Campaign to win state support for the Grow Your Own Teachers program

Grow Your Own is funded as a separate line item in the state education budget.  We must return to the legislature every year to fight to increase or at least sustain our appropriation. We work with programs across the state, and mobilize the staff, the teacher candidates, and community members for a large February event in the Capitol, and then throughout the legislative term.  The Governor's staff is also a target of this work.
Last year, due to declining state finances, GYO was initially cut by 50%.  But the Governor, who was given extraordinary one-time powers to allocate a portion of the overall budget, restored the program to 90% of its FY 09 appropriation.  Still this was the first decrease the program has experienced, and further cuts are threatened for FY 11.