Vantage Point: CSBA’s actions speak louder than awards
Published: October 4, 2011
At our meeting in September, the CSBA Board of Directors voted unanimously not to present any legislative awards at this year’s Annual Education Conference. This is never an easy decision for the board to make, because we know that there are many legislators who support and work closely with their local school districts and county offices of education, and who try very hard to do the right thing when it comes to schools and kids. We also recognize the effort that boards put into making their nominations for the various awards.
However, every so often there comes a time when we really have no choice but to say enough is enough. This is one of those times. While the board recognized the good work our legislative committee conducted in making its recommendations, we ultimately decided that no member of the Legislature who voted in favor of Assembly Bill 114—the egregious budget trailer bill for education, which you can read more about under the Spotlight section of our website, www.csba.org—could be recognized by CSBA as “outstanding.”
Withholding our legislative awards is primarily a symbolic step, but CSBA members should rest assured that the association is not relying only on symbolism to make its point. As I write this column, we have just filed a lawsuit against the state to challenge the manipulations of Proposition 98 that were contained in the 2011-12 Budget Act and AB 114. We have been joined in this effort by a strong coalition—the Los Angeles Unified School District, the San Francisco Unified School District, the Turlock Unified School District and the Association of California School Administrators—a coalition that is determined to see the case through to victory.
And of course, we are still diligently pursuing our school finance lawsuit, Robles-Wong v. California. I often hear from colleagues who are wondering what is happening with the case, the long-term goal of which is to increase the amount of funding that is available to public schools.
In this case, it is important to emphasize “long-term.” I know it’s difficult, but anyone who has read the history of school finance cases across the country knows that they take a long time. In comparison to some others, our case has barely begun! And right now, we find ourselves at that strange stage in the process where defeat may ultimately end up being a good thing. While we would have loved it if the first court of hearing had decided in our favor, we were always prepared for a long battle.
So where are we? As expected, the judge in that first court of hearing sustained the state’s argument against our case. Of course that sounds bad, but because of the judge’s decision we now have the right to appeal all of our claims to the appellate level—which is where we wanted to end up in the first place. Like a game of chess, sometimes the first moves are less important than the “end game.” In this case and with our other efforts, I hope everyone will keep the faith, and continue to hold our state leaders accountable.