VIDEO: Education Rally Highlights

On Tuesday, Burlingame was one of 20 communities throughout the state that joined with Educate Our State in .

The aim of the Wake Up California rally held outside City Hall was to educate the public about the budget crisis facing California public schools. Close to 60 residents came together for the cause, and organizers, school officials and students addressed those in attendance.

In case you missed it, here are some snippets of what the speakers had to say:

Deborah Leon, rally organizer:

“We are demanding adequate and stable funding for our schools, which we very much need.”

“Our goal was just to raise awareness in our community about the current budget crisis facing California public schools.”

Davina Drabkin, Burlingame School District Trustee:

“You can take a horse to water but can’t make it drink…It can only drink if there’s water. We—the community, the government, the parents, the principals, the teachers—we are the ones that provide that water at a time when our students here in California are more and more thirsty.”

“The volatility of the state budget and its impact on the school district is not a stable way to fund schools.”

 “Wake up, Sacramento, wake up. Californians truly value education…give our students an excellent education and give California an excellent future.”

Christine Thorsteinson, Burlingame Community for Education Foundation President:

“The system is in a crisis and its time for legislators, voters and all of California to wake up to that fact. To wake up to the fact that we are not doing justice for our children today.”

“The things that are the nice-to-haves—the music, the library the PE program the arts—all those things that really enrich our kids and help them develop into the well-rounded, exciting people we want them to be, those are all gone.”

Reid Livingston, BIS Eighth Grader:

“What does the Burlingame school system mean to mean? It means I was one of Annie’s Orphans, Mrs. Pots and Glenda in the school productions. It means I was a poet in the poetry slam. It means I sang my heart out in the school talent show. It means I played on the girls basketball team. It means I learned math when I never thought I could. It means I flew model planes, designed a contraption for eighth grade challenge and participated in labs in science. It means I watched one of my teachers face semifinals on Jeopardy while engaging us in our history books. And it means I was welcome to a community with the helping hands of parents, as well as teachers. Education is my door to the world, giving me understandings, words, common sense and knowledge that I can be all that I can be.”

Justin Foster, BIS Eighth Grader:

“Education is the foundation for a strong, healthy productive life. It allows each individual to pursue their goals, find their passions and create the most out of their lives.”

“All of these classes [art, music, etc.] are vital to create well-rounded individuals who have the intellectual and social capabilities to make a difference in the world.”

Sue Kaufman, Burlingame Community for Education Foundation Secretary:

“It takes an entire community to speak up to keep our schools funded.”

“I’m hoping this will wake up the state and we’ll see some change in Sacramento.”