Joseph A. Garcia / Star staff Jaqueline Kritch of Calabasas joins a group of PTA-organized protesters gathered outside state Sen. Tom McClintock's office in Thousand Oaks on Friday.

Joseph A. Garcia / Star staff From left, Agoura High School sophomores Kyla McGinley, Jaimee Choi, Weslie Lechner and Sara McGillewie protest a proposal from Gov. Schwarzenegger to cut $4.8 billion from the state's education funding.

Nearly 100 parents, teachers and students gathered Friday outside the Thousand Oaks office of state Sen. Tom McClintock to protest planned cuts in the state's education budget.

The protest was organized by the 12th District PTA, which represents PTAs in Ventura County and western Los Angeles County.

The protest was part of a wider "Flunk the Budget Not the Kids" campaign orchestrated by the California State PTA, which has almost 1 million members.

"This protest is basically our way of telling McClintock and our other elected representatives that we're not happy with the way they are handling things," said Peggy Buckles of the 12th District PTA.

Calls to McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, in Sacramento were not returned.

In his proposed 2008-09 budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking to cut $4.8 billion in education funding.

"If this proposed budget passes, it will just ruin education in California," Buckles said. "There won't be any public education. Everybody who has any money will leave."

"We are 46th in the nation on per-pupil spending, and that is just a sin," said Patti Yomantas, president of the 12th District PTA, which has 36,000 members.

Among those holding signs and banners on the sidewalk outside McClintock's office on East Thousand Oaks Boulevard was Denise Reader, 42, a stay-at-home mother of three whose children attend Lang Ranch School in Thousand Oaks.

"We're going to end up having bigger class sizes and teachers losing their jobs, and I think that's awful," she said as she shepherded her kids, who were carrying signs condemning the budget cuts.

Arleigh Kidd of the California Teachers Association said he was impressed with the turnout for a protest on a hot afternoon at the end of the workweek.

"I have been doing this work for a dozen years now, and this is the most support I've seen from all segments," he said as passing motorists honked their horns in support.

Terri Ohler, a first-grade teacher at Hollow Hills Fundamental School in Simi Valley, said cuts in education will ultimately hurt the economy.

"We're looking at an aging population, and we need a workforce to come up, and if we want a strong economy, we have to educate our children so they can provide the strong economy that we did not," Ohler said.

The protesters agreed budget cuts are needed but said education should be low on the hit list.

"In Simi Valley already, we're seeing very, very limited summer school, which has been cut way back," said Dayle Gillick, president of the Simi Valley Educators Association teachers union. "We're talking about furlough days, increased class size, moving teachers and pay cuts."