"Arnold gets an F from teachers and students" was one of dozens of signs held by protesters at MacArthur Boulevard and 35th Avenue on March 13 to call public attention to school districts laying off thousands of teachers in California.

Oakland teachers organized a total of three protests across the city that day, which was named Pink Friday because protesters were asked to wear pink. Wearing pink stood for the layoff notice term "pink slip" that teachers may have received.

According to the OUSD spokesman Troy Flint, 893 of Oakland Unified School District’s teachers and other officials received letters of possible release or reassignment.

The layoff notices are a result of huge education budget cuts in California that could leave the state as one of the last in the nation in education spending.

Out of the 893 Oakland teachers who received possible layoff notices, 762 were "categorically funded" teachers.

A categorically-funded teacher is one whose salary comes from funds for specific programs such as Adult Education or Career Education. Teachers received letters even if only part of their salary is categorically funded.

There were also 47 untenured teachers who received the warning. In order to become tenured, a teacher has to have been teaching at a school for over two years and received positive evaluations.

One of the founders of Media Academy, Michael Jackson, received this warning.

Even though he has been teaching for 31 years and is tenured, he got the letter because he teaches Adult Education classes and part of his salary comes from categorical funds.

According to news reports, Adult Education classes are receiving a 20 percent funding cut in California.

Jackson says he will not be released from Media Academy but feels bad that some other teachers in Oakland will lose their jobs.

Other possible layoffs or reassignments include 18 temporary teachers, five untenured administrators and 61 supervisory credential reassignments.

The recently passed stimulus bill will give California over $26 billion to help stimulate its economy and the OUSD will receive $30.6 million to help better its education, said Flint.

He added that the money given to the district will help save some programs and some teachers’ jobs. He also said that no tenured teachers will be terminated from their positions.

Though over 800 officials in Oakland received the warning, Flint suggested that there will not be hundreds of layoffs, but the district doesn’t know exactly when they will receive the $30.6 million.

Craig Gordon, a member of the Oakland Education Association executive board and a Paul Robeson teacher, attended one of the protests on March 13.

Gordon said that the OEA will be protesting and calling more public attention to resist the state’s policy of cutting education spending. They will also be representing teachers affected by this policy and have lost their jobs.

Gordon estimated about 50 to 60 new and untenured teachers will be terminated from their jobs. The class sizes will also increase for the next school year because there will be a reduction in the number of teachers, he said.

The three protest all together drew over 200 people's support.

"Teachers should get involved in various activities that the union is organizing to defend public education," said Gordon.