Every morning in California, millions of children arrive at public schools eager to learn, explore, create and grow. Students are welcomed with high fives and smiles from aides who monitor drop-off and help students in the library and computer labs, teachers who greet students by name at the doors to their classrooms, cafeteria workers who feed students nutritious meals, noon supervisors who watch students on the playground, and afterschool teachers and staff who provide extra instruction and activities while parents work. Custodians and maintenance staff keep the campus clean and working.  All of this is accomplished on a shoestring budget due to California’s insufficient allocation of state funds for public schools. Each of these dedicated employees we work with is building the present, ensuring that the daily life of current students meets their needs.   Last week, the governor unveiled his new budget proposal for public schools. This budget proposal makes great strides in addressing three areas of significant need, including funding for early education, special education and teacher preparation.  The governor’s increased funding in these areas will help mitigate future issues in these critical areas. The investment is needed to build the future of education in California. Making a path for the future is an important consideration, and we applaud the governor for taking initial steps to address these shortfalls. However, we cannot plan for the future at the expense of the present.   What is needed in California is a vision and commitment that builds the present and the future for our students. Millions of California students in school daily deserve to have the resources they need to succeed. California teachers, school staff and administrators deserve to have adequate funding to provide supplies for their classrooms. Lack of funding should not be something that inhibits creative lesson planning, resources for hands-on learning, or access to technology in the classroom.  Currently, California schools are succeeding against the odds thanks to the selflessness and dedication of California school employees — employees who spend money out of their own pockets to provide classroom supplies, who fundraise on their own time to pay for necessities like updated classroom technology and additional books.   While we are thankful that the governor’s budget is a step forward, it is only one step on a steep staircase, and progress on this uphill journey must not cease. California students need and deserve so much more.  They deserve state investment to build the present and build the future.