FW: New Haven News Release: Suspend State Legislature's Pay
legislature get paid for not doing it's job.
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-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 10:13 AM
Subject: New Haven News Release: Suspend State Legislature's Pay
SCHOOL BOARD ASKS GOVERNOR TO REQUEST
SUSPENSION OF PAY FOR LEGISLATORS
UNION CITY (Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009) - With the state of California
once again considering massive cuts to public education, the Board of
Education on Tuesday night called on Governor Schwarzenegger to set in
motion actions to keep legislators from getting paid when - as has
become routine - they miss their annual deadline for passing the state
budget.
The five-member governing board of the New Haven Unified School
District, by a unanimous vote, passed a resolution calling for the
California Citizens Compensation Commission to suspend pay for
legislators when they fail to pass a budget by the June 15 deadline. The
Legislature has not met the budget deadline in 23 years.
*There are a lot of factors contributing to the state*s financial
crisis, one of which is the fact that legislators won*t compromise; in
fact, they don*t seem willing to even have meaningful conversations
until well after they create their annual crisis,* New Haven
Superintendent Kari McVeigh said. *All of them should have to attend a
local school board meeting, where elected officials actually have to
make decisions - and do so against state-mandated timelines.*
While the Governor and the Legislature dicker over the details of his
current budget proposal, school districts across the state are being
forced to make massive mid-year cuts. New Haven is facing a $4 million
hit - after being forced to make a $7 million cut last year.
*That*s 10 percent of our budget,* Ms. McVeigh pointed out.
*And we*re looking at another $1.7 million in cuts in 2009-10.
*Suspending legislators* pay when they miss the budget deadline
won*t solve the problems in the economy or the structural imbalances
that keep the budget out of whack,* she acknowledged. *But it might
at least help them understand the devastating impact of their inactivity
on our students, teachers and classified employees, and on other public
servants who actually provide for the people these legislators
represent.*
The resolution notes that legislators face no significant consequences
for failing to meet the budget deadline, condemns both the Governor and
the Legislature for their handling of the current budget situation, and
calls on Schwarzenegger to ask the Compensation Commission to vote to
suspend legislators* pay if they haven*t passed a budget by June
15.
The Compensation Commission, established when voters passed Proposition
112 in June 1990, is made up of seven members appointed by the governor.
It meets by June 30 each year to decide what changes should be made to
salaries and other benefits for the Governor, members of the Legislature
and other state officials.
*The concept is pretty simple, really,* Ms. McVeigh said. *If the
Legislature doesn*t pass a budget by June 15, the commission convenes
and suspends their pay.*
The resolution also calls for Schwarzenegger to ask for similar action
from the agency responsible for setting the legislators* per-diem
compensation, the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims
Board.
Full text of the resolution is available on the District website:
http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/system/files/Resolution.doc
Rick La Plante
Public Information Officer
New Haven Unified School District
(510) 471-1100, ext. 2310
FAX: (510) 471-7108
rlaplante@nhusd.k12.ca.us
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