Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Superintendent Marilyn Shepherd thought she was headed to a routine meeting with Seaside parents at Martin Luther King Middle School to sell the district’s $100 million bond issue last Monday June 14.

But hundreds of white-shirted, sign-carrying parents of pre-school students had another sort of gathering in mind.

Pushing strollers and clutching the tiny hands of three-and four-year-olds, they poured from their homes to assemble at the Seaside Child Development Center for a march along Broadway, where they spilled from the sidewalks into the streets, erupting into chants of “Save our Schools,” a slogan that had morphed to “Don’t be a fool, save our schools” by the time the group reached King to confront Shepherd and a handful of school board members.

Earlier this month, they got word that low-cost child care and pre-school programs that serve some 300 children of the working poor would fall victim to the state budget axe. Governor Schwarzenegger proposed an 84 percent cut in the programs in an attempt to plug California’s massive deficit, and school board members voted three to two to eliminate or reduce the programs. (Two members were absent.)

All employees of the district’s three child development centers – Seaside, Cabrillo, and Marina del Mar – got layoff notices.

“I’m in the military. I had to take leave to figure out what I’m going to do,” says Defense Language Institute human resources staffer Jonathan Hunter, who credits the district’s child care program with teaching his four-year-old numbers and the ABC’s.

“She’s ready for kindergarten. The teachers really care about the kids.”

Rev. H.H. Lusk of Bethel Baptist Church, along with several members of Seaside’s Ministerial Alliance, who helped organize the demonstration, didn’t speak the language of the mostly Latino parents, but communicated their plan nonetheless: to surprise the school district brass with their massive numbers, and make their demands heard.

“Seaside’s not going to support a bond issue [if] they’re closing schools. These kids need child care,” Lusk emphasized.

Inside the King auditorium, Shepherd handed the crowd a partial victory.

“We have a plan we came up with at 8 a.m. today,” she said as babies wailed in the packed hall.

“We are going to continue to operate the programs for children that we currently have until the budget is finalized,” Shepherd added to thunderous applause. Still, Shepherd announced that classrooms will be closed and some staff laid off, as no new children will be admitted. “That’s better than closing it all down in July.”

The stopgap plan, which includes the use of federal stimulus cash to make up for cuts, will be discussed at a June 21 school board meeting.

Some attendees said they were still uneasy as they left the meeting with only a temporary solution.

“If I could, I’d put you all on buses and take you to see Governor Schwarzenegger,” Shepherd said.