COSTA MESA : 10,000 to Protest School Fund Cuts

About 10,000 county school officials, parents and students are expected to attend a rally at Orange Coast College this evening to protest deep cuts in state education funding proposed by Gov. Pete Wilson.

Discouraged by the governor’s proposal to cut $2 billion in school funds, school district officials and parents will band together for the rally, dubbed Save Orange County Kids, or SOCK, to respond to what they call one of the biggest crises ever in state education. The rally will begin at 7 p.m. at the college’s LeBard Stadium in Costa Mesa.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig plans to attend the rally along with state Assembly members Doris Allen (R-Anaheim) and Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) and state senators Cecil N. Green (D-Norwalk) and Marian Bergeson (R--Newport Beach).

“Parents and the rest of the educational community thought it was time to join forces and make sure the governor and our legislators are aware of our concerns with the future quality of education,” said Katherine Neilson, president of the 4th District PTA of Orange County.

Gov. Wilson has proposed cutting $2 billion from the state education budget and suspending Proposition 98, which guarantees that at least 40% of the state general purpose tax revenue is allocated to public schools and community colleges.

In a written statement, Orange County Supt. of Schools John F. Dean said, “We recognize the problems of the state budget, but we think it’s unfair for education to bear an outsized portion of the reductions.”