program, schools rely on a partial reimbursement from the state. But because of the surge in participation, that money will run out next month — if not sooner.

Fixing California’s problem of chronically underfunding our public schools will take a multi-pronged approach, starting with immediate distribution of the federal stimulus funds, passing Prop 1B on May 19th to restore $9 billion of the funds that have been cut, and then creating long-term, stable revenue solutions to ensure that we never again rank dead last in how much we invest in our students.

The Education Coalition represents more than 2.5 million teachers, parents, administrators, school board members, school employees and other education advocates in California. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.protectourstudents.org