Teachers, students, parents and local civic leaders joined hands early in the morning on May 14 in a unified effort to urge the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) to stop nearly 1,700 teaching and staff positions from getting the ax. Rallies were held at five schools — La Jolla High School (LJHS), Muirlands Middle School, and La Jolla, Torrey Pines and Bird Rock elementary schools — to demonstrate a strong united front against proposed teacher cuts that could potentially blow classroom sizes up to nearly 50 students and affect teaching quality in schools across the district. “They’re thinking about pink slipping one out of every five educators in the district,” said Port of San Diego Commissioner Scott Peters at the LJHS rally. “That’s just not a way to educate kids, and that’s not a way to compete in the brainpower economy … If the country’s going to be competitive in the future, we can’t let a generation of kids go by without providing them a good education.” Peters iterated the detrimental long-term effects that would result if SDUSD moves forward with the proposed teacher and staff cuts. “It would make classroom sizes larger, the amount of attention that a teacher can give is less, teachers get overworked, and, as time goes on, people don’t go into teaching. We just don’t show enough respect for the profession. I think we really have to get our priorities in shape,” he said. “Obviously, the state is upside-down, and the federal government needs to do what it can, but it needs to start right here.” Amid sign-wielding protesters and the sound of encouraging honks from passing drivers at LJHS’s protest, ASB President Erik Vanstrum and a number of his fellow classmates chanted words of praise and support for their beloved teachers. “We love our teachers here at La Jolla High School,” Vanstrum said. “I can’t imagine going to a school with classrooms filled with so many kids. It’s already hard as it is.” LJHS math teacher Patricia Thomas made a plea to SDUSD board members to shift their focus away from teacher cuts and onto the future of the education system. “How can we fulfill our mission to prepare our community’s students for college if only 20 percent of our faculty — 33 percent of the math department alone — are laid off?” she asked. “Change your focus. You were elected to educate our students. These pink slips are not the way.” U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, too, made an appearance at the LJHS rally, challenging state legislators to stand up for the future of California’s education. “We need to support our teachers. We need to support our students and their education,” he said. “As a state, we’ve gone down from the first in per capita funding to about 50. That is unacceptable. That threatens your future. We’re going to say ‘no.’” At the SDUSD’s meeting on May 15, board members emphasized the serious budget challenges the district faces — with a more than $100 million projected budget shortfall next school year — due to increasingly fewer funds trickling down from the state. Despite the difficult times, the board members said they are still committed to maintaining “a quality school in every neighborhood” and will continue to fight for students’ education. “The state does not have money,” said board member Shelia Jackson, plainly. “People think that public schools are safe. They are not safe. With the state deficit looming and getting larger, it is not going to be easy for us to maintain the staff that we have.” Betsy Mueller, president of the LJHS Parent Teachers Association, urged anyone who cares about quality public education to show their support at SDUSD’s upcoming public board meetings. “We want to give the board a loud, clear message that the entire La Jolla community cares deeply about our children’s education,” she said. The Board of Education has until May 25 to deliver final teacher and staff layoff notices.