Vantage Point: Getting back on track to a stronger CSBA
By:
Frank Pugh
Published: September 7, 2010
A young boy walks onto the diamond with a bucket of baseballs in one hand and a bat in the other. He stands at home plate, tosses a ball in the air and cries out, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!” He uncorks a mighty swing. The ball falls to the ground, unhit. The boy sets himself and yells even louder: “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!” He tosses another ball into the air, with the same result. But he doesn’t give up—one more yell, a little spit on the hands, one more toss, one more mighty swing … and one more strike.
The boy then gets a gleam in his eye and a smile on his face, and exclaims, “I’m the greatest PITCHER in the world!”
The title of that short film is “Optimism,” and members of the CSBA Delegate Assembly will remember that I showed it last December, during my speech as the incoming president of this great association. And right about now, a lot of you may be wondering just what there is for me to be optimistic about.
Well, let me tell you—right now, there is a lot to be optimistic about. And when I say that, it doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten everything that’s happened at CSBA in the last few months. This has been a terrible time for everyone concerned. The Board of Directors has taken responsibility for its role in what happened, and apologized. I’ve let many of you know personally that I’m sorry, and told you that I’m prepared to do what I can to make things right. We all know that mistakes were made, and that things didn’t turn out the way we planned. I’m ready to move forward, and I hope you’re ready to move forward with me.
For the last couple of years, we’ve been talking about turning CSBA into a remarkable association. This isn’t quite the way we were thinking it would happen, but as we’ve all heard before, with crisis comes opportunity. And right now, we have a great opportunity. The members of CSBA, the delegates of CSBA, the staff of CSBA, and the leadership of CSBA—we can get this train moving down the track once again.
And let’s not forget what CSBA accomplished this year, before recent events grabbed everyone's attention—the school finance lawsuit, the advocacy efforts that protected hundreds of school districts from budget deferrals, the Cash Reserve Program that provided $600 million to districts to ease budget shortfalls, and the unrivaled policy services on which so many school districts and county offices of education rely. And those are just a few examples.
We can do better. You will rightly demand that we do better. This is a chance for us at the leadership level to hear your ideas, to build a new culture, and to create a new CSBA that is stronger and more vibrant than ever before. I really believe that we can do it.
But then again, I’m an optimist.