District’s Wish List Is Sent to Capitol

Frustrated by what they see as an erosion of local control, the trustees of Capistrano public schools have come out with their own personal legislative agenda, advising lawmakers on what educational issues they consider most important.

Calling it the “State Legislative Program 2000,” the district calls on the Legislature to adopt a state master plan for education, give school districts the right to seek charter status (as Capistrano has shown interest in doing), extend the duration of teacher probation, change its funding formulas and give schools more leeway in elementary school class-size reduction.

School districts have long taken positions on individual bills, and large districts often set forth their own legislative agendas. But it’s a relatively recent phenomenon for Orange County districts to craft such formal platforms, let alone present them, as Capistrano has, in a three-color brochure.

“It may be a little bit of chutzpah,” acknowledged Capistrano Supt. James A. Fleming, “but [legislators are] up there making decisions. . . . Members of the California Senate and Assembly last year proposed more than 200 individual pieces of legislation about education.”

So, trustees reasoned, why not let Capistrano suggest a few ideas for those bills?

Or Santa Ana, for that matter? For the last few years, Santa Ana trustees also have formulated a legislative platform, suggesting bills that would meet the needs of their fast-growing district.

This year’s priorities include encouraging the construction of space-saver schools (such as Santa Ana’s Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School); getting desegregation money for performing arts magnet schools (which the governor vetoed but which might be revived in the Legislature); allowing construction of schools on leased land; and providing more money for custodians and bathrooms.

“There’s a major benefit for our district in having a voice in Sacramento,” said Mike Vail, the assistant superintendent who handles facilities and governmental relations.

“It seems to be a fact that no matter how well-intentioned the state legislators or their staff are, most of them haven’t worked in the trenches. It’s very beneficial to have our point of view available to them.”

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Capistrano and Santa Ana officials have sent their platforms to their local representatives in Sacramento, and both districts are shopping around possible bills. The documents are also distributed to PTAs and local chambers of commerce. If a local delegation is headed to the Capitol, members might take along a copy as talking points.

With education the governor’s priority, it only makes sense for local school districts to let their needs be known, said Mike Kilbourn, the lobbyist for Orange County’s Department of Education, who works closely with local districts.

“It’s very common for large school districts to have a legislative platform, but I don’t think many [districts] in Orange County do,” he said. “You need to have your goals and your mission statement. Otherwise you tend to get scattered.”