Flunk the Budget!

CALIFORNIA STATE PTA
LEGISLATION ACTION ALERT
February 29, 2008
____________________________________________________

FLUNK THE BUDGET!
Sample Letters and Phone Script
(Please email this to your ALL your PTA unit, council and district members.)

Dear PTA members:

The need for PTA has never been greater. The Governor’s proposed 2008-2009 budget contains disastrous cuts to education and children’s program. For the next several months (or however long it takes), we will be pursuing a statewide effort to make sure every legislator and the Governor hear PTA's message loudly, clearly and often:

FLUNK THE BUDGET!


The proposed budget would make across-the-board cuts to education, health care and other programs that have a direct impact on the safety and well being of California’s children. (Please see the attached fact sheet for details.)

The Governor has recommended a $4.8 billion cut for K-14 education, on top of a $400-plus million reduction for education in the current year.

During the next week, we are asking all PTA members to do TWO things to Flunk the Budget:

1. Call your legislator
2. Write your legislator

Hint: Do both

You can do this at home or as an activity at your PTA Meeting


Suggested PTA Activity:


Bring the information below to your PTA meeting and have all your members make phone calls to their elected officials at the meeting.

Then ask them to follow-up by going home and sending an email.

Make sure you provide your members with the telephone numbers
of their elected officials at the meeting.

Find Your Legislator:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html


SAMPLE TELEPHONE SCRIPT
My name is ___________ and I reside in ______________. As a volunteer member of the California State PTA I ask that ___(Your elected official)___
strongly OPPOSE Governor’s proposed budget.

• The California State PTA opposes any cuts to education and children’s programs in the state budget.

• This budget flunks the basic test of good government: It hurts our children.

• Our children did not create this financial crisis and they should not have to pay for it.

Please do the right thing for California's children. OPPOSE the any cuts education and children’s programs in the budget.

SAMPLE EMAIL OR FAX OR LETTER
(You can find your elected official’s email address by clicking on to their home page from the search page Find Your Legislator above.)

Date
Your Address

My Legislator
State Capital
Sacramento, CA

Dear Senator or Assembly member _________:

As one of the nearly one million volunteer members of the California State PTA,
I ask that you strongly OPPOSE Governor’s proposed budget.

• The California State PTA opposes any cuts to education and children’s programs in the state budget.

• This budget flunks the basic test of good government: It hurts our children.

• Our children did not create this financial crisis and they should not have to pay for it.

Please do the right thing for California's children. OPPOSE the any cuts education and children’s programs in the budget.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Phone number

Find Out More About the California State PTA Campaign
to Flunk the Budget
http://www.capta.org/

Here is the Flunk the Budget Fact Sheet: http://www.geocities.com/jennywo/Flunkthebudgetfactsheet.pdf