City-Wide Demonstrations Decry State Education Budget
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The protests, reportedly sponsored by a number of local education groups including the Pasadena PTA Council and United Teachers of Pasadena, were staged near PUSD school sites and garnered supportive honking from some passing motorists.
A flyer urging the demonstrations said "the proposed budget will force PUSD to cut over $10 million for the next school year. This will impact classroom teachers, staff, and other programs at our school."
"We're here because of the school budget cuts," said Gene Masuda, an East Pasadena community leader and former candidate for City Council. "We're facing one of the biggest crises faced by the PUSD in a long, long time."
In a column published in The Huffington Post, PUSD parent and Occidental College professor Peter Dreier wrote "In many years of activism, I've rarely seen such an outpouring of genuine grassroots anger and mobilization."
[For the full text of Dr. Dreier's article click here.]
Dreier noted that Friday's protests are a "warm-up for a big march through Pasadena on Saturday, May 31."