Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storyPHOENIX, AZ -- A new effort is underway to save teacher jobs.
Students, teachers and parents made thousands of paper hands and posted them at Phoenix and Tuscon Parks, to send a message to the governor: Don't leave us empty-handed.
Sunday's rallies come on the heels of the biggest round of teacher layoffs in Arizona history, when 4,000 teachers lot their jobs earlier this month.
"We are viewing education as a cost, as opposed to an investment, and unless you invest your dollars in education, you are bypassing a whole group of students and a whole future for the state," said Chris Maza, a high school French teacher in Paradise Valley.
High school senior Morgan Ostwinkle spoke at the rally, and said she felt the students who are still going through the public education system are being robbed of a competitive future.
"It really shouldn't be a privilege, it's an expectation for every student," said Ostwinkle.
The cuts mean bigger class sizes and slashes to programs such as sports. Some also say it will deter young people from entering the teaching field in a state that ranks 49th in the nation in student test scores.
"I see that people are losing morale because we're not really valued as we should be," said first grade teacher Heidi Brewer. "We work very, very hard to get to our positions, and I feel like the state should really recognize how hard we work and what professionals we are and how important our children are."
"Teachers have mortgages to pay, car payments, health insurance, they have all the things that everybody else has," said PTA Legislative Chair Rochelle Wells.
State Representative Eric Meyer also serves on the Scottsdale School Board, and said he was saddened to watch some of the teachers who educated his children lose jobs.
"It was tough to lay those people off, they're my friends, and they've also done a great job," said Meyer. "They're dedicated to teaching our kids."
For now, teachers are left to wait, and hope they still have jobs when the budget is balanced next month.
