United Teachers Los Angeles and supporters protest state and local budget cuts on Jan. 29, 2009 in Los Angeles

Following $21 billion in cuts to K-12 education over the last three years, the state’s largest teachers’ union is saying enough is enough.

“We oppose further cuts,” said Mike Myslinski, a spokesman for the California Teachers Association, which represents 325,000 members statewide. 

Gov.-elect Jerry Brown has warned of deep cuts to the state’s public schools to help offset California's $28 billion budget deficit through June 2012. He is scheduled to present a budget proposal on Jan. 10.

"I can't promise there won't be more cuts, because there will be," Brown told educators and union representatives during a special budget meeting earlier this month.

Already, parents are decrying shorter school years, the increasing scarcity of art and music classes and larger class sizes. California’s financial straits are incontrovertible: the state ranks 46th in per-pupil spending among the 50 states.

“Our schools are already in crisis,” said Crystal Brown, a spokeswoman for Educate Our State, a parent-led group dedicated to reforming the state’s public schools. “It’s devastating. There is a way to distribute the funds from Sacramento much more equitably. Some students get $22,000 per kid, and others get $4,900 per kid.”

California will spend $36.2 billion — more than a third of the state’s general fund — on K-12 education and community college this year. Thousands of teachers have received pink slips or taken furlough days over the last few years.