News Briefs | FYI | March 7, 2022

Association of California School Administrators

News Briefs | FYI

March 7, 2022

ACSA’s Leadership Assembly met virtually Feb. 17.

New members for ACSA ED search committee chosen

ACSA’s Board of Directors has chosen additional members for a committee that will complete the search for ACSA’s next executive director.

During its Feb. 18 meeting, the board ratified four new members to the interview committee:

Jim Cloney, ACSA board member representing Region 1
Julie Vitale, Director-at-Large, Region 18
Juan Cruz, ACSA board member representing Region 8
Derrick Chau, ACSA board member representing Region 16

These four board members join the executive board to round out the interview committee, which is expected to receive a slate of vetted candidates the week of March 21. The interview committee will then make a final decision on which candidates to interview. Interviews are scheduled for April 4-6.

The board also approved bestowing an Employee Lifetime Service Recognition to Laura Preston, who served ACSA members for 21 years as a Legislative Advocate in the Governmental Relations Department. She left ACSA in October to become the Policy, Advocacy and Legislative practice leader for the F3 Law Group. This recognition was designed for staff members with at least 20 years of service who the board believes made contributions to education.

During the virtual Leadership Assembly held the prior day on Feb. 17, ACSA leaders heard presentations on next steps for ACSA’s Strategic Plan and heard from the candidates for ACSA Vice President, Cali Binks and Rafael Plascencia.

They also heard a presentation on Equity and Access from Val Verde Unified School District.

Poll finds most parents support masking, vaccination

A new poll finds strong bipartisan agreement on the negative impact the pandemic has had on education, with close to three in four voters feeling those effects on educational quality in their local area.

The finding is one of many in a poll conducted by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley that assessed voter’s views on COVID in schools.

While the majority of parents (79 percent) support in-person instruction in schools, a good portion (37 percent) of parents express that they are not confident their children are safe from COVID while in schools, with this concern being strongest among Latino and Black parents.

The poll found two-to-one majorities of state voters approve of COVID vaccinations being added to the list of required vaccines for K-12 students and masking in schools, support varies based on respondent’s party and ideology. Greater than eight in 10 of Democrats and liberal voters are supportive while one in four of Republican and conservative voters approve.

“These results suggest that while concerns about the impact of Covid on education span all major voter subgroups, big partisan differences remain when voters are asked how schools should respond to the pandemic,” said IGS co-director Eric Schickler, in a release.

On the importance of COVID vaccination, 64 percent of parents felt it was essential or important. Asian parents are more likely to say it is essential for their child to be vaccinated at 71 percent, with support declining to 51 percent for Latino parents, 43 percent for Black parents and 42 percent for white parents.

The poll also found strong support (66 percent) for hiring counselors and providing better training for teachers to deal with the stress and emotional problems facing students.

The poll surveyed 8,937 California registered voters in English and Spanish from Feb. 3-10, 2022. Read the full poll results at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0669t7s7.

Proposed bill would require districts to report salaries

Legislation introduced in February would require school districts to report the annual salaries of employees to the State Controller’s office.

According to its authors, SB 924 would make school districts comply with the same requirements for local agencies, including each county, city and special district. The bill is authored by Senator Steve Glazer, D-Contra Costa, Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, and Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, R-Yucaipa.

The legislation would also require the Controller to annually publish this information on its website.

Under current law, school districts are required only to report financial and salary information to the State Superintendent. Some districts and other agencies have voluntarily reported to the Controller, according to a news release from Glazer’s office. In all, only 23 percent of California school districts in 2021 reported their annual compensation reports to the State Controller.

“School districts should be disclosing the pay of their top administrators just like every other public entity,” Glazer said, in a news release. “They have used a loophole in the law to prevent easily accessible public disclosure. This legislation will close that gap.”

FYI

Proposals due for inaugural Lead With Pride Summit

ACSA is welcoming proposals from prospective presenters for the first ever Lead With Pride Summit, which will be May 4-6 in Oceanside. Proposals are due at 5 p.m. Friday, March 18. Should you have any questions, please reach out to Elaine Cervantez through email at ecervantez@acsa.org or by phone or text at (916) 329-3824. Submit at bit.ly/3HRwWoa.

CAAASA conference to be held March 30-April 1

The California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators will host its 2022 Statewide Professional Development Summit on March 30-April 1 at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel. The theme will be “An Equitable Approach to Aligning Education and Health.” Find more information and register at www.caaasa.org/2022.

Nominate classified staff for recognition program

Applications for the 2022 Classified School Employees of the Year Program are now open. Presented by the CDE, the Classified School Employees Association and California Casualty, the program highlights contributions of classified school employees. The program identifies and honors exemplary classified school employees throughout California in the following nine occupational specialties: paraprofessional, clerical and administrative services, transportation services, food and nutrition services, custodial and maintenance services, security services, health and student services, technical services and skilled trades. Deadline for applications is Friday, April 8, 2022. The application and more information is available on the CSEY web page, https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cl/.