SACRAMENTO, CA — State Senator John Laird (D - Santa Cruz), Chair of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education, released the following statement regarding Governor Gavin Newsom's May Revised Budget.
“This is an awful budget year that will require us to make genuinely difficult choices between options none of us like. Given the scale of the budget crisis, we must put all options on the table to consider. The state budget is a social safety net for those depending on state support for education, health care, child care, social services, and more. Many California children depend on services in all these categories - cutting one to save another is an action no policymaker wants to take.
As the Senate’s budget chair for education, I will work with all parties to find the option that best protects classroom funding. A very small increase for K-12 education, as proposed by the Governor in a budget that contains cuts across state programs, is actually a challenge to local school districts that have labor contracts in place and are trying to keep up with inflation. Also, we must try harder to preserve our investments in scholarships and higher education. We must try harder in these difficult circumstances – our future depends on it.
And while this will be difficult in a year like this, we must also find creative ways to continue our commitment to investing in climate solutions."
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Senator John Laird represents the 17th State Senate District, encompassing the entirety of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties, along with portions of Santa Clara and Monterey counties. With a distinguished career in public service spanning four decades, Senator Laird has served as Secretary of the CA Natural Resources Agency, as an Assemblymember, and proudly holds the distinction of being one of the first openly gay mayors in the United States. More information on Senator Laird can be found here.