For Immediate Release
Contact: Matthew Hardy – 510-703-5291

Sacramento, CA — CFT President Jeff Freitas released the following statement in response to the devastating budget deficit projected by the California Department of Finance this morning, which includes a potential $18 billion cut to K-12 schools and community colleges:

“The devastating budget projections released today are a direct threat to our students’ recovery from the pandemic and their future. These numbers are a wake up call to leaders at every level of government: We must make it an urgent and immediate priority to fund our schools and community colleges at the level needed to get us safely out of this crisis. 

“Our schools are essential to the health and safety of our communities, and will be critical to the economic recovery of our state. In order to reopen schools, and to get our economy moving again, schools will need resources to ensure the safety of our students, school workers, and our communities.

“We call on the Congress and the President to immediately pass a $1 trillion stimulus bill that directly invests in states, cities, counties, schools and colleges that desperately need the resources to fight this pandemic. Without these critical funds, the education of a generation of California children, and the health of our state, will be at risk.

“This crisis also underscores the need to pass the Schools and Communities First initiative this November. The initiative will bring in $12 billion in essential funding to our schools and local services that support hard-hit families and students by closing corporate tax loopholes.”

The California Federation of Teachers represents 120,000 teachers, faculty, and school employees in public and private schools and colleges, from early childhood through higher education. It is the statewide affiliate of the AFT. More information at www.cft.org.

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