State LCFF experts share advice, insights at AEC
LEAs urged to share LCAP implementation plans at pivotal Jan. 16 SBE meeting
Published: December 10, 2013
The state’s new Local Control Funding Formula for K-12 schools commanded considerable attention at CSBA’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show last week, with 10 workshops and sessions offering expert insight and advice on aspects of the new funding mechanism and speakers referring to it in other venues.
At one session, for example, State Board of Education member Sue Burr and Jannelle Kubinec, from the state’s LCFF implementation contractor WestEd, fielded question after question about LCFF’s impact on district budgets and practice. The funding formula generates supplemental funds for the education of English learners, students from low-income families and foster youth, and local educational agencies must each develop a Local Control and Accountability Plan showing how they will “improve or increase” investments for those subgroups in proportion to the extra funds they generate.
Burr said she expects the State Board to clarify the requirement when it considers draft LCAP regulations at its meeting Jan. 16 in Sacramento. In the meantime, local boards are advised to talk with their communities about what services students need and leave the precise spending breakdown for later.
“There are many folks out there trying to complicate this far beyond what it needs to be,” said Burr, who warned that if local boards fail to embrace the responsibility to ensure equity for all their students, they could lose the flexibility the law intended.
Like many speakers during the three-day conference, Burr stressed how important it is for the State Board to hear from local boards. Echoing that message afterward, CSBA Legislative Advocate Andrea Ball said local governance teams must impress upon the State Board that local governance teams understand the LCFF is a new way of doing business.
“They need to make it clear that they are being transparent in their approach to the LCAP and budgeting—involving community, parents, teachers, staff, and others,” Ball said. Providing examples of their required outreach efforts will help. Some districts, such as Corona-Norco Unified School District, are hosting a number of small-group meetings with parents; others are holding large events with hundreds of people.
“While there is no one prescribed approach, there needs to be a conscious undertaking to reach out, engage and listen to the community as local boards and superintendents implement their LCAP,” Ball added.
Pinpointing what’s at stake, Executive Director Vernon M. Billy concluded the LCFF discussion during AEC’s State of the State panel discussion by saying: “If you are not communicating to the State Board at this January board meeting, you are in effect making a conscious decision to cede your authority to other folks. That’s the bottom line.”
Watch for the latest news and guidance on LCFF in the January issue of California School News, and review CSBA’s online LCFF toolkit (subscribe to updates here). Among the latest additions is a sample agenda and outline for a board study session to help governance teams reach out to their communities as they create their LCAP.