This is one of the most bias stories I have seen from the local media in a long time.  The Desert Sun's Mariecar Mendoza totally misrepresents Sen. Jim Battin's position on the state budget and the so-called cuts that the school districts are facing.  What is never mentioned is that these are cuts to scheduled increases.  Realistically, the education budget will grow a little bit no matter which budget plan you look at.  It just won't grow as fast as the teacher's association would like.

Mendoza also acts like Battin wants to cut the education budget just because he voted against the Democrats budget that included nearly $10 BILLION DOLLARS in new taxes.  The only reference Mendoza makes to this is through the California Teachers Association spokes-hole who said that the budget was written to "close tax loopholes to provide revenue..."

What a nice way to describe $10 billion dollars in new taxes.

I agree with one of the commenters on the Desert Sun's website that felt that this seems like the CTA union is just trying for another money grab on the California taxpayers. "CTA isn't happy with the amount the taxpayers are agreeing to spend on union teachers, so the Union is going to the state goverment to try to force the taxpayer to pay more...Now thats is the story, but you are misleading the reader by titeling the article Students, teachers lobby for more aid. Here is a better title: Teachers union hides behind students in state wide monegrab scheme.  Since the The group, was organized by California Teachers Association leaders, The teachers association put out press releases on how they wanted the story spun/reported.  Mariecar, did you copy the union press release/talking points release?"

Good question.  Here is the whole hatchet piece:

Students, teachers lobby for more aid
Group asks lawmaker to push for restoration of funds cut from Sacramento budget
July 30, 2008
Mariecar Mendoza - The Desert Sun

More than a dozen teachers and students gathered Tuesday, hoping to get their local lawmaker, Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta, to push for a budget that would prevent deeper cuts to California schools.

The group, organized by California Teachers Association leaders, met at 10 a.m. at the Palm Desert Civic Center and moved its way into Battin's office, where they hoped to convince the senator to put his support behind Assembly Bill 1781 and expedite its approval.

If passed, it would reduce the proposed $4.3 billion cuts in education funding proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this year to $1.9 billion.

Battin was in Sacramento and unable to talk to the protestors on Tuesday.

Instead his chief of staff, Kimberly A. Glassman, told the crowd Battin "doesn't want to see these cuts come from schools because schools are not the ones that got the credit card out and started charging up."

Later Tuesday, however, in an e-mail to The Desert Sun, Battin wrote that he "strongly opposes" the bill as written.

"It is an incredibly irresponsible piece of legislation -- and I don't believe that the Democrats even have all their members willing to support it. ... I hope to ultimately support the budget this year. But not this budget."

This year alone, the state's public schools have had to deal with more than $500 million in budget cuts, which has forced schools to lay off teachers and cut programs such as art, music and vocational education programs, said Beverly Bricker, president of the Palm Springs Teachers Association.

The Assembly bill, also known as the Conference Committee Budget Plan, was written to "close tax loopholes to provide revenue," she said. "It will actually restore $2.4 billion to the budget for education."

No date has been set for when the bill might be heard by lawmakers.

If approved, the restored funds, Bricker said, would go toward covering transportation costs -- made more important by rising gas prices -- class size reduction, retention and recruitment of teachers and other school programs.

"The school district has passed a budget because we had to. But the state budget hasn't been passed, so it's kind of unnerving," said Noel White, a vocal music teacher at Cathedral City High School. "We've made a commitment to public education, and yet the state hasn't passed the budget to assure us that we can accomplish what we need to accomplish."

Mikki Cichocki, a member of the California Teachers Association Board of Directors, said the budget worries have reverberated throughout the school districts.

"We have schools that are already in session and they have no idea what the funding for the school year is going to be," Cichocki said. "It's a little scary."

Students, on the other hand, complain a delay in passing the bill just hinders their education.

"It is very distracting to have an overpopulated classroom because there is always that group of kids that don't want to learn and talk out of turn. It's also annoying to have to get extra chairs, extra desks from other classrooms," said 16-year-old Johar Hernandez-Carr, a junior at Cathedral City High School. "It's just a big hassle, and I think getting this money would make it a lot easier."