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School District and County Office of Education Trustees Highlight Legislative Action Day with Rally in Support of Public Education

Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) honored as “Freshmen Legislator of the Year” by CSBA

SACRAMENTO, Calif., (March 15, 2016) – Local education officials from across the state punctuated a day of advocacy for public education with a rally on the Capitol steps featuring Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and Assemblymember Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) along with CSBA President Chris Ungar and CSBA CEO and Executive Director Vernon M. Billy.

Both Harper and Allen, a former school board member who CSBA named “Freshman Legislator of the Year” earlier in the day, excited a crowd of nearly 200 school district and county office of education trustees by emphasizing the importance of policy that prioritizes public education.

The rally was the centerpiece of Legislative Action Day, an annual event hosted by CSBA to provide its members with enhanced access to legislative policymakers. Throughout the day, trustees met with legislators to discuss pending legislation on a variety of issues such as fixing the school district reserve cap (which limits the amount of money districts can save for a rainy day), California’s teacher shortage crisis (SB 62, SB 915 and others), charter school oversight, professional development for school district staff (SB 871) and topics of special importance to PreK-12 education such as adequate funding.

“Every day, our trustees are grappling with the effects of decisions made in Sacramento,” CSBA President Ungar said. “We’re on the front lines of public education’s policy battles, fighting for policy that’s good for students, for families and for California. Legislative Action Day provides an opportunity for us — the people who hear regularly from parents, teachers, staff, and students—to advocate for solutions that meet their needs.”