Gubernatorial candidates discuss education goals at AEC

CSBA’s 2017 Annual Education Conference and Trade Show concluded with a powerhouse general session featuring candidates for California’s 2018 gubernatorial election.

California’s underinvestment in its public schools in recent decades was a major theme at the panel in San Diego. Moderated by CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy, the event included opening statements by each candidate as well as responses to prepared questions from Billy.

Also in 2018, President pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) will term out, making way for Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) to fill the Senate’s top leadership position. Atkins will be the first woman to serve in that role. The Senate is slated to officially vote for its next pro Tem this month.

This lack of investment has hurt all students, but the students who have suffered most are those who live in poverty, who find themselves in a minority, who speak another tongue as their first language or who have special needs. This is a gross disservice to these students and to the American ideal of equal opportunity. America’s public schools systems are designed to be the great equalizer, the ladder to social mobility that secures democracy and the American dream. When we sell our schools short, we compromise our potential as a nation.

Student board members attending AEC participate in a multiday program that includes an ice cream social, a continental breakfast and a networking lunch where students join in activities such as leadership training, open discussions about navigating district policies and more. Most student board members receive minimal training at the district level when they start their term. The AEC program, led by CSBA and California Association of Student Leaders staff, gives these young repre-sentatives the opportunity to build their advocacy skills while gaining strategies for becoming more effective members of their district gover-nance team.