Teachers Respond to Cuts With Protest

Local teachers, including some from and went to the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters downtown Friday to protest budget cuts and class size increases.

Many schools in the LAUSD had a shortened or half-day schedule Friday. Thousands of teachers, school workers, students and parents attended the "State of Emergency" rally downtown calling for the state Legislature to maintain current funding levels for education. Rallys  also took place in in Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and San Bernardino.

Gov. Jerry Brown has been trying to win Republican support for an election to extend a series of tax increases to avoid what he has described as the devastating impacts of an all-cuts budget. Teachers' union officials have said the cuts would slash $4 billion in state funding to education.

City News Service contributed to this report.