Share your Story
Forty two years without reliable state revenue has had real consequences for real people. We want to hear stories from students about their personal experiences with California’s underfunded public education system.
How has education impacted your life? What services in school do you value and rely on the most? How is or was your experience with California’s public education system? How has California’s lack of education funding affected you?
Nathan Roura
I grew up going to California public schools. Because my high school was the only high school in the school district, classes were often overcrowded. I rarely had a class size under 30 and because teachers and counselors were not paid enough in comparison to other school districts nearby, many staff members felt pressure to leave. When I look back on my experience now, I understand why they would want to leave even if they love their job. But unfortunately, the lack of funding and resources affects our ability to learn.
Angèle Griffin
Although I was enrolled in a public school system throughout my childhood, I was fortunate enough to attend one of the higher ranked chain of schools that pushed their students to pursue a higher education after graduation. However, California's poor education funding impacts were, and still are, very prevalent in both the student population and our teacher faculty. A good portion of students who attended my high school when I was still enrolled didn't even live in our city; I had friends who commuted 45 minutes on the freeway to and from the school everyday for four years. The majority of faculty members who were not AP teachers were struggling because they were all being underpaid.
Jessi Thixton
I was fortunate enough to grow up in a school district that was well-funded by parents and donors. However, community members should not hold the burden of financing public services. I was made aware of the inequalities in California’s education system from a young age, when I saw my friends commute hours in Los Angeles traffic to be able to access a decent public school. At disproportionate levels, schools are unable to provide basic needs to their students, let alone support programs that will allow students to excel and feel impassioned.
Grace Elam
I began my high school freshman year with approximately 600 students across all four grades. By the time I graduated, the school had a student population of 800: a 30% increase in just four years. We received no additional classrooms, which meant that class sizes also increased by a third in just the four years that I attended. Classrooms were already overcrowded when I was admitted, so I can only imagine how much worse it was for the freshman four years later. Also as a result of the unprecedented expansion, the staff turnover rates were ridiculous: in each of the four years that I attended, at least two new teachers were hired, which led to switching up classes in the middle of the semester and immeasurable chaos as far as curriculum was concerned. Additionally, counselors were completely overwhelmed: no student felt sufficiently supported by the administrative staff, simply because the staff was stretched too thin across the growing population.
Gillian Garaci
The most prevalent example of Pittsburg High School’s deficient funding was the teacher strikes that occurred during my Junior and Senior year of high school. Teachers were not receiving the salary that they deserved, especially since a lot of them take time away from their personal lives to adequately prepare and conduct their classes. Normally, teachers, especially those greatly dedicated to the betterment of their students, would come in an hour or more early to their classrooms to be available for any questions kids would have before class. Teachers would also not have enough time in the workday to grade papers and prepare for their classes, so they resort to taking time from their personal lives to do so. This does not also mention the fact that several of my teachers have also dipped into their own funds to appropriately provide classes the learning resources that we needed. When the strike was going on, papers were graded later, feedback on work was less available, and teachers themselves seemed more stressed out. The teachers of my high school had to do what they needed to in order for them to receive their proper pay; and I applaud them for it.