Absolutely disgusted over educational budget cuts!

Listening to NPR this morning, there was a story of the direct and indirect effects due to educational budget cuts here in California. One statement was that the majority of the public are, currently, in a state of shock, just trying to make sense of this issue and how it will affect them.

Personally, I'm furious! I can't believe how our society can even consider making cuts to such a fundamental aspect of our culture. I'm aghast that we can consider these cuts while continually rationalizing the costs of our ongoing war in Iraq. I can't even begin to articulate all the indirect costs, but the thought that struck me hardest was that we, as a people, simply couldn't find a solution that wouldn't compromise education, while at the same time, we are able to solve financing the war even though the future costs are astronomical.

In yet another barb towards President Bush, I'm sick of his narrow mindedness in budgeting trillions toward the war while our state is hampered in supporting educational costs. Why don't we keep a trillion here at home and subsidize education instead?

Grr!!!

Here's the story from KPBS, along with quotes from the article:

San Diego County superintendent Randy Ward is hoping for the best. He says half of San Diego County's school districts drop thing like afterschool programs and coaching for kids learning English as a second language. He says cutting education funding is short-sighted because it will drive up other costs.

Ward: We're going to need an increase in the budget for welfare. We're going to need an increase in the budget for social services. We'll need an increase in the budget for mental health services. And certainly and we'll need an increase in the ever-increasing budget for prisons.

The people with the most at stake are the parents. PTA leader Lorene Joosten says so far they're just trying to grapple with all the bad news.

Joosten: I think right now everybody is just dazed over the magnitude. The magnitude of these cuts are just phenomenal.

Joosten says class sizes at many schools could jump by as much as a third. She says transportation and music and art programs could also get the ax.