Mothers Appeal to Other Parents to Help End Student Walkouts : Education: Group deplores disruption of classes over school spending cuts. Some question role of teachers.

Mothers of students in the Los Angeles Unified School District issued a plea to other parents Monday, urging them to tell their children to stop the walkouts that have disrupted classes and to find other ways to express their anger over cuts in education spending.

About 20 parents held a press conference in front of Belmont High School, where last week more than 200 students marched from the campus near downtown Los Angeles to City Hall to protest cuts in school funding.

“We cannot support actions which jeopardize the safety and welfare of children,” said Lynne Calkins, legislative chair of the 10th District PTA. “We cannot sanction student walkouts or the use of instructional time to further political goals.”

Calkins and other parents were responding to a wave of student demonstrations that have occurred at schools from South Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley during the last two weeks. Though most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, one resulted in the principal being injured, and hundreds of students have skipped classes to take part in the protests.

“They can voice their opinions through phone calls and letter writing,” said Calkins, whose son attends Westside Alternative School. “If they want to organize a rally during lunchtime, that’s great. I just don’t want them walking out on the streets.”

Some of the parents said they believe some students were motivated to protest by their teachers, who are facing a pay cut of 17% from what they earned two years ago.

“There are too many teachers setting a poor example for our children,” said Linda Caffery, a mother of two who is also a district employee. “The kids don’t understand this budget. They’re being used.”

But leaders of United Teachers-Los Angeles have repeatedly denied that teachers are encouraging the protests, adding that they are also concerned that students not miss class or risk their safety staging demonstrations.

District officials have slashed $400 million from this year’s budget, mostly through yet-to-be negotiated cuts in employee salaries. Board of Education President Leticia Quezada said Monday that the board will meet all this week to try to reduce the proposed salary cuts workers are facing. Additionally, an independent commission chaired by former state Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp is scheduled to present recommendations on the district’s fiscal crisis in a meeting this afternoon.

In the meantime, the teachers union has launched a multifaceted campaign to stave off the pay cut proposals now on the table.

A union plan to save the district money and restructure the school system has sparked tensions among some employee bargaining groups who feel teachers are trying to shift the burden of the cuts to other workers. And the union’s tactics have also upset parents who are angry that some teachers encouraged students to use class time to write letters about the state’s funding of education.