Fifteen thousand educators, parents, students, and community allies gathered in multiple California cities today to rally against proposed federal funding cuts to public education. The rallies, organized by the California Teachers Association (CTA), took place in San Diego, Los Angeles, Hanford, San Francisco, and Sacramento. Participants called for the protection of $16 billion in federal funding that supports various educational programs.
The CTA introduced a calculator tool for the public to assess potential impacts on local school districts due to these cuts. This tool can be accessed at cta.org/trumpcuts.
In San Diego, CTA President David Goldberg addressed a large crowd before they marched through Balboa Park. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, protesters assembled outside SpaceX’s headquarters. Mariyah Williams, a local high school student and activist with Students Deserve, emphasized the impact of potential cuts: “When billionaires like Trump and Elon Musk threaten to strip $1.2 billion from our schools… These are survival funds for LAUSD’s most vulnerable kids; we’re not going to let them take that away.”
Dolores Huerta spoke at the Hanford rally about the importance of equitable education in Central Valley communities: “Central Valley students have been left behind… I’m proud to stand with educators in fighting for strong public schools.”
In Sacramento, Volma Volcy shared his perspective as a parent: “I’ve seen firsthand how invaluable teachers are… Schools are already underfunded. We need more resources, not less!”
Educators from various locations traveled long distances to join these events. In San Francisco, Celia Medina-Owens highlighted the broader community impact of federal cuts: “Federal cuts will hurt our district’s ability to do things like provide meals to our students…”
These rallies follow weeks of educator-led delegations addressing similar concerns with California’s Republican congressional members.
Federal meal programs currently support children from families earning below specific income thresholds and assist over 800,000 students with disabilities across California.
Further details on each event can be found at cta.org/ffs.
