Bond Oversight Done Right –___ – -- =- - - Issue 57 • June 12, 2023
S A V E • T H E • D A T E
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August 19th Conference for New CBOC Members
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October 14th 3rd Annual Statewide Conference
CABOC's Best Practices Template for CBOC Bylaws

Bylaws are rules adopted by an independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) to establish its basic structure and manner of operations.
-- Most of the “bylaws” adopted for Proposition 39 K-14 CBOCs are done by district governing boards, not the CBOC. These governing board-adopted bylaws may be restrictive and prevent the CBOC from being an independent oversight committee. Bylaws approved by a district governing board do not establish an independent CBOC as required by Education Code §15278(a).-
-- An independent CBOC must approve its bylaws. An independent CBOC is not influenced or controlled by others in opinion, conduct, thinking, or acting for oneself. An independent CBOC can act for oneself or on one’s own. -- 
-- After extensive peer review, the CABOC Board of Directors has just approved Best Practices Bylaws, its first Best Practices document. They provide CBOCs with a template that can be easily customized for their own use.
-- The Best Practices Bylaws articulate the role, duties, and purpose of the committee, its place in the organization of the district, its relationship with the district, and the need for the district to provide the committee with the resources, support, and cooperation required to accomplish its mission.

The Best Practices Bylaws includes the following key provisions:
  • A member absent without a good reason for two or more consecutive meetings or three or more meetings in a year shall be defined as inactive and will not be counted to establish a meeting quorum.
  • Shall meet as often as deemed necessary to conduct its business.
  • Post on the website their meeting schedule 12 months in advance.
  • Post and distribute draft minutes within two weeks after the meeting date.
  • Annually examine the CBOC’s website to ensure it is current and up-to-date.
  • No later than 60 days after the committee submits a recommendation to the governing board, the committee shall record the board response in its minutes.
  • The CBOC committee shall participate in the auditor selection process.
  • The committee shall have an entrance and exit conference with each auditor.
  • The district shall simultaneously provide the committee with draft and final copies of audits as they are delivered to the district.
  • The District shall provide independent legal counsel, responsible only to the committee, to advise the committee on relevant legal issues.
  • The term for officers shall begin at the beginning of the regular meeting after the election, except at the initial meeting, the term will start immediately.
  • Two committee members can place an action item on the next meeting agenda.

CABOC Best Practices CBOC Bylaws
Join CABOC and Help Launch Our CBOC Training Program
The passage of Prop 39 lowered the voting threshold from 2/3 to 55%, mandating that all Prop 39 bond programs must be subject to independent citizen oversight. In theory, that requirement seems sound but practical experience has shown that such oversight is often less than fully effective. Nothing in the public venue is more important than our students attending schools in safe and efficient facilities, but every tax dollar must be spent wisely, and hundreds of billions are at stake.
Founding membership is free and has these benefits:
• Elect the CABOC Board of Directors. • Make decisions on the purpose and role of CABOC.
• Priority access to the Help Desk. • Peer review of FAQs. • Input on Best Practices.
• Review online training videos. • Participation in weekly “Ask the Experts” seminars. 
CABOC | California Association of Bond Oversight Committees | E-mail | BondOversight.org