2008 Budget and Political Forecast to be Featured at CSBA Annual Education Conference

Special panel to discuss Southern California fires, Pursuit of Happyness author, Christopher Gardner, among keynote speakers

San Diego, CA – Approximately 3,000 school leaders from throughout California are attending the California School Boards Association’s 2007 Annual Education Conference and Trade Show at the San Diego Convention Center today through December 1. Nearly 250 speakers are presenting on public education trends, facts and studies in approximately 100 sessions on issues ranging from updates on the No Child Left Behind Act, the achievement gap, school leadership development, declining enrollment, student assessment and accountability, health and wellness and more.

California school finance experts, CSBA Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin and Assistant Executive Director of Governmental Relations Rick Pratt, will provide a powerful and candid look at the 2008 state and federal funding forecast on Saturday, December 1 at 10 a.m. The state is anticipating a budget shortfall in 2008 of more than $10 billion. Plotkin and Pratt will discuss how that and other political factors may impact education funding.

“There has been much talk recently about 2008 being the year of education. If that is truly the case, CSBA will work to hold the state accountable for providing the resources and tools that our schools need in order to exceed the standards set by the state and federal governments,” said Plotkin.

A special session was also created to discuss and share breakthrough collaborations and innovative strategies in response to the wildfires that ravaged Southern California communities in October. The session will show how San Diego Unified School District mobilized resources to help its community during not one, but two of California's toughest disasters in 2003 and 2007. The session will be held on Thursday, November 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

General session speakers at the conference will include: Mark Salzman, author of Iron & Silk; Christopher Gardner, whose personal success story was chronicled in the book and film titled The Pursuit of Happyness; and Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Ph.D., senior scholar, School of Policy, Planning and Development at the University of Southern California.

To view a list of sessions and speakers, visit www.csba.org and click on the annual conference logo. On-site media credentials are available at the media booth located in the San Diego Convention Center lobby.