OAKLAND - Parents, teachers, students and community members from across Oakland rallied to put pressure on state officials to protect funding for public schools.

The rally, organized by the Oakland Unified School District’s Board of Education, drew about 200 people to the district’s main office, where people filled out postcards to send to Sacramento and pledged to ask legislators to find revenue to support schools rather than cut the budget.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed balancing the state’s budget by making 10 percent cuts across the board, which means taking $4.8 billion from education. That amounts to $800 less per student. The proposed cuts come even though California already spends $1,900 less per student than the national average.

Speakers at the rally included Oakland parents, three Oakland students who have been accepted into Harvard University, and a host of elected officials issued statements in support of the rally.

“Funding education is an investment in our shared values. We all have a stake in ensuring that our children have opportunities to reach their full potential - that they are safe, healthy, and have equal access to high-quality education,” Alameda County Schools Superintendent Sheila Jordan said.

Oakland school officials provided postcards inviting California’s first lady, Maria Shriver, to visit Oakland and asking her to remind the Governor of his promise to invest in education.

“Let's put that pressure on, and let’s put it on hard,” said Isabel Toscano, whose 14-year-old son Chel attends La Escuelita in Oakland.

California seems to have its priorities backward, said Betty Olson-Jones, President of the Oakland Education Association, pointing out that California is No. 1 in the nation when it comes to spending on prisons yet it’s near the bottom in terms of funding schools.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums issued a statement saying the cuts compromise educational opportunities for young people.

“Our children are our most precious resource. We can no longer afford to undermine the efforts of our educators, administrators and parents by not providing the financial support that is integral to growing and developing a healthy, diverse and well-educated citizenry,” Dellums said.

The rally was organized by the Oakland’s Board of Education, and co-sponsored by Superintendent of Alameda County Schools Sheila Jordan; the Oakland Education Association; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; United Administrators of Oakland Schools; Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums; Congresswoman Barbara Lee; State Sen. Don Perata; Assemblyman Sandré Swanson; Assemblywoman Loni Hancock; Oakland Community Organizations (OCO); and Oakland Parents Together.

For more information about the proposed budget cuts, visit the Web site of the Education Coalition.