SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell held a news conference today at Cordova High School to emphasize the burden being placed on classified school employees by the Governor's proposed cuts to education.

"Classified school employees play a vital role in the day-to-day operations of any successful school system," O'Connell said. "This budget crisis is forcing districts to balance local budgets by cutting staff and programs that directly affect students."

As a consequence of the state's budget crisis, the Folsom Cordova Unified School District recently placed school transportation on a list of services and positions likely to be reduced or eliminated. The transportation cutback will make it more difficult for families to get their children to school, and could also lead to a rise in the number of truant students, an increase in dropout rates, and the loss of average daily attendance (ADA) funds to districts.

"A few months ago, it may have been difficult to imagine the severity of these proposed cuts to education, but now we are beginning to see clearly the full extent to which they are affecting education in California," O'Connell said. "I sincerely hope that we receive the kind of budget revision in May that reflects a shift in the governor's priorities — a shift that signals an unwavering support for education and for our students."