These bargaining conflicts in some of California’s largest urban school districts are representative of the funding crisis looming large in districts across the state. The undeniable fact is that these strikes — and threats of others possibly to come — are occurring because of decades of underinvestment in our public schools, and because the Legislature often views the Proposition 98 school funding formula as a ceiling versus a floor for funding.

In essence, the state has been “shorting” our schools and our students of the funding that they deserve — and it is a “big short.” While California’s economy and state general fund revenues have been growing at a steady pace, it has recently been noted by several of my colleagues that schools in California have been experiencing a “silent recession.” While this recession may have been “silent” for the general public, CSBA has been sounding the alarm about our burgeoning education funding crisis for more than a decade.

he United States Supreme Court has long recognized that local government agencies with at-large voting schemes (i.e., where voters throughout the entire jurisdiction vote for open governing body seats) rather than by-district voting (i.e., each voter only votes for the open seat in his/her district) may operate to minimize or cancel out the voting strength of minorities. Section 2 of the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 targets, among other things, these discriminatory at-large election schemes. By enacting the California Voting Rights Act (California Elections Code §§14027-14032), the California Legislature intended to further expand protections against vote dilution over those provided by FVRA.

Passed in 2001, the CVRA seeks to address at-large voting systems in local government agencies including school districts, wherever there is evidence of a history of “racially polarized voting” and/or vote dilution of members of “a protected class” (i.e. members of a racial or ethnic minority). This can be shown if the following elements are present: 1) a voting bloc of protected class members; 2) a bloc of voters outside of the protected class; and 3) candidates favored by the protected class voters that have historically not been elected. In theory, transitioning from an at-large to a by-district election system not only increases the strength of the minority vote, but also lowers the barrier for entry to run for a seat.

t is 15 minutes before the first bell rings at Central Coast High School — an alternative school along the Central Coast overlooking Monterey Bay in Seaside, California — and the school is bustling with students arriving early to socialize, talk with their favorite teachers or receive extra academic supports, and eat breakfast in the newly created “Student Lounge and Career Center,” a space that evolved from a classroom into a warm, welcoming environment thanks to staff and student creativity and outside donations.

The school still has ways to go, but this is a vast improvement over three years ago when many students struggled with arriving late or missing first period all together.

Central Coast High School, along with the Community Day School and Independent Study, are part of the Monterey Peninsula Educational Options Program. Central Coast High School is a continuation school serving 11th- and 12th-graders not on track for graduation. The Community Day School has two classrooms that serve middle and high school students who have been expelled or referred due to extreme behavior. Lastly, Independent Study serves students ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade who are looking for flexibility and an alternate approach to learning.

or many teachers, job evaluation is a once-a-year event that provides inconsistent feedback on educator practice and has little connection to professional development or student achievement. A San Diego County Office of Education program aims to change that paradigm and boost student success by helping teachers to be their best in the classroom.

“The work highlights that evaluation is a process, not a single event — it’s a collaborative effort, not a checklist,” said San Diego COE Human Resources Coordinator Jill Roth-Tellier.

Known as the Educator Effectiveness and Evaluation Project, this collaborative effort centers on partnerships between labor and management, with districts and bargaining units working together as part of a two-year collaborative effort. The process includes a series of academies and facilitated work sessions leading to an individualized, local evaluation system. To join the E3 project, a district must sign a commitment letter that includes a participation agreement from the local teachers. Districts then select an 8-to-10-person team with equal representation from teacher stakeholder groups (special education, curricular departments, grade levels, non-classroom assignments) and site/district administrators.

whole-child, community-centric approach is helping youths near Lake Tahoe take on adverse experiences — from poverty to substance abuse to mental health disturbances — and better equip them both for academic success and life.

Even with its scenic mountain setting, Szczurek said Tahoe-Truckee USD’s realities are not dissimilar to those of other rural districts. Composed of parts of two counties, Nevada and Placer, and spread across rugged mountainous terrain, district students come from a wide-range of socioeconomic backgrounds and include a large number of English learners. Many students have parents who work in multiple seasonal jobs without long-term security, which contributes to health and dental insurance obstacles. Students also report a high incidence of depression, and, due to geography and winter weather, have trouble accessing traditional social services.

The will to protect our students and end school violence is strong, but it will take a movement of courageous and proactive school leaders stepping up and leading the shift to create a more positive school culture. Bridg-it was created, designed and constantly being tweaked to support this movement.

This year alone, total spending on school safety nationwide is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and for good reason. In the first 21 weeks of 2018, we saw on average one school shooting per week where someone was hurt or killed. The safety climate in schools is worse when taking into consideration daily bullying and online bullying, identity threats, sexual misconduct, and other forms of violence.

A study analyzing the results of the California Healthy Kids Survey found that schools with unsafe learning environments face major financial losses. California school districts receive funding based on the average number of students in the classroom and absenteeism cuts into that funding. Approximately 10.4% of secondary school students in California reported missing school because they were bullied or felt unsafe, costing the state an estimated $276 million in one year.

worn in Jan. 7, 2019, as the first woman elected Lieutenant Governor in California history, Eleni Kounalakis will look to play a key role in helping the state better connect its early, K-12 and higher education systems. As Lieutenant Governor, Kounalakis sits on the California State University Board of Trustees and University of California Board of Regents. She recently finished a statewide “listening tour” of public universities across the state.

California Schools talked with Kounalakis about her passion for education, diplomatic experience overseas and her historic campaign victory.

Santa Ana USD
John Palacio

Santa Paula USD
Pam Thompson

Santa Rita Union ESD
Diego Jacob Sandoval
Sarah Turner
Shelly Morr

Savanna ESD
John Shook