Melrose Avenue Elementary Parents Create PSA Against School Budget Cuts

When budget cuts threatened the arts, science, math and technology programs at Melrose Elementary School, its students' parents decided to take action.

But more than just fundraise, they decided to create a public service announcement to educate the public about the budgetary threats to public school funding.

Meredith Gullion, who has a child at the Los Angeles, Calif. school, wrote and directed the visually stirring video, GOOD reports. She lets children do most of the talking, telling the viewer about not only budget cuts, but about their compromised futures.

Speaking of the fight for quality public education, Melrose Avenue Elementary Principal Bernadette Lucas says in the video:

"Failure is not an option. There is no greater impact that you can make as an individual voice than to support education. It is the foundation of everything."

WATCH:

A fund has also been set to garner donations and help save the school from its drastic budget cuts. To learn how to contribute, follow the Education links below.

Comments

[Steve Magruder]

02:59 PM on 06/11/2011

It's sad that a public school, and an excellent one at that, has to conduct fund raising because of budget cuts from government. This is insanity.

[OHteach]

02:46 PM on 06/11/2011

The point should not be missed. Many public schools are not failing their students, but the bar keeps getting moved. We rarely hear about their successes and instead of getting the carrot they get the stick in the form of more hoops to jump through and less funding to get there.

[Eris23Skidoo]

06:15 PM on 06/10/2011

That was awesome.

[dudervision]

10:02 AM on 06/10/2011

We are at a crossroads. WE must decide what really is important. Tax cuts for big businesses that ultimately use that money to buy up their competitors or ship jobs oversease? Funding BIG government programs to take away freedoms such as a woman's right to chose or LGBM citizen's right to marry? Turning the care of seniors over to private insurance companies and throwing them a COUPON that does not fully pay for their health insurance? Bailing out wall street banks while main street businesses cannot get a loan? Do America's politicians really care about our children more than their re-election funds and ideologies??? Do American's really care about their children??? Reading postings in this thread and I wonder.

[baybeebluz]

09:31 AM on 06/10/2011

I thought kids were supposed to be receiving and education not used a political props. This is propaganda, and they are using kids to get their message across. Shameful. If they need money, they should ask the parents not everyone else to kick in. Don't their own parents care about their education.

[Jay M SmithChisley]

12:51 PM on 06/10/2011

The problem today is the same we had 20 years ago, we pretend children don't have a voice when it comes to education. This is their future and they must proactively fight alongside the few adults who care because the people who are supposed to be fighting for them are too distracted. Its not propaganda, its reality, and it is shameful but not for that reason. California is a state which has neglected children and education and put monetary gain over academic gain and has fought progressively to suppress any voice that parents and students get. When you think about it, its a real valuable lesson, this teaches children at a early age they have to fight for what they need because the federal and state government wont always be there for them nor have the capacity to act in their best interest. Its PSA's like this that can shine further light on the states state of emergency because even after its deceleration I still don't think that education is being seen as a emergent issue.

[Steve Magruder]

03:01 PM on 06/11/2011

If it's propaganda, it's propaganda from the forces of good, not evil. We need to stop cutting funds for public education, and kids didn't need to tell us this, which should be obvious.

[mpauly202]

06:04 PM on 06/11/2011

Money doesn't buy a good education in the current arena. It buys an expensive, poor education.

[Str8upNya]

09:24 AM on 06/10/2011

That is laughable. They gave the kids scripts to read and probably paid them with an ipad.

[KCTGY0509]

08:28 AM on 06/10/2011

Gave me goosebumps, the state of TEXAS needs to see this PSA, and realize that defunding education while worrying about a damn race track is not whats up!

[Dead Ted]

02:05 PM on 06/10/2011

California will go bankrupt before Texas...

[KCTGY0509]

02:11 PM on 06/10/2011

I meant that TX needs to understand that de funding education is not the way to go. Texas ranks 48th or 49th in education, yet the Gov thought it was important to build a Formula one race track. I like the PSA cause it is asking the states to check their priorities...

[HSC55]

08:27 AM on 06/10/2011

Reduced revenues have strained state budgets. The refusal of citizens to either agree to tax hikes to pay for services or deciding to cut them has been put off for decades in favor of hiding a tidal wave of red ink in underfunded pension systems, which don't count against the budget. Then the unions get blamed as though politicians taking the cowardly path politically was their choice.

Unions are absolutely not the cause of state and local budget crises. Blaming them is as sensible as paying your bills until your bank account is empty, then blaming the phone company for your being broke simply because you intended to pay them last.

[Dead Ted]

02:07 PM on 06/10/2011

The unions BRIBE the politicians. If these politicians don't go along with union demands, the unions will spend TAXPAYER money on a primary challenger. So yes, the unions are ABSOLUTELY to blame, jus as are the politicians.

[HSC55]

10:08 PM on 06/10/2011

Your reply makes no sense. If the unions were bribing the politicians there would be money in the pension funds for their retirement. EVERYBODY starts screaming when raising taxes is mentioned. So don't blame the unions because the politicans didn't fund their pensions. They just wanted to get re-elected so they didn't raise taxes and didn't fund the pension.

[HSC55]

08:20 AM on 06/10/2011

As I said in an earlier post, Governor Snyder of Michigan is cutting $700 per pupil and giving it to businesses for MORE tax cuts. They've already gotten plenty and it isn't doing any good. No one can afford to buy anything. In our district, our buildings are 50 years old, the plumbing and electrical all need repair and we are way behind on technology. They tried to pass a bond issue to fix things up but it didn't pass. Now there is talk of a four day school week to make ends meet. This is what you get when you elect a 'corporate' governor. They only see the next quarter results as they are trained too. Not 10-20 years down the road when these kids won't be educated enough to be a good work force for our country.

[baybeebluz]

09:33 AM on 06/10/2011

I live in Michigan. What district do you live in because that is certainly not the case anywhere near where I am. Plus, based on the stellar results of the DPS the last thing they need is more money thrown at the problem. They need to teach the kids basic english and math schools before they worry about technology.

[eceresa]

11:39 AM on 06/10/2011

What's described in the post you're replying to is certainly fact in Michigan schools; the policies of Snyder and the Republicans in the state legislature are absolutely horrible for kids, the middle class, and pretty much anybody except corporations.

The problems in DPS are unique to DPS, and have a lot more to do with a culture of poverty than they have to do with anything that's going on in schools. And in any case, a Snyder-appointed Emergency Financial Manager now has total carte blanche to run those schools. If you're not happy with DPS, it is now totally Roy Roberts's responsibility (and, indirectly, Rick Snyder's).

[HSC55]

10:09 PM on 06/10/2011

Berrien County ie. "Benton Harbor"

[kidcat24]

08:13 AM on 06/10/2011

This is very sad and is happening in my neighborhood too.

[Rosalee Harris]

08:03 AM on 06/10/2011

This is who is suffering because of our warped mentality of giving tax breaks to rich people who dont need it. This country has truly lost its soul and I'm sure it can even get it back.

[ravencalling]

07:54 AM on 06/10/2011

Why cut public education programs and not tax the rich? Because an educated populace does not vote for politicians whose policies hurt their best interests. Only the under educated vote based on being swayed emotionally by fear and bigotry. The republicans also know these children are their future, and that is why they want to cut education.

[baybeebluz]

09:35 AM on 06/10/2011

Yet, look at any urban district (i.e. Detroit). Completely ignorant population yet they vote exclusively for Democrats. What party is really trying to benefit from an educated voting block?

[eceresa]

11:41 AM on 06/10/2011

The exception does not disprove the rule. Detroit's support of Democratic candidates has a lot to do with the long-standing racism of much of the Republican party.

Come to think of it, the much more common practice of ignorant voters supporting Republicans probably ALSO has a lot to do with racism in the Republican party.

[Kamster]

01:25 PM on 06/10/2011

Urban districts are made up of ignorant population? Reallyyyy? I had no idea. Here I thought it was made up of the richest as well as the poorest, the hardest working as well as the crooks, as well as some of the most educated and uneducated. However one thing I'm sure of is that the urban population is by far the most ignorant. For that kind of population you have to go to the rural Bible-belt. Thanks for trying though.

[TROOPER-X]

07:04 AM on 06/10/2011

What a surprise. Children first, when it comes to the exploitation of them. Otherwise, unions first...................children second.

[HSC55]

08:07 AM on 06/10/2011

Falling for the gop propganda on that one. The states with the higherst ACT/SAT scores are unions states. Look it up. But be prepared to find a lot of 'spin' from the right on why the scores are not what they appear to be.

[Dead Ted]

02:09 PM on 06/10/2011

Where does California rank in ACT/SAT scores?

[cwilliamson32]

07:03 AM on 06/10/2011

As an educator, who has been working out of the country for a year, constantly seeing in the news all of these talks of cuts is heartbreaking. Not only because I feel like I cannot do anything being so distant from what is happening, but for what it means for when I return a year from now. Being on the outside, seeing the system I have decided to devote my life to, be systematically destroyed through these cuts, only emphasizes that state governments right now are working in the interests of government and not the people.

[Grabski]

06:33 AM on 06/10/2011

The taxpayers are tapped out, and the teachers demand even more.

[HSC55]

08:09 AM on 06/10/2011

Schools are aging and need constant updating in infrastructure and technology. Just like the rest of the country. But I think we need to invest in our future and that also means education. Teachers are not the problem. Don't fall for the propaganda. In our state the governor took $700 per pupil away from the schools to give to businesses for MORE tax cuts for them. It isn't going to help with jobs. If people can't afford to buy anything business is not going to hire to make more of what they already have sitting on their shelves.

[eceresa]

11:43 AM on 06/10/2011

Taxes are at a historic low. And the argument that teachers were demanding "even more" would be less ridiculous if they weren't currently underpaid when compared to any other job with similar qualifications.