“We are pleased that Gov. Newsom’s first budget invests in public education above the minimum Proposition 98 guarantee,” said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “We also appreciate his attention to providing a much-needed cost-of-living adjustment for the Local Control Funding Formula and increasing special education funding.”
- Visit www.csba.org/Newsroom for links to digital versions of current and past issues of California School News.
“We are pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with the state that upholds both the law and the will of the voters when they passed the Proposition 98 minimum funding guarantee for public schools,” said CSBA President Dr. Emma Turner. “At a time when public education is dramatically underfunded, it’s critical that schools — and the students they serve — receive the funding to which they are legally entitled.”
Troy Flint | tflint@csba.org
Managing Editor:
Kimberly Sellery | ksellery@csba.org
Marketing Director:
Serina Pruitt | spruitt@csba.org
Staff Writers and Contributors:
Andrew Cummins | acummins@csba.org
Aaron Davis | adavis@csba.org
Bode Owoyele | bowoyele@csba.org
Diane Greene | dgreene@csba.org
Graphic Design Manager:
Kerry Macklin | kmacklin@csba.org
Senior Graphic Designer:
Mauricio Miranda | mmiranda@csba.org
Emma Turner | La Mesa-Spring Valley SD
President-elect:
Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez | Azusa USD
Vice President:
Tamara Otero | Cajon Valley Union USD
Immediate Past President:
Mike Walsh | Butte COE
CEO & Executive Director:
Vernon M. Billy
News and feature items submitted for publication are edited for style and space as necessary.
Graduation also offers a time for reflection as we look back on the just-completed school year and evaluate our work. Along with the pomp and circumstance — which we all need to inspire and recharge — it’s important to keep a close eye on academic achievement and whether our schools are making progress toward equitable outcomes for all students. I am reminded of this every year during the graduation ceremonies in my own district, La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, where individual targeted education for students, regardless of additional cost, is valued. And then again, when Johns Hopkins University and partner organization Civic released a highly anticipated report on national graduation rates in mid-June.
GovernanceCorner Practical tips from our MIG facultyNow that your governing board has approved the Local Control and Accountability Plan, the next step is to revisit the board’s role as key communicators on LCAP decisions and strategies. This is a step that county offices of education can also take once they have adopted their LCAP, which addresses the needs of students who are enrolled in COE alternative schools.
The new CSBA governance brief “Six Essential School Board roles in LCAP Implementation and Development” (see more about the resource on page 8), identifies components to the board’s role as key communicators. Asking and discussing the following questions can help your board develop cohesive communication strategies that align with the role of key communicators.
- How do strategies in our LCAP support improved student outcomes?
- What are the LCAP strategies that support the needs of our historically underserved student populations?
- What are our LCAP successes? What are the lessons learned from past LCAPs that are incorporated into the new plan?
- Will the board make a commitment to stay on point with the agreed-upon messages?
Front Row: Left to Right
Patricia Singer, Board Member, Ocean View SD; Mark Dundon, Board Member, Hesperia USD; Rachael Robles, Superintendent, Covina-Valley USD; Steve DeMarzio, Delegate, Region 22, Westside Union ESD; Suzanne Seymour, Board Member, Palos Verdes Peninsula USD; David Haglund, Superintendent, Pleasanton USD; Cindy Wu, Board Member, Mountain View ESD; Barbara Schulman, Board Member, Saddleback Valley USD
Q: California continues to struggle to meet the needs of many of its students with disabilities, as evidenced by 2018 California School Dashboard results. How can CSBA’s new report assist local educational agencies in making sure the issue is front and center?
A: Our new report was designed to provide an overview of the key facets of special education that board members should understand so that they can make informed decisions and better serve students with disabilities.
A new CSBA resource developed by board members and superintendents delivers a clear understanding of six key roles for governance teams in Local Control and Accountability Plan development and implementation, an annual document not only required by law but also foundational to improving student outcomes.
The May 2019 governance brief “Six Essential School Board Roles in LCAP Implementation and Development” is the result of CSBA’s two-year professional learning network with more than 30 school board member and superintendent participants from small, medium and large districts spanning California (the full list of participants is included on page 8 of the brief). The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence provided support for the network.
The letter was prompted by and in reaction to the withdrawal, last December, of the Rethink School Discipline Guidance, which was jointly issued in 2014 by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice. These two federal agencies are responsible for the legal enforcement of federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on certain personal characteristics, including race, color and national origin, in public elementary and secondary schools and by recipients of federal financial assistance.
CCBE Executive Board and Board of Directors representatives presented Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) and James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) with the 2018 Outstanding Legislator of the Year Award for the work they have done on behalf of the children of California. The presentations took place on the morning of Sunday, May 19, on the steps of the State Capitol.
Aguiar-Curry has represented California’s 4th Assembly District since 2016, an area that includes all or parts of Napa, Lake, Yolo, Sonoma, Colusa and Solano counties. Before joining the Assembly, she served as planning commissioner for the city of Winters and then was elected to the city council, eventually serving as the first female mayor of Winters. As mayor, Aguiar-Curry oversaw improvements in the downtown area and worked to improve local schools, including securing computers for every sixth-grader in the city. She also brought broadband internet to rural communities, built senior housing and helped the area become an agricultural and food innovation hub for the region. She currently resides in Winters, just a block from her childhood home.
For instance, LACOE has been working very hard to meet the needs of its foster and homeless youth. Fully 38 percent of all children in foster care in California reside in Los Angeles County. The statistics on these vulnerable populations are disheartening: only 58 percent of young people in foster care graduate from high school; and 10 percent of the homeless populations in Los Angeles County is under 18.
Masters in Governance Course 4 & 5
PIVOT Smarter School Spending Master Class for CSBA Members
PIVOT Smarter School Spending Master Class for CSBA Members
Masters in Governance Courses 1 & 2
CCBE Annual Conference
Masters in Governance Courses 1 & 2
