As protests go, this morning’s Sacramento-directed rally in front of Culver City High School, pleading for school funding through tax bumps, was a little light, a little soft.
Some of the hardiest, including Teachers Union President David Mielke, are going downtown to Pershing Square this afternoon to join a gigantic Los Angeles marching postcard to legislators and Gov. Brown.
But the impact of today’s citywide rallies is questionable for the immediate term because Mr. Brown’s pivotal, determinative May Revise — that triggers communal budget verdicts — is due any edition, sometime between now and Monday.
Scheduled to begin an hour before this morning’s classes, the high school crowd was slow in arriving.
Worn Out?
Mr. Mielke suspected a certain amount of fatigue blended with a dose of political pessimism, based on recent perceived legislative inertia.
The ralliers compensated for their lack of numbers with glistening eloquence and thughtfulness.
For a comparison, the modest demonstration weighed barely a blip as much as the Sheila Silver rallies on the same sidewalk last March. Those mornings were quite chilly, but the student/parent enthusiasm was sizzling.
From the Top
With his two sons in tow, School Board President Scott Zeidman was one of the first to reach Rally Central.
“I am here to support our schools,” he said. He has made sure Sacramento is aware of Culver City’s actions and attitudes toward tax increases. “I spoke with (state Sen.) Curren Price (D-Culver City), and he knows very well what is going on.
“The Democratic Legislature understands. The governor understands. Whether they are going to support us is a whole different story.”
In closing, Mr. Zeidman said he is not optimistic about lawmakers passing a tax scheme that would freshen school funding.
Without a tax boost “the governor will cut everything, including schools, to an unbelievably low level, dropping California decades behind every other state in the union.”
If he were to address the legislature, Mr. Zeidman said he would advocate a combination of new taxes and “cutting other areas that need to be cut, including the prison system, the prison guards union.”
Speaking for Many
The most eloquent parent in the crowd was Susan Baxendale.
“Both of our children have gone through the system, and our son is just graduating in a few weeks,” she said. “But I am still actively concerned about what is going to happen to all of our friends’ children.
“I don’t intend to disappear just because my kids are graduating.”
Ms. Baxendale said she is “really distressed and disgusted with the legislature’s inability to step up and do what has to be done. They are unwilling to acknowledge that the people who elected them have an opinion. We elected them to do hard things.
“In this case, all they had to do was extend taxes. These are taxes already in place. Now they are talking about a new tax, and they need a two-thirds majority, which makes it tougher to pass.
“They decided to be paternalistic. They would decide what is best for everyone. That is their prerogative. But in the face of all these constituents saying ‘extend the present taxes,’ that, to me, feels like a different level of paternalism and more.”
If she were to speak directly to the legislators, Ms. Baxendale said “I would tell them what I just said, except they obviously are not listening. They had a clear sense of how many people, a significant majority of voters, are saying ‘extending the taxes makes sense to us.’ We will do it. We were in support of that.
“But the legislature couldn’t think beyond its ideology.”
As a private citizen, what, further, can Ms. Baxendale do?
“I am perfectly happy — I have frequently been a small voice in the wilderness, and I don’t mind going on doing that. But it does make me extremely grumpy, and I am going to hope that people remember that this batch of legislators didn’t listen to their constituencies at all.”
Ms. Baxendale is not sure whether the greater blame should be shouldered by the lawmakers or the governor, but she is clear about the root of the present trouble.
“I think (Arnold) Schwarzenegger didn’t do enough with the legislature when he was governor because it is a group effort.
“Too many people have felt they have to stick to an ideology. To a significant portion of the legislature, that ideology says ‘no taxes, ever.’
“Where do they think money is going to come from if you don’t raise taxes? Or don’t extend existing taxes? I agree they are getting more efficient, but not in places where it matters most. They are doing it on the backs of kids, elderly, poor — people without a voice who are easy to trample on. Over and over again, it is so easy to cut from that group of people.
“They don’t take on the powerful.
“I support unions. But there is a level at which powerful unions have to be made to cooperate and give in without feeling they are losing any strength.
“Compromises are supposed to be made for the betterment of everyone. I am so tired of seeing government do everything on the backs of the children, the poor, the elderly who are voiceless.”
Does Ms. Baxendale believe demonstrations are an effective tool?
“They are time-honored. They have a resonance historically. There are times when demonstrations feel as if they are another voice in the wilderness.
“I think demonstrations show what the legislature and the governor are ignoring, and they show how strongly the people feel. Many protests have to happen again. Historically, we know this. People have to realize it is good to get out, good to show. It’s important to show, physically, that there is a group in opposition without expecting immediate results. Be great if they were. But they shouldn’t give up. It can take a long time.”
Finally
Meanwhile, in another corner of the rally, Robert Zirgulis, the only announced candidate for the November School Board election, was busy handing supportive flyers to passing, horn-honking motorists. And the flyers didn’t even mention his name.
