Speak up for your schools: Legislative Action in Sacramento May 18-19

A multibillion-dollar state deficit and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to cut K–12 public education by 10 percent in fiscal 2008–09 are driving the agenda for CSBA’s 2008 Legislative Action Conference May 18–19 and underscoring how important it is that school board members and administrators make the trip to Sacramento.

The two-day conference is a win-win for school district and county office of education board members: They will get extensive briefings about the latest political developments in the Capitol, and they’ll have the opportunity to put their expertise to work in some up-close and personal advocacy to state officials on behalf of the children and communities they serve.

Conference participants will meet with their regional CSBA directors to discuss talking points, policy issues and advocacy strategies and will hear from the association’s staff experts and guest speakers in preparation for visits with their elected officials the following day.

These legislative appointments will give board members a crucial opportunity to present the lawmakers with real-life stories from their schools about the consequences of the governor’s proposed budget cuts, said Rick Pratt, CSBA’s assistant executive director of Governmental Relations.

“Policy-makers in the Capitol are talking about these budget reductions in terms of abstract numbers,” Pratt said. “They’re just doing the math. We need to bring them concrete examples of the real impacts these cuts will have on students. Lawmakers need to hear about the human costs of these reductions.”

The issue of school funding has assumed special importance this year with the news that the state was facing a budget deficit of potentially unprecedented proportions. Estimates of the state’s revenue gap have and will undoubtedly continue to vary. The most recent update from nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill (who’s been invited to speak at this year’s Legislative Action Conference) put the deficit at nearly $14.5 billion for fiscal 2008–09.

School trustees, administrators, teachers and students have staged local protests in their respective communities and have traveled to the state Capitol to sound the alarm about the need to protect public education. Pratt and other members of CSBA’s staff have been fielding dozens of calls from school board members asking what they and the association can do to make their voices heard as these critical fiscal and policy issues are being decided.

“The joke among cynics is that many ‘grassroots’ movements are really more like Astroturf,” said Pratt. “But this year the reality is that people at the local level are leading the charge. They are alarmed at the extent of the proposed cuts and intent on speaking out about the devastating impact these reductions would have on children and schools.”

Agenda for action
This year’s Legislative Action agenda was still being finalized at press time, but it will include Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Weintraub as the keynote speaker for the May 18 dinner. Weintraub is the author of “Party of One: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of the Independent Voter.” Legislative Analyst Hill is tentatively scheduled to speak at the May 19 breakfast.

Presentations are also slated by Holly Jacobson, CSBA’s assistant executive director for Policy Analysis and Continuing Education, and others who developed the community engagement training that is a major component of the association’s Learn More California campaign. Learn More’s aim is to educate communities about the state’s complex and problematic system for financing public schools. The campaign is also contributing to development of a grassroots consensus about the need to give schools enough money to do their vital work.

The Legislative Action program also includes a general session with reports from CSBA President Paul H. Chatman, Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin, Assistant Executive Director Pratt and Jack Bedell, president of the California County Boards of Education.

Registration for the two-day event is $245. 

Related link:
Find out more, including information on hotel accommodations, @ www.csba.org/TrainingAndEvents/Events/LegislativeAction.aspx.