They say you can't fight City Hall. But "they" - whoever they are - are often wrong about that.

Time and again there have been articles in this newspaper about residents who show up at City Council meetings, make their voices heard and often are able to get city officials to see things their way. It's also possible to sway officials on the county level, as the recent successful protest against locating a prison in Antioch showed.

It gets a lot tougher for citizens to effect change in state government, but it is doable. And, in the case of the proposed state budget cuts to local schools, it's worth trying.

The Antioch Unified School District is looking at an $8.7 million cut that could result in the layoff of nearly 250 employees. The Brentwood Union School District is facing a $3.1 million cut that might result in 27 teacher layoffs. The Liberty Union High School District is looking at a $1.6 million cut, with teacher layoffs likely. The Byron Union School District is facing a $700,000-$1 million cut, possibly resulting in a couple of teacher layoffs.

Fortunately, the Oakley Union and Knightsen elementary school districts, while also facing cuts, don't anticipate that they will be significant enough to warrant teacher layoffs.

The school districts are fighting back. Antioch has written and distributed a letter to parents to sign and send to state officials, urging that the proposed $4.4 billion in state cuts to education not go into effect. So far, some 2,500 parents have signed letters, which the district is sending to Sacramento. A sample letter is also available on the Oakley district Web site, which parents can copy, sign and send.

While form letters are better than nothing, much more effective are letters or e-mails that are individually written, describing how the cuts would affect our children. Letters and e-mails from students telling their own stories can also be effective. We've provided addresses of state officials below to help you.

But parents also should make sure their local school officials are doing everything they can to ensure teachers remain on the job by cutting as much as they can elsewhere first. And that means everything, including the administrators, who are usually the highest paid. Administration wage freezes, perhaps even 10-percent pay cuts, should be considered if it will help keep teachers from being sacked.

These are tough times and tough choices need to be made. But if you truly care about your child's future, you should take 30 minutes to write and send a letter or e-mail to your representatives to let them know how you feel.