Monterey teachers protest layoffs.

Pink t-shirts, hats, pants and hair doused Colton Hall's green lawn on Friday, March 13, as nearly 150 local teachers, educators and students gathered to protest the diminishing state of education in California.

The state's $11.6 billion cut to education translates to teacher layoffs—the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District has issued 118 pink slips. This ultimately hurts students, says Constance Constable, a fourth and fifth-grade teacher at Seaside's Marshall Elementary.

“We have a responsibility to give our students the best education we can,” she says. “The expectations are there, but the resources are not. We’re not magicians.”

Before the teachers began waving signs on Monterey's Pacific St., Jill Low, president of the Monterey Bay Teacher’s Association, spoke to the crowd explaining a long pink paper chain with all the names of MPUSD's laid off teachers listed on the links. The chain will be delivered to state Sen. Abel Maldanado, who represents the Peninsula, as a sign of how Monterey County is affected by the state budget cuts.

“Our state ranks 47th in education funding,” she said. “These new cuts will impact an entire generation of children.” Local students say they feel the pinch, too. “I’m really worried about the art and music programs,” says Arwin Sherman, a Monterey High School senior. “That’s what I study and unfortunately these programs are the first to go.”