Strengthening school governance
CSBA rolls out legislative agenda and grassroots tools
Published: December 11, 2012
Strengthening local school governance was the common thread that ran through the wide-ranging State of the State panel discussion that closed CSBA’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show earlier this month.
It’s also the goal behind the association’s legislative strategy for 2013, as another panel will detail in the Forecast Webcast coming Jan. 17. Registration is open.
CSBA Executive Director Vernon M. Billy drove the governance point home in his closing remarks at State of the Sate, offering heartfelt thanks to CSBA’s members for supporting the association’s initiatives and adding, “We are only as strong as you allow us to be. We are only as strong as you make us, and we need your participation in supporting the work of our advocates, whether it’s in Sacramento or whether it’s in Washington, D.C.”
CSBA Assistant Executive Director for Governmental Relations Dennis Meyers had just stressed the association’s growing emphasis on strengthening local school governance throughout California by equipping education advocates with the information and tools to build grassroots support. CSBA’s Stand Up For Education campaign, which was rolled out at AEC, is the newest tool for that effort, joining occasional Action Alerts and upcoming Board Member Action Days.
“The charge we have the next legislative session is to really build our capacity locally, so that school board members are driving that charge to convince the Legislature and governor that this is not only the right thing to do—it’s the only thing to do,” Meyers said.
In between Billy’s opening and Meyers’ conclusion, they and fellow panelists Ron Bennett, president of School Services of California, and Kevin Gordon, president of Capitol Advisors Group, stressed the need to build on the support for public education that voters demonstrated last November in passing Proposition 30 to protect schools from devastating midyear cuts.
“It didn’t get you any net new dollars,” Gordon reminded the audience about the measure, and he cautioned that it will raise the expectations of labor bargaining groups in upcoming contract negotiations.
Weighted student formula
The panel also discussed Gov. Jerry Brown’s plans to introduce a revised approach this year to restructure public education finance through a weighted student funding formula that would fundamentally alter how schools receive funds from the state. Meyers and Policy and Programs Senior Director Teri Burns represented CSBA in recent meetings with Brown administration officials and other stakeholders seeking to adjust the governor’s formula, which would begin with a uniform base allocation per pupil and then add “weights”—money—to account for the special challenges schools face in educating students such as English learners.
“We know that we’ve had incredible influence on the administration” on how the formula is being written, Meyers said. “We know they’re listening, but we still have our work to do. … This has incredible potential, but then it could also be incredibly detrimental to some districts if it’s not done right.”
School Services’ Bennett agreed and offered additional perspective.
“If you talk about finance reform in California for schools, you have a large problem and you have a small problem. The small problem is addressed by the weighted student formula, and that is the distribution of the money,” Bennett said.
“Our big problem is the level of funding in California. … If we’re going to be 30 percent below the national average year after year after year, our test scores are going to remain in the cellar, our kids are going to be disadvantaged. A lot of the problems we’re having in the economy now are the result of 30 years of having our children going through schools that are in the bottom five in the nation.”
State of the State video index
The State of the State is archived here through Jan. 30; the pass code is “aec2012.” Place your cursor on the black line at the bottom of the screen line to bring up play/pause and volume controls and a timeline that allows you to advance to a particular time in the webcast.
Key issues and the times they were discussed include:
• CSBA President Cindy Marks’ introduction to 2:17 minutes in
• NSBA President C. Ed Massie: 2:18-6:18
• Vernon M. Billy’s introductory remarks: 7:28-9:05
• Proposition 30: 9:06-23:24
• Weighted student formula: 23:26-39:00
• Supermajority: 39:03-50:11
• Capital appreciation bonds: 50:15-55:38
• Standards and assessment, finance and accountability: 55:43-59:55
• Suspension/expulsion: 59:58-1:07:30
• ESEA reauthorization: 1:07:32-1:14:58
• Proposition 98 relevance: 1:15:00-1:29:05
• Final remarks: 1:29:06-1:37:39