MONTEBELLO : Protests Over Proposed School Budget Cuts Spread
School walkouts and marches spread Friday throughout the financially strapped Montebello Unified School District to protest $11.6 million in proposed budget reductions that would mean more than 200 layoffs and deep program cuts.
About 1,500 students left class at Bell Gardens High School on Friday morning to walk five miles to the district office. About 150 students from Eastmont Intermediate in Montebello also made the trek. On Thursday, more than 1,200 students from Schurr and Montebello high schools left classes to converge on the district office.
Board members moved their meeting twice Thursday night to larger facilities to accommodate overflow crowds. Board members met for six hours, but postponed a decision on the cuts until Tuesday. The board meets at 7 p.m. in the Montebello High School auditorium, 2100 W. Cleveland Ave.
“Our hearts go out to you, our hopes hang on your decision,” said Sara Kim, 16, of Schurr High, one of more than 100 speakers Thursday night.
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