- Visit www.csba.org/Newsroom for links to digital versions of current and past issues of California School News.
“It turns out, on average, our districts still receive less than in most other states,” said researcher Jennifer Imazeki, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at San Diego State University. Further, the higher costs of living and wages in California, coupled with the lower revenue, leads to fewer teachers and staff per student than most other states experience.
The issue is also one of equity across the state, as the American Institutes for Research found that the most dramatic spending gaps between actual spending and estimated costs for adequate programs are in districts serving high concentrations of low-income students and English learners.
Troy Flint | tflint@csba.org
Managing Editor:
Kimberly Sellery | ksellery@csba.org
Marketing Director:
Serina Pruitt | spruitt@csba.org
Staff Writers and Contributors:
Hugh Biggar | hbiggar@csba.org
Andrew Cummins | acummins@csba.org
Aaron Davis | adavis@csba.org
Mike Ambrose | mambrose@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.
On Monday, April 22, I contributed to one of California’s most significant policy discussions when I joined CSBA staff at the Capitol for a press and legislative briefing on CSBA’s report Uncharted Waters: Recommendations for Prioritizing Student Achievement and Effective Governance in California’s Charter Schools. The Uncharted Waters report has gained additional resonance as pending legislation intensifies the debate over charters. In fact, some of its recommendations on transparency and accountability were already adopted into law when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 126 on March 5.
That development was gratifying, as it validated years of CSBA research, advocacy and leadership in the area of charter reform. Uncharted Waters provides a potential roadmap as the Legislature finally begins to address the issue in earnest. The report focuses on charter schools and their impact in four key areas:
- Quality Expectations
- Equitable Access
- Equity, Governance and Transparency
- Elevating and Replicating What Works in Public Education
CSBA CEO Vernon M. Billy selected as one of most influential Californians
The Sacramento Bee has selected CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy for its 2019 California Influencer series, which surveys 100 of California’s most thoughtful and prominent individuals on critical policy matters.
Billy joins a host of leaders from varied industries and perspectives in dissecting the challenges and opportunities facing California in 2019 and beyond. His fellow influencers represent the fields of academia, business, conservation, construction, education, finance, government, housing, journalism, labor, law, medicine, politics, public advocacy, social services and transportation.
“I’m honored to join this group of respected leaders in addressing the important challenges facing California at this critical point in our state’s history,” said Billy. “I hope that our conversation provides a model for how people from across the social spectrum can thoughtfully and civilly discuss divergent points of view with an eye toward solutions that improve the lives of all Californians.”
Participants in the California Influencer series will answer questions posed by readers, offer analysis on pressing issues and gather for live events to discuss how California can achieve the substantive change needed to realize its potential. This year’s Influencer project represents the second time The Sacramento Bee, Modesto Bee, Merced Sun-Star, Fresno Bee and San Luis Obispo Tribune are hosting a discussion on “the policy challenges that most affect our community and our future.”
CSBA is proud to recognize our Masters in Governance graduates and salute their exceptional commitment to professional development in the service of students. MIG completion signifies mastery of the roles and responsibilities of school boards and a strong understanding of the knowledge and skills needed to build and support an effective governance structure that helps produce better outcomes for students. MIG is just one part of CSBA’s commitment to our strategic initiative to support professional development by providing accessible, high-quality training.
Front Row: Left to Right
Michelle Allen, Board Member, Orland USD; Richard Gingery, Board Member, Paradise USD; Shannan Ovard, Board Member, Orland USD; Patti Cortese, Board President, East Side Union HSD; Jewel Fink, Board Member, Dixon USD; Darlene Fultz, Board Member, Thermalito Union SD; Gregory Blake, Superintendent, Thermalito Union SD
Second Row: Left to Right
Richard Lopez, Board President, Merced Union HSD; Rebecca Bridwell, Board President, Gazelle Union ESD; Melissa Crick, Board Member, Paradise USD; Michelle John, Superintendent, Paradise USD; Nicholas Herndon, Board Member, Paradise USD; Katharine Scovill, Board President, Mt. Shasta Union SD; Mike Greer, Board President, Paradise USD; Sherry Crawford, Regional Director, Region 2, Siskiyou COE; Misha Grothe, Board Member, Middletown USD; Tori Anderson, Board President, Thermalito Union SD; Mark Walker, Board Member, Thermalito Union SD
Back Row: Left to Right
Dave Parsons, Superintendent, Yreka Union ESD; Joe Ayer, Board Member, Shasta Union HSD; Roger Longnecker, Board President, Shasta Union ESD; Laurie Stringer, Board Member, Bella Vista ESD; Dwight Pierson, Delegate, Region 2C, Plumas County & USD; Jaymes Lackey, Board Member, Thermalito Union SD; Alicia Walker, Board Member, Thermalito Union SD
Not Pictured
Sue Cooper, Superintendent, Oak Run ESD and Bill Sharrett, Board Member, Paradise USD
GovernanceCorner Practical tips from our MIG facultyPreparing to adopt your 2019–20 budget
At an upcoming board meeting, you may expect to adopt your 2019–20 budget. Many boards can anticipate reviewing the first budget draft during a workshop or study session this May. These types of special meetings can help boards to better understand the budget and prepare to meet the deadline for adopting the 2019–20 budget by June 30.
In the study session, boards should ensure that the key factors of the upcoming year, also known as budget assumptions, are accounted for in the draft budget. These factors include, but are not limited to, the district’s enrollment, the Governor’s May state budget revise, scheduled salary improvements, and maintenance and replacement costs.
Asking and discussing the following questions may help the board to determine if the proposed budget will accurately support the findings of the key factors.
- What are the average daily attendance, or ADA, projections?
- Have we settled our collective bargaining agreements for next year? If not, what assumptions have been made for salary and benefits? If you are a county board, does the budget include any proposed salary increases or bonuses of $10,000 or more?
- Does the budget reflect the 2019–20 Local Control and Accountability Plan educational priorities? Are resources efficiently allocated to meet the LCAP priorities?
- Is deficit spending projected? If so, was this planned? Is the deficit spending ongoing (structural deficit versus one-time only)?
- Are there any trends — positive or negative — expected for the district or county office of education?
- Does the budget allocate financial resources in a manner that provides all students with equitable access to district programs, support services and opportunities for success? Does it promote equity and inclusion in the district?
- How does the budget compare to the last interim budget report?
The responses to these questions will help guide your board to making informed decisions. Budgets are covered in the School Finance module of CSBA’s Masters in Governance Course 3; information is available at www.csba.org. Additional resources can be found at the Financial Crisis Management Assistance Team website at www.fcmat.org.
On March 4, 2019, the California Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the appellate court’s decision in Cal Fire 2881 v. California Public Employees’ Retirement System, upholding the 2012 elimination of a pension benefit for public employees. The narrow decision in favor of the State will not have much effect on school boards and county offices of education, but the Court’s decision is still significant.
In 2012, the Legislature enacted the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 to address existing underfunding of the public pension systems. PEPRA made several revisions to the laws governing public employee pensions, including eliminating the ability to purchase “additional retirement service” credit, commonly referred to as “airtime.” The ability to purchase ARS credit began in 2003, when many public employees were granted the opportunity to buy up to five years of additional retirement service credit by paying for the cost to the system of the additional years, without needing to work those years. A local firefighters union for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, challenged PEPRA’s elimination of the ability to purchase ARS credit, arguing that the opportunity to purchase ARS credit was a vested right protected by the contract clause of the California Constitution.
Public employers and employees alike have watched closely to see how this ruling will affect them. For decades, the “California Rule” has guaranteed public employees the benefits of their pensions — courts have found that public employees have vested rights in their pension benefits, and that these pension benefits are protected compensation. Essentially, pension benefits in California cannot be reduced unless offset by a benefit such that the employee is not disadvantaged.
The statistics are dire, but research into the roles of treatment, education and community offer hope that these trends can be reversed. In CSBA’s new governance brief “Why Schools Hold the Promise for Adolescent Mental Health,” Deborah Anderluh, formerly of the Steinberg Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing sound public policy on mental health issues, posits that schools play a central role in the solution. Board members are in a unique position to influence the curriculum, policies and community partnerships that shape the school environment. The brief offers a summary of the latest alarming findings in youth mental health, context on why schools have become a vital link in supporting youth mental health, and best practices and resources to help districts address this pressing issue.
To help ensure representation for these students, CSBA’s Board of Directors includes a Director-at-Large ethnic position for Asian Pacific Islander. Gino Kwok, a board member for Hacienda La Puente Unified School District, was recently elected to this Director role. The east San Gabriel Valley district, from which Kwok graduated, serves nearly 20,000 students. California School News talked with Kwok about his leadership position, background and goals for California’s education system.
A block of rooms has been secured at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa located in Monterey with a room rate of $210 single/double. To make your hotel reservation online, please visit www.theccbe.org/Events/CCBEAnnualConference or call the hotel at 831-372-1234 and mention you are with CCBE Fall Conference to receive the group rate. Please note that the cutoff date to reserve a room through the group block is Aug. 12, 2019. This room block is limited, so be sure to make your room reservation today! Once this room block is sold out, rooms may still be available at the prevailing rates.
Nominations for the 2019 Outstanding Legislator Awards program must be received no later than Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019, to be considered. The nomination form, a resolution or written explanation of why the nominated individual should be honored can be sent to ccbe@csba.org. It is important that your nominations include as much specific information as possible, and highlight activities with a direct, beneficial effect on county offices of education and their students. For more information please visit www.theccbe.org/Events/OutstandingLegislatorAward.
- Ensure communications and updates are available in languages commonly spoken by district students and families
- Be prepared to offer refuge to nonstudents and serve as a community shelter
- Prepare for donations
- Help find care and activities for children when schools are closed
Candidates must serve on a CCBE-member county office of education board, and nominations must come from either the governing board of a CCBE-member county office of education or from an individual member of a CCBE-member board.
Nomination and candidate application forms for 2020 CCBE Officers must be received by CCBE no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 31. Candidates will be scheduled for interviews during the CCBE Annual Conference, Sept. 13-15 in Monterey.
Elections will be held at the General Membership Breakfast Meeting in December during CSBA’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show in San Diego. Nomination materials can be found at www.theccbe.org, or by contacting CCBE at ccbe@csba.org
Many districts set guidelines for the attire that participants in graduation exercises can wear. With the passage of Assembly Bill 1248 in 2018, students now may wear traditional tribal regalia or recognized objects of religious or cultural adornment at school graduation ceremonies. “Adornment” is defined as something that is attached to or worn with, but not replacing, the cap and gown. “Cultural” is defined as “recognized practices and traditions of a certain group of people.” Examples include, but are not limited to, eagle feathers worn by Native American students or Kente cloths worn by African American students as signs of the importance of the occasion. The law was not intended to allow students to adorn the traditional cap and gown with any item of their choosing.
Under the new law, local educational agencies retain the discretion to prohibit an item that is likely to cause a substantial disruption of the ceremony. It is recommended that LEAs require advance approval of any adornment so that these determinations are not made immediately before the ceremony. For example, CSBA’s sample board policy BP 5127 – Graduation Ceremonies and Activities, updated in March 2019 to reflect the new law includes optional language that students wishing to wear such adornments seek permission from the superintendent or designee at least 14 days prior to the graduation ceremony. Furthermore, high school students and parents/guardians should be given sufficient notice of the deadline and approval process.
With California’s passage of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64) in 2016 comes a fund that will use marijuana tax revenue to subsidize such programs across the state. Of interest to districts and school boards is that 2019 will be first year the state has enough money to fund youth programs through the Youth Education, Prevention, Early Intervention and Treatment Account, according to the State Controller’s office.
“There is really not any money in the Youth Fund right now, but the discussions on how to design it are underway,” said Susan Bonilla, state director for the Council for a Strong America.
After funding the law’s implementation and enforcement, 60 percent of remaining Prop 64 funds are to be allocated to the Department of Health Care Services to fund youth prevention and education programs. There are no funds dedicated specifically to the California Department of Education, but any remaining funds may go to schools for drug prevention programs. The setup of Prop 64 is further explored in the CSBA governance brief “The Impact of Marijuana Legalization on K-12: Current Status and Future Expectations.”
Masters in Governance Course 5
California Council of School Attorneys Spring Workshop
Masters in Governance Course 1
Masters in Governance Course 2
May Delegate Assembly Meeting
PIVOT Smarter School Spending Master Class
PIVOT Smarter School Spending Master Class
Masters in Governance Course 3
Masters in Governance Course 4 & 5
