Act against the ‘unthinkable’
CSBA’s Legislative Action Conference meets in Sacramento May 15-16
Published: May 1, 2011
CSBA’s Legislative Action Conference, convening just steps away from the state Capitol May 15-16, is a prime opportunity to get the state’s political leaders to “unthink” what’s been called the “unthinkable”—an all-cuts budget that could shrink the amount invested in each of the state’s K-12 students by as much as $800.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson used the word in legislative committee hearing April 14, according to news accounts. With 10 percent of the state’s local educational agencies already in serious financial straits after suffering some $18 billion in cuts in the last three years, Torlakson said cutting as much as 15 percent more from their budgets—as some scenarios now under discussion in Sacramento would do—would be “unthinkable.”
CSBA President Martha Fluor used the term in a visit to the Corcoran Unified School District two weeks earlier.
“We’d be going from bad to worse to unthinkable” if legislators adopted an all-cuts budget to close the $15.4 billion gap that remains in the state’s finances, Fluor told a Kings County reporter. Per-student spending could drop by $800. The vast majority of the more than 20,000 teachers who received potential layoff notices this year would be out of a job. Those that remained would face larger classes with fewer resources to prepare California’s more than 6 million public schoolchildren for a world that’s more competitive than ever before.
In short: the unthinkable.
Matching forces
Against that formidable challenge, though, there’s an even more potent force available—and it begins with the 5,000 individuals whose interest in service and the common good led them to enter the public arena and become school board members.
Most board members are veterans of their own successful election campaigns, after all. They know what works in terms of getting their communities engaged in the issues and getting them out to the polls in support of candidates, school bonds and parcel taxes.
CSBA has long relied on its members to put that expertise to work for statewide issues, and current conditions in Sacramento make that more important than ever.
“CSBA’s leadership has expressed a strong desire to strengthen grassroots advocacy. There’s a growing consensus that strong advocacy by local school board members is critical to achieving the education goals the state has set for its students,” Rick Pratt, the association’s assistant executive director for governmental relations, noted recently. “To be most effective, local advocacy should supplement and complement advocacy that takes place in Sacramento. This year’s Legislative Action Conference will combine local and statewide strategies as never before.”
Delegate Assembly to play strong role
The nearly 300 regional directors in CSBA’s Delegate Assembly, which meets just before Legislative Action, will fill an especially strong leadership role at this year’s conference. Along with other local governance team members who are already participating in outreach efforts of demonstrated effectiveness, regional directors will lead breakout sessions to share strategies for organizing and action. Examples of results-oriented public information tips will include sample letters, press releases and resolutions; recruitment tools to enlist allies within larger communities will also be explored.
As always, a well-spent if intensive afternoon of organizing and information sharing on Sunday afternoon will precede a busy day of lobbying activity in the Capitol, where CSBA staff will have appointments scheduled to allow conference-goers to make the case for school funding to their state Assembly members and senators.
This year’s dinner speaker will be Larry Tramutola, a nationally renowned political strategist whose consulting firm has helped clients win more than 500 elections—and more than $30 billion in community improvements in revenue elections that often required two-thirds approval.
The dinner, a Sunday luncheon, Monday breakfast and helpful advocacy materials are all included in the $245 conference registration fee, which rises to $255 May 6. Legislative Action is headquartered at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento, across the street from the Capitol building. Lodging in the Hyatt (916-443-1234) may still be available, and there are other hotels nearby.
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