TAKE ACTION NOW!
Join us in protecting our children and California’s future.
The Governor’s proposed 2008-2009 budget contains disastrous cuts to education and children’s programs.
We urge you to take three actions to "Flunk-the-Budget."

1. Starting today and continuing each and every Friday; email, call or visit your local legislators in their district office to express how harmful these budget cuts will be to our children. A sample letter and phone script are available here:
http://www.capta.org/sections/advocacy/downloads/FTBLetterSamples.pdf
To find your legislator go to: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

2. Participate in "Flunk-the-Budget Friday" activities, including a SUPER "Flunk-the-Budget Friday" activity on April 25th. Contact your local PTA council or district to see what may already be planned in your area. Send the message loud and clear to your local legislators that this budget hurts our children! For more ideas go to:
http://www.capta.org/sections/advocacy/downloads/FTBTakeAction.pdf.

3. Join us in Sacramento on Thursday, April 24 at 11:00 am for a rally at the capitol. This event will include PTA members from all over the state. (If your PTA is planning to join us, please let Lindsay Shoemaker, Communications Specialist (lshoemaker@capta.org) know.

Please visit the "Flunk-the-Budget" section at http://www.capta.org/ to obtain more information on "Flunk-the-Budget Fridays" activities, fact sheets, sample letters and the "Flunk the Budget" logo.

Congrats to our Reflections Winner!

Congratulations to Theresa (Tess) Bloom for being honored as the only Reflections artist to be sent on to the State PTA! Below are Tess' photographs which answer the 2007 - 2008 Reflections theme - "I can make a difference by ..."

Thank you Tess and good luck at the State competition. Winners at the state level have their pieces shown at the Convention in May.

"Saving the Planet, One Can at a Time"

"Bags are a Drag""CRV for Me"

"Cash for Trash"

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

PTA 109th Annual Convention 2008, Long Beach - Update

Hello All Ye PTA Pirates (can you guess this years theme?:-)),

Well I can't believe it.....Another year has passed and convention is just around the corner. Please forward this message on to all respective PTA units in the event you see I have missed anyone.

Update: Convention Dates: May 1st - 4th 2008 Registration for Convention classes and exhibits will be done on line: Link is due to be released Feb 2, 2008 and open until April 15th. I will forward to all once received.

Registration books have been delayed at the printers but should be sent next week hard copy and email so you may view all information before registering at the link below. Details of Convention available through this link:http://www.capta.org/sections/convention-2008/

Students planning to attend will need release waiver and be accompanied by an adult(Form to be sent once received via email): Flight reservations and transportation to and from convention are the responsibility of each attendee to organize Hotel reservations: A form is required to be sent to reserve your room. I will email the required form to all above as soon as it comes available.

It is critical all persons planning to attend contact me via email to confirm number attending and names from all schools. Attendees should allocate at least $1000 per person to cover cost of hotel(approx $150 per night, plus tax), Airfare (approx $300, may be less if booked 21 days in advance), Food and Transportation ($40 a day, with exception of PTA event on the first night of convention($35 for event at Aquarium)).

Last but not least please note for those schools requesting assistance, the district is awarded a small amount of money each year to help those in need should they need assistance. This is not guaranteed and will be distributed based on convention committee approval. All schools requesting assistance, need to submit requests by 2/25, each will be contacted to advise if money is available. Look forward to seeing many of you at convention.

It will be a great event!!!!

Sincerely, Rene Keehn
PTA 20th District Convention Chair

PTA January Membership Campaign!

Did you make any New Year's resolutions for 2008? In addition to helping yourself by "getting fit" or "getting organized," you have a chance to make a powerful difference for children: Resolve to help parents be more involved through PTA. The January Membership Campaign, "New Year… New Opportunities" can assist you.

Unlike dieting rigorously or trying to quit a bad habit, PTA membership is easy to sustain and results are immediate—PTA membership can assist many Americans' in keeping their top resolutions. In a November 2007 survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation:
Thirty-three percent of respondents chose making the world a better place as their top resolution for 2008.Thirty-two percent of those surveyed said spending more time with family would be their top resolution.

Membership in PTA achieves both of these goals.
PTA members spend quality time with family through family involvement activities at home and at school.
PTA members make the world a better place by improving education opportunities for all children.

The bottom line is that the resolutions of 65 percent of respondents can be easily fulfilled through PTA membership, an activity that is not difficult to sustain.

The "New Year… New Opportunities" campaign capitalizes on people's desire to be more productive and proactive in a new year. If you've made use of the online resources and campaign packet delivered in November and implemented a January recruitment plan, you should be experiencing the benefits of strengthening your PTA.
If you have not yet started, don't despair. As with many resolutions, it matters less when you begin and more how you follow through. Act now and you can still run a successful "New Year… New Opportunities" campaign.

Tools are available online, including:
Attention-getting handout cards designed to make parents think about the resolutions they've made for 2008.
Customizable fliers to alert families and community members about PTA's benefits—and that it's not too late to join!
Door hangs to invite your entire community to join PTA.
Fun stickers to start conversations about involvement and PTA.

Go to pta.org/newyear for these and other great resources.

Proposition 92 - PTA position

Still on the advocacy topic, CAPTA recently sent out a Legislative Action Alert on Proposition 92. Check out the Ballot Measures page of the CAPTA.org website for more information on why the CAPTA voted NOT to take a position on this proposition. Interestingly, it is just as important as taking a position one way or another.

PTA: an Advocacy Organization and Legislation Conference

Most people view PTA as a fundraising organization. Even many local PTAs themselves, feel this is their main purpose - it sure takes up most of the time, sometimes. But, actually PTA is an advocacy organization. The very first purpose listed on the California PTA website is "To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship."

So, today I'd like to get on my soapbox about advocacy. I started in PTA as the district Legislative Chair 4 years ago and learned a lot about what the PTA does for children, on the State level. It's a LOT! Many meetings are held to review policies, write resolutions and decide what propositions to support. Trust me, the state board puts in a lot of work for our children to guide our state government in the right direction.

And, it works. With the many members we have, we have a loud voice in Sacramento so when the PTA puts its weight behind something, it usually happens.

So, what does this mean to you on the local level? The district would like to encourage you to look at your focus and decide how you can do more in terms of advocating for our children. Some suggestions are:

1. Elect an Advocacy Chair. This would be someone to research and spearhead projects or activities around advocacy. They could also attend the Legislation Conference (info below) to learn what is happening on the state level. Having someone on your board dedicated to advocacy will take the weight off of you as the President.
2. Learn about CAPTA advocacy programs. Check out the Local PTA Advocacy page on CAPTA.org for lots of ideas of things your PTA can do.
3. Get involved on a local level. Find out local issues that you can be involved in. Do not endorse any candidates, but otherwise you can be for or against any local issues that your board approves in a general meeting. Then your Advocacy Chair can help take action!
4. Send someone (maybe your Advocacy Chair) to the Legislation Conference. Here's the latest info from CAPTA on the conference in January. I have been to these and they are fascinating!

The California State PTA Annual Legislation Conference, scheduled for January 27-29, 2008, will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel-Riverfront Promenade, 100 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA. The conference will begin at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 27, and will end at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 29. A proposed agenda, housing and registration materials are available online at www.capta.org.

Due to the popularity of the conference, the housing and registration forms must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 3, 2008.

Questions? Call the California State PTA office at 916-440-1985 ext. 104.

The California State PTA Legislation Team looks forward to seeing YOU in Sacramento!

I hope these ideas get you started toward increasing your focus on advocacy for our children. We can do the most good for them by doing this.

Grant Opportunities

California State PTA offers grant opportunities for PTA Units in good standing. Most have a November 15 Deadline which is coming soon. If you're interested, go to: http://www.capta.org/sections/programs/grants.cfm, where you'll find information and applications.

Grants are available to assist unit, council, and district PTAs and California State PTA commissions and committees to develop and implement programs in parent education, cultural arts, and leadership development. Grants are also available to assist unit, council and district PTAs to translate PTA materials into other languages.

Applications may be obtained from the California State PTA office, on the website at www.capta.org, or from Fax-on-Demand at 877. 406.3680.

Another Grant Opportunity:

Deadline: March 5, 2008
American Academy of Dermatology Announces 2008 Shade Structure Grant Program
To assist organizations in creating sun-safe outdoor areas, the American Academy of Dermatology has announced the availability of grant applications for its Shade Structure Program.

The program is open to United States nonprofit organizations or educational institutions for permanent shade structures over outdoor locations which are not protected from the sun, such as playgrounds, pools, eating areas, and other locations.

The 2008 program will have a longer grant cycle in order to allow AAD members to work with local schools and organizations to develop sun-safety programs and initiatives, one of the criteria for application. Also please note, the 2008 program is only open to schools and organizations that serve children and teenagers, ages 18 and younger.

Visit the AAD Web site for complete program guidelines, an application form, and information on locating a member dermatologist in your area.

NOTE: Here’s a direct link to the 2008 Shade Structure Grant Program:
http://www.aad.org/public/News/2008+Shade+Structure+Program.htm