Introducing a new limited series about California schools: Budgeting for Educational Equity

08/06/21 • 24 min

We're excited to share with you this first episode of a new limited series podcast presented in collaboration by WestEd and CASBO. It's called Budgeting for Educational Equity.
About this new series
How can dedicated teams of educators, administrators, school business officials and entire school communities allocate resources to better meet the needs of all their students -- especially at this watershed moment when student needs have never been greater due to the pandemic and an influx of additional federal and state dollars available to support transformative change? That's the story we're here to share.
In this first "introductory" episode, host Jason Willis, director of strategic resource planning and implementation for WestEd and a former chief business official in several California school districts, invites guest experts, advocates and school district leaders to share how they think about and define resource equity in education as a way to help us get our "resource equity bearings."
Subscribe to the new episode at:

Guests in this episode include:

Christopher Edley, Jr., J.D., interim dean, U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Education; co-founder and president emeritus of The Opportunity Institute; professor and dean emeritus, U.C. Berkeley School of Law; former professor, Harvard Law School; and co-chair, National Commission on K-12 Excellence & Equity
Maria Echaveste, J.D., president and CEO, The Opportunity Institute; and former White House deputy chief of staff
Jayne Christakos, former chief business officer, San Bernardino City Unified School District
Marguerite Williams, Ed.D., former assistant superintendent of educational services, Adelanto Elementary School District; and former senior director of equity and diversity, Association of California School Administrators
Adela Madrigal Jones, superintendent, Sanger Unified School District
Michael Kirst, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University; and past president, California State Board of Education

Budgeting for Educational Equity is presented by the California Association of School Business Official (CASBO), the premier resource for professional development and best practices for more than 24,000 California school business leaders, in partnership with WestEd, a national nonprofit research development and service agency that works to promote excellence and equity in education.
Join the conversation on Twitter at @Budget4EdEquity
Budgeting for Educational Equity is written and produced by Paul Richman (your trusty guide on "Adventures in Ed Funding") and Jason Willis.

Guests in this episode include:

Christopher Edley, Jr., J.D., interim dean, U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Education; co-founder and president emeritus of The Opportunity Institute; professor and dean emeritus, U.C. Berkeley School of Law; former professor, Harvard Law School; and co-chair, National Commission on K-12 Excellence & Equity
Maria Echaveste, J.D., president and CEO, The Opportunity Institute; and former White House deputy chief of staff
Jayne Christakos, former chief business officer, San Bernardino City Unified School District
Marguerite Williams, Ed.D., former assistant superintendent of educational services, Adelanto Elementary School District; and former senior director of equity and diversity, Association of California School Administrators
Adela Madrigal Jones, superintendent, Sanger Unified School District
Michael Kirst, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University; and past president, California State Board of Education

Previous Episode

Season One Highlights

It has been exactly a year since we launched the Adventures in Ed Funding series. And what a year it was! In addition to our focus on school finance, we also produced additional episodes with timely information and stories to help schools and communities navigate the Covid-19 pandemic. In total, our first season included 36 shows. Here's a quick look back at just a few of the highlights during a difficult time when we've all learned so much.

Note: We’re currently taking a break from production. We'll be back soon with an update on some exciting developments for the next season.
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For the latest information about education and school business, be sure to check out CASBO Connect, the new podcast series hosted by chief business officials and CASBO leaders Eric Dill and Tina Douglas.
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Guests featured in this episode include:
Samantha Tran, Managing Director of Education, Children Now
Episode 1, February 7: “California schools: Where the adults aren’t.”

Elizabeth Esquivel, Senior Director of Policy and Governance for CASBO
Episode 9, March 20: “School Closures Due to Covid-19: What you should know.”

Paulo Azevedo, Director of Maintenance. Operations, Transportation and Facilities, San Ysidro School District, San Diego County
Episode 16, May 7: “A Clean Restart for California's Schools.”
Amy Rovai Gregory, Principal, Greer Elementary in San Juan USD, Sacramento County
Episode 25, July 27: "A Back to School Like None Before."
Linda Darling-Hammond, President, California Board of Education
Episode 26, August 2: “Checking in with Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond.”

Diane Deshler, CASBO Vice-President and Chief Business Official, Lafayette School District in Contra Costa County
Episode 27, August 9: "Back to School Safety and Planning: A View From the CBO’s Chair."

Paul Gothold, San Diego County Superintendent of SchoolsEpisode 34, November 3: “California Schools Put to the Test.”

ABOUT the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BUSINESS OFFICIALS
CASBO is the premier resource for professional development and business best practices for California's school business leaders. Be sure to visit CASBO.org for the latest budget news and more information about the many valuable professional development programs. Follow on Twitter at @CASBO
ABOUT YOUR GUIDE

Your series guide Paul Richman is a public education advocate and consultant. Follow on Twitter at @pjr100.

Next Episode

Revisiting the LCFF -- A new episode from the Budgeting for Educational Equity podcast

Have you had a chance yet to check out the Budgeting for Educational Equity podcast? We're sharing the latest episode here because it delves into a subject near and dear to anyone interested in California education funding: the Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, which was adopted in 2013.
The LCFF is regarded by many as the most significant resource equity reform the state has ever enacted. It definitely ushered in a new era of school funding for school districts. But how has the LCFF actually worked? Has it accomplished what it was intended to? And how are some of the inherent tensions between local and state decision making authority, oversight and accountability being navigated?
In this episode, series host Jason Willis and special guests explore key elements of the LCFF:
Mike Kirst, former State Board of Education President, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, and chief architect of the LCFF under Gov. Jerry Brown, offers a remarkable glimpse into the development of the formula, including some of the difficult choices, innovative thinking and pragmatic considerations that went into creating the new law.
Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez provides a review of the law, based on her unique perspective both as a locally elected school board member in Azusa USD and as Deputy Director for Californians Together, a statewide group that advocates on behalf of English Learner students. Xilonin also serves as immediate past president of the California School Boards Association.
And Richard De Nava, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services at San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, shares insights about the policy and practical implications of the LCFF. Richard also serves as president of CASBO.
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More resources

NEW: "What's Next for the LCFF," report by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), November 2021
NEW: "Targeted K-12 Funding and Student Outcomes," PPIC Policy Brief, October 2021
"Why the LCFF? California's Landmark Move to an Equity-Based School Funding Formula," from the Adventures in Ed Funding CASBO podcast, March, 2020.
"Here's How LCFF Works," Ed100.org lesson on the Local Control Funding Formula.

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Subscribe to the Budgeting for Educational Equity series at:

Follow the Budgeting for Ed Equity podcast on Twitter at: @budget4edequity
Budgeting for Educational Equity is presented by the California Association of School Business Official (CASBO) and WestEd. The series is written and produced by Paul Richman and Jason Willis. Original music, mixing and sound by Tommy Dunbar. John Diaz at WestEd develops the written briefs that go along with each episode.