Legislative Action: Governance teams and allies lobby for public schools
Published: June 1, 2010
Determined to speak out against cuts in state funding that have forced the layoff of its entire counseling staff and 5 percent of its teachers, a five-member team from El Centro Elementary School District made the long trip from Imperial County to Sacramento for CSBA’s 2010 Legislative Action Conference May 23-24.
The board president, district superintendent, parents and the head of the local teachers union joined some 200 other governance leaders from around the state for two days of training and lobbying at the association’s annual advocacy event at the state capital.
“We can provide a wide range of perspectives about what our families are going through and how critical our schools are to the well-being of our community,” El Centro school board president Jack Dunnam said as he and his team readied their lobbying message. “I think having our superintendent, parents and teachers on hand to describe what’s happening to our schools emphasizes the importance of our message.”
Briefings: State policy and politics
CSBA staff and key Sacramento insiders—including California Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor and Rick Miller, former deputy superintendent of the California Department of Education—gave conference participants detailed analyses of the fiscal challenges facing the state’s public schools.
Rick Pratt, CSBA’s assistant executive director of governmental relations, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s spending proposal would cut the Proposition 98 school funding guarantee by $4.1 billion and reduce per-pupil spending by nearly 12 percent when compared to 2008-09 levels. He charged that the governor has manipulated the numbers to support his inaccurate claim that his budget would maintain 2010-11 school funding at 2009-10 levels.
CSBA Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin warned that discussions with lawmakers and legislative aides could be difficult. “You will encounter an environment that, if you can believe it, is worse than last year,” he said. “And last year was worse than the year before.”
CSBA President Frank Pugh urged his fellow advocates to take a bold stand on behalf of children. “When you go across the street to the Capitol, I want you armed for bear,” he said. “Take no prisoners. Your efforts here will have an impact and make a difference.”
Meeting with elected officials and their staff the next day, Legislative Action participants stressed four points:
- The governor’s budget proposes a $2.4 billion cut to K-12 schools—$400 per student—in 2010-11, on top of $17 billion in cuts to schools already imposed since September 2008.
- The governor’s proposal would also gouge school funding by requiring districts to spend about $1.9 billion of 2010-11 Proposition 98 funding to cover 2009-10 expenses.
- Current law requires the state to repay schools in 2010-11 for years in which the Proposition 98 guarantee was not met. State law also specifies that the Proposition 98 minimum funding guarantee would not be reduced as the result of the gas tax swap—part of complex legislation signed into law earlier this year to plug holes in the state budget. Legislators need to follow the laws they passed.
- Revenues need to be part of the solution to the state’s epic budget shortfalls.
The state Legislature is required to approve a budget by June 15, but it has rarely met that deadline in recent years. The new fiscal year begins July 1.
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