Defend Education in CT March 4th!

Education is under attack across the country. Students and workers are standing up to fight back. What’s the next step for Connecticut?

DEFEND EDUCATION: WHATS THE NEXT STEP?

Sunday 3/28 2PM
Vance Academic Center 105
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT
Directions to CCSU

CCSU Campus Map

Panel Discussion

Josh Blanchfield – Hartford Federation of Teachers
Kate DeGraff – Southern CT State Univ Student Organizing against Budget Cuts
Jason Ortiz – UCONN Student Coalition on Reprioritizing Education (SCORE)
Followed by Discussion – What are the next steps for us in Connecticut?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Connecticut Students, Faculty, Staff, and Parents Unite to Fight the Attack on Education

Statewide Press Contact: Wes Strong
Address: 68 Mott Hill Road. East Hampton, CT 06424
Phone: 860-916-2761
Email: ctmarch4th@gmail.com

http://ct.defendeducation.org/
http://www.defendeducation.org/

March 4^th, 2010

On and around March 4th Connecticut students, faculty, staff, teachers and parents will be joining their counterparts from other states to raise awareness of and oppose the ongoing attack on our education system. There are several events in Connecticut (see attached list). With 1,200 public school teachers out of work in Connecticut according to inthistogetherct.org, tuition hikes that threaten accessibility at public universities, 300 positions remain unfilled as class sizes continue to grow, resources diminish, and the quality and accessibility of education crumbles and inequality grows.

“The people that are hurt the most by tuition increases are the working poor, immigrants, people of color, and people who would be the first in their families to attend college. These are exactly the people that the Connecticut college system should be investing in. These are the people that our society should be investing in at a time when we need new ideas and innovation more than ever. We can’t afford to not invest in education.” – Kate DeGraff SCSU Student and March 4th Organizer

According to data put together by ct.defendeducation.org, Since 2003, the Connecticut State University system schools (Central, Southern, Western, and Eastern) have seen consistent tuition hikes. With the hikes slated for the next academic year, the total hike since 2003 nears 50%.  UCONN has seen increases along a similar trend, with a new tuition hike of 5.66% approved February 18th with a few reports trickling out of a possible 20% tuition hike next year if education continues to be a low priority for state funding. A February 24^th article in the Hartford Courant reported that Connecticut Community Colleges face a 6.4% tuition hike, identical to the other public universities, threatening access to education by poor and working people, especially people of color. As if the costs of education were not already overwhelming, CT students currently graduate with the 3rd highest debt-by-state of all students in the country; surpassed only by Iowa and the District of Columbia.

“Accessible education is the lifeblood of communities. It’s time that the communities take back their education systems and make accessible education a priority,” Says Jason Ortiz, organizer for the Student Coalition on Reprioritizing Education (SCORE) at UCONN.

Connecticut participants will be joining with students and workers around the country to participate in actions geared towards raising awareness and fighting back against cuts in educational funding. The national March 4th organizing website www.defendeducation.org reports actions in 25 states, though organizers expect reports of more actions in the coming days, and some to occur without report. Organizers report that they expect March 4th to be a point of departure for a new education rights movement that builds unity among students, faculty, workers, staff, teachers, and parents. A statewide meeting will take place in the wake of the Connecticut actions on March 28th.

For questions or to interview any of the students quoted contact Wesley Strong at 860-916-2761

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CONNECTICUT EVENTS FOR MARCH 4^TH

Petition drive at Hartford Public High School

Southern CT State University

Date:  Thursday, March 4, 2010

Time: 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Location: Adanti Student Center room 305

Please join us for a discussion of how increases in tuition and decreases in services have affected you, and how we can defend our right to high quality public education.

UCONN Storrs

We will be lobbying in the capitol from 11-4. (A bus will leave from the Student Union at 11 and return at 4) The mass meeting will be held from 6-8pm in the Women’s Center Program Room. And The War on Kids will be showing from 8-10 pm in the SU Theater.
GESO (Graduate Employee and Student Organization), Yale University, New Haven, CT
www.geso.org
Panel Discussion and March to Deliver Solidarity Statement
On March 4, GESO alongside its allies in the Yale community will call on the administration to stop using the global economic crisis as justification for restructuring work at Yale in a corporate model, and instead to use its wealth and prestige to set an example for the rest of the academy and ensure good jobs for all. We are holding a panel with a diverse group of workers, faculty and students, to be followed
by a march to President Levin’s office to deliver a statement
203-500-4698
mary@yaleunions.org

Connecticut State University System Fact Sheet

Full Funding for Education!
0% Tuition Increase!
No faculty / staff layoffs or Concessions!
Defend Education March 4th!

CT Statewide Organizing Meeting

Open to the Public interested in Fighting Back against the Attacks on the Education System

February 21st, 2010
12PM Lunch Provided
Central CT State Univ – Room To Be Announced
1615 Stanley Street
New Britain, CT 06050

For More info, contact ctmarch4th@gmail.com or call 860 916 2761

CT Students Against the War Supports and calls all students to participate in:   PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY
Students, teachers, workers, parents, and faculty – Everyone is Welcome National Day of Action to Defend Education
Connecticut Statewide Organizing Meeting
February 7th 2010, Noon (12pm), Food Provided
Central CT State University, New Britain, CT 06050
Barnard room 108 (look for the signs)
Directions to CCSU
Lunch Provided by CT Students Against the War
Flier attached and linked
Why should I come to the statewide organizing meeting to build for actions on March 4th, the National Day of Action to Defend Education?

In CT, 1,200 teachers are out of work, tuition hikes at public universities threaten accessibility, class sizes grow while resources and quality of education diminishes, costs of education beyond tuition are rising limiting accessibility, privatization grows as a “solution” to the crisis all the while the public funding disappears. In the face of this crisis, people throughout the country. Students, teachers, workers, parents, and faculty throughout the country are standing up to say no more.

Join the Discussion! March 4th organizing is open and democratic for everyone.

By participating, you help build it’s character.

Join the CT March 4th Listserve here: http://groups.google.com/group/ctmarch4th

Email for more info:

ctmarch4th@gmail.com

Facebook Group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=248078014868&

Facebook Event for the meeting:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=268180458018&

Temporary Phone contact for the 4th (until we can formalize some positions on the 7th):

Wes @ 860 916 2761

National March 4th campaign organizing website and endorsers list: http://www.defendeducation.org

Draft Call to Action for Statewide actions on or around March 4th

Take a Stand! Defend Education March 4^th!
Statewide Meeting Feb. 7^th Noon at CCSU Barnard room 108 (Lunch Provided)
To Organize for CT Actions March 4^th National Day of Action to Defend Education

The costs of education are on the rise.  From kindergarten to the university classroom, the cost of attaining a base level of education necessary to attain living-wage employment (up to and including a 4-year college degree) has never been more expensive.   At the same time, budgets in public school systems and at universities both public and private are being slashed, teaching staffs are being reduced, and access to further academic enrichment is virtually nonexistent.

Even in Connecticut, one of the wealthiest states in the country, spiraling education costs are dealing blows to the dreams and aspirations of students throughout the state. In the Connecticut State University system alone, (Central, Southern, Western, and Eastern), tuition has risen consistently since 2003.  The raise scheduled for the 2010-2011 school year will make the increase 50% over the past 8 years (2003).  The spike in tuition costs in the CSU system is not out of the norm. The Project on Student Debt, a California based research and data collection project that compiles statistics on student loan information, found that CT students graduate with the 3^rd highest debt-by-state of all students in the country, surpassed only by Iowa and the District of Columbia. (http://projectonstudentdebt.org/)

As tuition costs spiral out of control, putting higher education out of reach of many, massive budget cuts are happening simultaneously at all CT universities, including the over 300 jobs the CSU system has left open for the past year, wage freezes, and furlough days for professors. At the same time this has been happening, Administrators in both the UCONN and CSU systems have accepted bonuses, being praised for their ability to cut education.

Connecticut’s public schools struggle to provide quality education as Gov. Rell freezes and reduces education funds. School systems already struggling have made drastic cuts that threaten the future of Connecticut’s youth. 1200 teachers lost their jobs last year, many from underprivileged districts such as Hartford that depend largely on Federal funds. (http://inthistogetherct.org/2009/08/survey-1200-conn-teaching-jobs-lost-this-year/) School administrations at all levels have executed cuts leading to an increase in class size, an increase in workload on education workers, and a decrease in the extracurricular programs that can provide important life skills to CT’s youth.

These systems are welcoming private finance and influence to cover costs, a path that will lead to greater privatization. At private schools and universities, students and workers are under attack as democratic rights are being taken away, and their working conditions and the quality of their educations are diminishing. Students, teachers, workers, parents and faculty throughout California have already begun to stand up for their rights.

On March 4^th, there will be a National Day of action to Defend Education, with actions happening simultaneously throughout the country. We can no longer sit by while our public schools are threatened with privatization and the rights of students and workers at private schools are stripped away. Now more than ever, it is critical that we join together and demand a better future. We call for those interested in participating in the March 4 ^th Day of action and the continuing struggle to join together at a statewide meeting February 7^th at Noon on the CCSU campus (food will be provided).