Jobs for teachers

In the wake of news reports highlighting layoff notices for teachers, education jobs cut and school district budget cuts across the state, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) is renewing his call for swift action to help save education jobs.

Specifically, Miller, who chairs the Education and Labor Committee, is urging his House and Senate colleagues to approve $23 billion in funding that could save and create hundreds of thousands of education jobs across the country, including an estimated $2.8 billion to support education jobs in California.

Miller has said: “Teacher layoffs threaten our economic recovery and long-term stability at every level. This is a serious problem in my district and in the districts of my colleagues and it deserves serious attention. Our teachers can’t afford to lose their jobs, our children can’t afford to lose a year of learning and our nation can’t afford to stall the progress we’ve made to get our economy and our children’s education back on track.”

Recognizing the need to keep teachers, janitors, cafeteria workers, guidance counselors and principals in schools, Miller has proposed directing $23 billion federal dollars to local schools to help make up for state and local budget shortfalls.

The “Education Jobs” funding will be directed to California and then passed on to local school districts across the state using already established state funding formulae. This is the same infrastructure as the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Miller designed and insisted upon including the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) in the Recovery Act – SFSF funding helped save or create over 38,900 education jobs in California.

The “Education Jobs” provision was initially included in the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, which passed the House in December 2009. The legislation has yet to be considered by the Senate.

Miller has also recently included the $23 billion in his Local Jobs for America Act to help and create jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors and help restore vital services that families and local communities rely on. The legislation would provide a total of $75 billion over two years, which includes the $23 billion for education jobs, to local communities to hold off planned cuts or to hire back workers for local services who have been laid-off because of tight budgets. Over 300 organizations have supported this legislation.

Miller also recently commended Senator Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, Pensions Committee, for introducing a standalone bill in the Senate with the same education funding. Harkin’s legislation, S. 3206 The Keep Our Educators Working Act of 2010, resembles the legislation touted by Miller and could help save teacher jobs in classrooms across the country.

After Harkin introduced his legislation, U.S Secretary of Education Arne Duncan endorsed the bill and Miller said, “I’m pleased the administration is supportive of money to back education jobs that will keep teachers in classrooms as part of a larger strategy of getting Americans back to work. Investing in education jobs is a critical component of the local jobs bill I recently introduced, which will quickly create local jobs that we can count – and jobs that we can count on.”

In March, school districts across California sent out more than 23,000 pink slips to teachers and other certified employees. The layoff notifications are used as placeholders until final layoff notifications are sent by districts in May.