Students Stage ‘Silent Protest’ Over Funding Concerns

May. 23, 2014 / By

Long Beach students and members of Californians for Justice delivered testimonials and staged a “silent protest” during the Long Beach Unified School Board meeting at the district headquarters on Tuesday.

They asked the school board to consider more high-need student involvement in allocating funds outlined in the Local Control Funding Formula.

“We really want Long Beach Unified School District to be like pioneers for student voice,” said Nancy Vargas, lead youth organizer for Californians for Justice. “We really hope that the superintendent and board members do take us up on our offer to meet and discuss some of these new ways we can get students involved.”

The LCFF enables a group of faculty, parents and students to determine how a portion of school funds will be spent. The aim of the formula is to ensure that student needs drive the allocation of resources.

Only two of the nine students on the LBUSD 60-person LCFF committee are high-need students, according to Vargas.

Californians for Justice is a statewide organization of high school students who work toward racial and educational justice for low-income youth. For more information visit caljustice.org.

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Todd Johnson

Todd Johnson is a journalism graduate of California State University, Long Beach, where he served as a staff writer and photo editor for the Daily 49er newspaper. Before joining VoiceWaves, Todd was a visual journalism intern and freelancer for Southern California Public Radio. His work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles. Todd grew up in Los Angeles and enjoys producing stories about policies and the communities that they affect.