The annual convening of county board members from across the state at the County Board Member Services Conference revisited valued traditions of previous years and added new twists, like preconference sessions, such as Key Elements of the Brown Act and California School Board Ethics trainings, the latter satisfying a state mandate all California school trustees must complete by Jan. 1, 2025. The preconference workshop, Advanced Advocacy and Legislative Leadership Seminar, trod new ground as CSBA Governmental Relations Chief Patrick O’Donnell, Legislative Director Chris Reefe and External Affairs Director Raquel Maden shared with attendees the intricacies of effective political advocacy.
The preconference activities provided an engaging introduction to the first official General Session of the conference, which CSBA President Albert Gonzalez kicked off with a welcome address, followed by CSBA’s CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy, who introduced longtime partner the Capitol Advisors Group for the Pure Politics panel chronicling the most significant developments from the last year of public school politics. Billy also introduced longtime Butte County school board member and former CSBA President Mike Walsh in his new capacity as the first CSBA Director of County Board Member Services. Walsh was selected for this new, higher-level staff position tasked with programming and day-to-day support of county members because the continued growth of County Board Member Services requires an experienced hand with intimate knowledge of the county landscape.
That landscape was covered in detail throughout the conference in a variety of sessions focused on five main concepts: advocacy and community engagement; the legal duties of county boards; funding, finance and human capital; shared governance; and wellness, safety and learning.Topics included charter authorization and renewal, the use of CSBA sample policies, assessing interdistrict attendance appeals, elevating community schools, budget approval, accessing governance resources from CSBA, social and emotional learning, literacy, educational innovations, STEAM, setting the superintendent’s salary, Title IX, education workforce housing, mental health, and cross-agency collaboration to create pathways of success for youth.
The closing General Session on Sept. 15 provided a strong finish to the conference that included presentation and feedback on the preliminary recommendations from the Transitional Working Group on the future of CSBA County Board Member Services. But perhaps the most impactful moments were found in a challenging, heartbreaking and essential presentation from the Monterey County Board of Education, From Awareness to Action: Tackling Human Trafficking Together, that left the crowd with much to consider and take home to implement in their own counties.
A full recap of the event will be published in the October newsletter.
