Then came the debacle we called the energy crisis, and Gov. Gray Davis threw all of the extra cash down that great black hole in an effort to keep the lights on—as if they were ever really going to go off. And, that quickly, our state surplus became a deficit.

The tragic events of Sept. 11 exacerbated the woes of an already troubled business community that was the first to see the downturn in the economy.

Now here we are on the brink of war. Our gas prices are soaring to more than $2 a gallon, and the economy is still sputtering in an attempt to regain the vigor of the boom period of just over two years ago.

And the state once again is facing a crisis, with the governor cutting and slashing programs in a seemingly futile attempt to balance the budget.

So where is it that Davis' very sharp budget-balancing blade falls? Not on the state's prison system. No, right on the necks of our state's teachers—just as it always does. And when teachers are impacted, so are our children.

Schools are getting hammered in this latest round of budget cuts. Layoff notices will go out soon to public school teachers at all levels, from elementary school to community college. Local districts will be forced to make deep cuts for the 2003­04 school year. And they will be forced to cut even deeper should the governor convince legislators to eliminate basic aid funding so that he can divert our property taxes to other state programs.

This lunacy has got to stop. It's time we said, "Enough is enough" and demand that our legislators look elsewhere to balance the state budget.

In our communities, we need to vote in favor of parcel taxes that will provide much-needed financial support for our schools.

We need to support the fundraisers of the Los Gatos Education Foundation and other revenue-producing organizations that fund school programs.

It's bad enough that we don't provide our teachers with enough of a salary that they can live in the community where they work. But then every time there is a budget crisis on the state level, it seems politicians go straight to education and target teachers to perform their balancing act.

It's time that our legislators stopped using teachers as the pawns in this political chess game and treat them with the respect they deserve. After all, corny but true, teachers are molding the leaders of tomorrow. We all can think back to our school days and fondly recall a teacher who helped direct our future.

At a recent meeting to update faculty members on possible cutbacks and layoffs, one teacher said: "Maybe we should put bars in the windows and wear prison guard uniforms. We'd get all the funding we need."

But, then, with the direction the state is taking with proposed cuts to education, maybe more prisons is the answer.