Educators and politicians from Silicon Valley gathered at Rosemary Elementary School to protest proposed federal funding cuts affecting vulnerable students. Key figures, including Congressmember Sam Liccardo and Superintendent Shelly Viramontez, emphasized that reductions in Title I and special education funding could jeopardize vital educational programs. With approximately 9% of the district's budget sourced from federal funds, the loss would severely impact supports for English language learners and students with disabilities, exacerbating challenges for marginalized communities. Viramontez stressed the importance of investing in these programs to foster productive citizens, warning against the potential long-term consequences of depriving such resources.
"Rosemary Elementary has a very effective program for special needs students. Pulling the rug out on this kind of opportunity for children is just criminal."
"It's impacting our most marginalized students the most. Our special education budget is $26 million right now, so that would have a pretty significant impact on us."
"We don't have enough funding as it is... The idea of losing what we currently have ... we can't tolerate that."
"We can either invest wisely in developing the students so they have skills to be productive, contributing citizens or we can deprive that system and then ... we're going to have to pay in a big way on the back end."
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