Editor's note: The ballot box issue
By:
Brian Taylor
Locally elected governing boards represent the most fundamental element of a democratic society and are the basic embodiment of representative government. They must act in the best interests of the children in their communities on a broad range of school issues. They set the vision for the school district, establish structures, adopt policies and the budget, hire the superintendent, engage in advocacy on behalf of children and schools, and hold the system accountable.
Those words led off my first magazine feature for CSBA six years ago; the story, in the spring 2006 issue of California Schools, addressed the threat to elected school governance posed by mayoral attempts to take over the state’s largest school district.
But those initial words weren’t my own. They come from CSBA’s Policy Platform, the document that our Delegate Assembly updates every two years to guide the association’s work. The Policy Platform still retains those noble words today and, while we didn’t plan it that way, they introduce California Schools’ Spring 2012 issue as well as any would.
All three of our main feature articles deal with local elections in one form or another:
In “Q&A: Governance”, staff writer Kristi Garrett interviews two CSBA governance consultants (and past presidents of the association), Leslie DeMersseman and Luan Burman Rivera, about the essential knowledge that new board members need. The information is especially useful for the 162 school board members who were newly elected last November, but it also serves as a refresher course for everyone on governance teams.
“Hitting the Wall”, frequent freelancer Scott LaFee’s contribution to this issue, looks at the dwindling amount of state funding available for school construction and modernization, as well as the obstacles school boards face in getting voter approval for local bond sales and parcel taxes.
“Drawing the Lines”, by staff writer Carol Brydolf, examines a controversial aspect of the electoral process itself—whether local officials should be elected at large or in trustee areas whose boundaries are supposed to reflect demographic spheres of influence under the California Voting Rights Act. The issue provoked extended discussion when CSBA’s Delegate Assembly met in San Diego last fall, which prompted Carol to pursue her story.
“I hear a lot of fear in the room,” Visalia Unified School District board member and CSBA Region 12 Delegate Donna Martin said then. The law’s intent was good, but many people believe the way it was written encourages litigation against panels elected at large; many lawsuits have been filed, and many more threatened.
Debra Brown, a senior legislative advocate with CSBA who’s worked on CVRA issues, offers this counsel in Carol’s story: “Our advice to districts is: ‘You need to deal with this.’ At the very least, districts need to assess their voting patterns to see what the data show.”
Voting patterns and data can also be studied for another ballot box issue: funding for school construction and modernization. “Hitting the Wall” gives a brief primer on the options: bond sales, facility districts and parcel taxes—all requiring voter approval—and developer fees.
The article’s subtitle anticipates the rest of the story: School construction and modernization funds are hard to get—but not impossible. Scott’s interviews with school governance team members, consultants, state officials and others offer advice on how to plan for facilities needs and obtain funding for them. More good news: Several of CSBA’s District Services partners, Financial Services partners and Business Affiliates can also help.
Kristi’s interview with Leslie and Luan allows those governance experts to speak directly to the reader—that’s you—and CSBA Executive Director Vernon M. Billy does the same in his column. BoardWise answers readers’ questions—and invites new questions at boardwise@csba.org. There’s much more in this issue, of course: a courageous board grappling with rapid growth, a Perspective on after-school programs and physical fitness, and a Sacramento County Office of Education’s “Class Act” that will tug at your heartstrings.
Check it all out for yourself—and thanks for reading!
Brian Taylor ( btaylor@csba.org ) is the managing editor of California Schools.