Town Hall Notes: Public Education equals Democracy

[Barry]

[These are notes from one of the break out groups at the January 9th, 2012 Occupy Sonoma County Town Hall meeting in Sebastopol. You are welcome to reply publicly or contact a group representative by emailing the contact listing below rather than Reply Privately. Thanks! -Barry]

Topic: Public Education equals Democracy
Convener: Frank Anderson
Participants: Frank Anderson, Jina Brooks, David Parks,
Contact Info. Frank Anderson: [email protected]

Discussion Points: We talked about the importance of public education and the division that has been created by 'No Child Is Left Behind', and budget cuts in our school system. Parents who are able are fleeing public schools while families with less resources are forced to stay in a failing system. We also talked about the demand and pressure that teachers have on them to perform more in less time due to cuts in the school days and less supplies and resources.

Next Steps:
OSR is working with STA (Santa Rosa Teacher's Association) to educate the public about the impact of the cuts and support our teachers.

There will be a Teacher Rally and School Drive on Feb. 25th and a large union march including all teacher unions and other unions on March 31st, with music and student art unveiling.