CSBA calls on members to ‘BMAD’: Act on behalf of public schools June 8
CSBA coordinating grassroots advocacy in legislative districts around the state
Published: April 30, 2012
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect that Board Member Action Day has been rescheduled from June 1 to June 8.
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School district and county office of education governance teams will advocate for public schoolchildren in the home offices of their respective state lawmakers throughout California June 8 as part of Board Member Action Day—BMAD 2012, CSBA’s newest legislative campaign to strengthen critical local leadership connections in support of public schools.
BMAD is so much more than a catchy acronym.
Replacing the association’s Legislative Action Conference, which traditionally took place in Sacramento just after CSBA’s Delegate Assembly each May, BMAD 2012 focuses on key relationships at the local level by scheduling meetings with state lawmakers at their home offices rather than barnstorming the Capitol. (The Delegate Assembly will still gather for its semiannual meeting in Sacramento May 19-20.)
Dennis Meyers, CSBA’s assistant executive director of Governmental Relations, said the revamped advocacy effort is both strategically smart and cost-effective—a key factor when local district and county office budgets are squeezed to the limit.
“Governance teams did a terrific job in the past, making the case for public education and students during Legislative Action Conferences in Sacramento,” Meyers said. “But the conference was time-consuming, and travel can be expensive. We are confident that with our new Board Member Action Day, we can have an even greater impact by targeting legislators where they live, bringing a local face to the many challenges public schools confront in this very difficult fiscal and policy environment. We want to help board members make the best use of their precious time and cut costs as much as possible.”
BMAD’s June 1 advocacy day will come at a key point during the state’s legislative and budget cycle, just two weeks after the scheduled release of Gov. Jerry Brown’s May budget revision and two weeks before the deadline for the state Legislature to adopt a balanced budget.
CSBA’s veteran Governmental Relations staff will set up the home office appointments and provide detailed issue briefs, talking points, sample scripts and other written materials, which will be made available for download on the association website beginning May 25. These materials—and a complimentary May 30 training webcast—will help ensure that governance team members can communicate key points effectively and deliver focused messages.
The online training is open to everyone, but GR staff asks that school leaders who have volunteered to meet with state lawmakers register in advance for the webcast.
The June 8 BMAD is the first of two days of local advocacy planned for 2012. The second BMAD will be scheduled this fall to focus on federal issues during meetings in the home offices of members of Congress.
“We’ll use the lessons we learn on June 8 to make sure our day of federal issue advocacy this fall has maximum impact,” Meyers said.
He said initial response from members has been unwaveringly positive.
“I heard from one of our directors who was concerned because he’s expecting at least 20 local school board members to show up for the June 8 meetings in his legislative district,” Meyers said. “What a problem to have! Perhaps they’ll need to find a bigger venue to accommodate everyone! I’d love to hear about ‘problems’ like this from dozens of governance team members. Ideally, we want to build the kinds of relationships that mean school board members feel comfortable picking up the phone and calling their state or federal representative whenever they need to share a substantive concern about issues that make a difference to public schools and students.”
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