As a former teacher I was glad to hear that the budget will fully fund Prop 98 money to our schools.  And I am encouraged by the fact that the Governor has acknowledged that a ‘Cuts Only’ approach will not work.

This does not make up for the Governor’s proposal to remove the Cost of Living Allocation (COLA) to our schools which will hurt our students and our teachers – setting us back even further.

Our schools are faced with higher costs in gasoline, healthcare coverage and supply costs.  We are already 30% below the national average in per pupil funding and now we want to reduce this basic component of living?

I am also in disagreement with the proposed cuts to healthcare.  When we think about healthcare we must come to realize the millions of Californians without healthcare coverage.  Most are children.

Kids get hit twice with the Governors proposal - in education and in healthcare.  Cutting back on healthcare will only hurt children and in-turn affect their ability to attend and perform in school.

California needs to invest more in its students not less and a part of that overall package includes providing healthcare for them and their working parents.

Public institutions are under fire – this includes our schools, our hospitals, libraries and parks.

In essence the Governor wants to pay our state’s mortgage with our state’s credit cards – this is a recipe for disaster and only passes along the problem it does not fix it.

The Governor is betting our state’s fiscal future on a lottery ticket.  The budget he is proposing has revenues that are an attempt to undercut the system of checks and balances.  I have concerns with the Governor's ‘risky assumptions’ that a bond out of the Lotto will provide the state with funding over the next 30 years.

One thing I am encouraged by is the Governor’s willingness to revamp our tax system and how the state derives its income.  Any serious attempts at budget reforms, however, must include the removal of the two-thirds vote requirement currently in place and be replaced by a majority vote.

I am prepared to work with his office and the Republicans in the State Assembly to deliver a budget that works to benefit our children, our working class families and our state’s future.