Ventura County School Boards Association - February 2020 Newsletter

Ventura County School Boards Association Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2020

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

Happy 2020 from Your VCSBA President

By Veronica Robles-Solis

Happy New Year! On behalf of the Ventura County School Board Association, I would like to welcome you back. I hope that each of you had a wonderful break and enjoyed special time with friends and family.

The topic of our first dinner meeting will be the issue of vaping. As board members, our number one priority is the health and safety of our students, family and staff. As we welcome our students back to school, I wanted to bring this very important health concern to your attention. Over the past year, the use of e-cigarettes and/or vaping has skyrocketed across the country, including among our middle and high school students. Vaping has become a serious health threat and a disruptive element in our classrooms and schools.

We’re fortunate to have two distinguished speakers who will tell us more about the vaping crisis and what can be done about it. We’ll hear from Katherine Kasmir from Building Resilience and Inclusion Through Engagement (BRITE) and Selfa Saucedo with Ventura County Behavioral Health. Hope to see you at our March 9 ^th dinner meeting.

Celebrating school board members!

As a salute and thanks to the more than 5,000 California school board members in California, both at the district and county office levels, CSBA designated January 2020 as School Board Recognition Month. This was an opportunity to build community awareness and understanding about the crucial role an elected board member assumes in a representative democracy. Our commitment to service and public education affects the present and future lives of our children and our communities.

Thank you for your dedication to your community, but most importantly to our children.

Veronica Robles-Solis, VCSBA President

Oxnard School District

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

The 2020 Census

High Stakes for Ventura County Schools

By Stan Mantooth

Two thousand dollars per person - each year for the next ten years. That’s how much federal funding Ventura County stands to lose for everyone who goes uncounted in the upcoming 2020 US Census. A significant amount that funding flows to school programs including special education, early education and school-provided meals. In addition, the census will influence funding for everything from roads to police to senior programs. It also determines the number of seats California gets in the US Congress. The census is all the more important when you consider that the next chance to get an accurate count won’t come for another decade.

That’s precisely why there’s an unprecedented campaign underway in Ventura County to ensure that everyone is counted in the 2020 Census. Representatives from Ventura County’s government, business, education, nonprofit and faith communities have been organizing for months to spread the word about the importance of the census and to ensure that no one is overlooked. This is an effort that should transcend political divisions since counting everyone who lives in the United States - regardless of age or citizenship status - is required by the US Constitution.

How can you help?

Many of you have already played an active role by voting in favor of school board resolutions in support of the census, and we thank you for that. But there is much more work to be done as Census Day approaches on April 1. Several local school districts have already committed to promoting the census by holding parent meetings, hosting census-taking kiosks at school sites and distributing flyers. VCOE is in the process of providing paper flyers in both English and Spanish for every student in the county to take home to their families and we’ll be making electronic flyers available as well. Please use your platform as a trustee to support and encourage these efforts. Here is some key information you can use to answer concerns about the census and promote participation.

How will the census work?

One census form needs to be completed for every household. For the first time ever, the public is being encouraged to complete the census online. Starting in mid-March, people will receive a code in the mail allowing them to complete the census using their computer, tablet or cell phone. Schools are encouraged to make their Wi-Fi available for parents to use to complete the census with their own devices. For those who lack a device, the census can be completed over the phone in multiple languages. Households that fail to complete the census can expect to get a knock on the door from a census taker starting in late April. For anyone who would rather not have a government worker visit their home, the best way to avoid it is to complete the census online or by phone.

Who should be counted?

No matter who lives in a home, they should all be counted. This includes relatives of any kind and any non-relatives who are living in the home. Young children have been significantly underreported in the past, so it’s especially important that all kids get counted. This includes foster children and the children of any friends or relatives. Babies count too - even if they’re still in the hospital, as long as they were born on or before April 1, 2020.

Is the census safe?

Responses to the census are safe and confidential. Census information is protected by law and cannot be shared with law enforcement or immigration enforcement agencies - not the FBI, ICE, or even local police. By law, census responses cannot be used against people by any government agency or court in any way. In addition, census information may not be used to determine eligibility for government benefits. The census will NOT ask any questions about citizenship status.

Now that you know more about the census, we hope you will join us in encouraging everyone to participate. A complete and accurate count is good for our schools, our communities and our nation. You can find a variety of census resources for educators on the VCOE website at www.vcoe.org/census .

Stan Mantooth

Ventura County Superintendent of Schools

Chair, Ventura County P-20 Council

SACRAMENTO REPORT

Budget Plan Includes $3.4 Billion Increase for Schools

By Charles Weis, Ph.D.

CSBA continues to advocate for full and fair funding for California’s schools, facilities bond funds, pension expense relief, charter school transparency and reform, defeating unfunded mandates, and i ncreasing federal funding for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Early Childhood programs. CSBA supports the $15 billion school facilities bond on the March ballot, but has not taken a position on the yet-to-be-qualified CTA supported Schools and Communities First split roll tax measure that would increase corporate property tax being planned for the November ballot. Some of CSBA’s efforts can be seen in the 2020-21 budget proposed by the governor.

The Governor's Budget Plan

On January 10 Governor Gavin Newsom released his $222.2 billion statewide spending package for the 2020-21 fiscal year that will form the basis of budgeting discussions and negotiations for the production of the May 15 Budget Revision, June 15 legislative budget adoption, and July 1 signature of the enacted budget by the Governor. It allocates $21 billion in total statewide reserves (the rainy day fund) and makes investments in climate change, healthcare, and the homelessness crisis. Upon release, he touted a $3.4 billion increase in education funding with a significant portion focused on special education, teacher preparation, and early education.

The Department of Finance calculated the Prop 98 guarantee at $84 billion, an increase of $2.9 billion over the 2019-20 guarantee. The Local Control Funding Formula is to receive an additional $1.2 billion per a cost-of-living-allowance (COLA) of 2.29 percent, which is less than the 2019-20 COLA but higher than the Legislative Analyst’s forecast. Additionally, the proposed budget includes $900 million for teacher preparation and another $900 million for special education base funding. Unfortunately, no new funds were provided to offset the continued increases in employer pension liabilities.

Teacher Recruitment and Training

Newsom proposes funds for new teacher preparation and recruitment focused on Educator Workforce Investment and Development grants prioritizing teachers for special education; multi-tiered systems of support; mental health; English learner support; social and emotional learning and restorative practices; affirmative supports for LGBTQ+ and other marginalized students; and STEM. In addition, new funds will support Teacher Residency Programs like those started in collaboration with CSUCI in the Rio and Oxnard school districts this year; the Teacher Credential Award program and the Classified School Employee Credential program; and suspension of fees for administration of teacher preparation and induction programs.

Special Education

New special education funds are proposed to be distributed based on a new three-year rolling average daily attendance to SELPAs; a 15 percent increase in General Fund base funding for special education; $250 million for children 3 to 5 years old with exceptional needs; one-time funds for preschool-aged children with disabilities served; and funds for review of SELPA governance, accountability, work groups, and dyslexia research and training.

Early Education

New Early Childhood Education funds are proposed to be used to create a new Department of Early Childhood Development at CDE; $127 million for ongoing non-Proposition 98 General Fund for an additional 10,000 non-LEA state preschool spaces; $75 million for preschool facilities; $53.8 million for non-Proposition 98 General Fund CalWORKS Stages 2 and 3 Child Care.

Governor Newsom’s budget proposal anticipates a fairly positive economic forecast, however, some economists have predicted a downturn in the near future as we are in the longest non-recessionary period in recent history. Please use the information above to focus your advocacy efforts through CSBA with our representatives.

Charles Weis, Ph.D.

VCSBA Vice-President, Legislation

Hueneme School Board

CONGRATULATIONS!

Meritorious Service Award Honorees

Please join us at the March 9 dinner meeting as we honor the following School Board Members for their years of dedicated service to public education.

Verland Thayne Wipple , Ojai Unified School District • 8 Years

Barbara Laifman , Oak Park Unified School District • 12 Years

Richard Kennedy , Ocean View School District • 16 Years

Denis O’Leary , Oxnard School District • 16 Years

Robert Fulkerson , Somis Union School District • 32 Years

SAVE THE DATE

March 9 Dinner Meeting

VCSBA dinner meetings are a wonderful opportunity for you to grow as board members. We encourage you to attend with your superintendents, assistant superintendents and any other interested parties. Please join us so we can continue educating ourselves and do the best job possible of informing our communities about the important issues affecting education.

The Vaping Epidemic: How Do We Solve It?

March 9, 2020 • 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

VCOE Conference & Educational Services Center

5100 Adolfo Road, Camarillo

CLICK HERE FOR THE FLYER

Future Dinner Meeting Dates

Monday, April 20, 2020

2020 Census/Climate Change

VCSBA NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Your Chance to Become a VCSBA Officer

Attention all school board members! The VCSBA Nominating Committee will solicit candidates for the VCSBA President, VP Programs, VP Legislation, Treasurer and Secretary.

If you are interested in becoming an Officer of the VCSBA please email VCSBA President Veronica Robles -Solis at vrobles-solis@oxnardsd.org or any of the members of the nominating committee (contact info is below).

Christina Urias , Santa Paula Unified

curias@santapaulaunified.org

Sabrena Rodriguez , Ventura Unified

sabrena.rodriguez@venturausd.org

Debra Cordes , Oxnard School District

dcordes@oxnardsd.org

The Nominating Committee will meet immediately following the March 9 dinner meeting (at 8:30 pm). The remaining work of the committee can be done via phone and email as members look for candidates. The Nominating Committee will announce the candidates for VCSBA Executive Board at the April 20, 2020 dinner meeting.