CASB Serving You!

May 28, 2021
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CASB believes that quality public education is the foundation for our nation’s economic prosperity, community’s quality of life, and every child’s opportunity to live their best life. The following are current events and opportunities for our members:

CASB Serving You!

May 21, 2021
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CASB believes that quality public education is the foundation for our nation’s economic prosperity, community’s quality of life, and every child’s opportunity to live their best life. The following are current events and opportunities for our members:

Join CASB, CASE, CEA, CDE, PEBC, and the Rural Alliance for an educational summit that will allow school districts to bring together teams of administrators, teachers, and school board members for an in-person convening to learn about the latest in safety & health, mental health & social emotional learning, and accelerating learning. The event is FREE! Stay tuned for more details.

CASB Serving You!

May 14, 2021
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CASB believes that quality public education is the foundation for our nation’s economic prosperity, community’s quality of life, and every child’s opportunity to live their best life. The following are current events and opportunities for our members:

Colorado Legislative Council Services recently published the latest edition of its school finance booklet. The booklet explains how Colorado finances its public elementary and secondary schools, with a focus on the funding formula in state law. It also describes several other statutory provisions related to school district funding, including a description of revenue earmarked for specific functions, other local sources of revenue, categorical programs, and the Colorado Preschool Program.

School Finance Booklet

CASB Serving You!

May 7, 2021
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CASB believes that quality public education is the foundation for our nation’s economic prosperity, community’s quality of life, and every child’s opportunity to live their best life. The following are current events and opportunities for our members:

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

• The next Board President Cafe is scheduled for May 13 and board presidents are welcome to sign up. The May 13 topic is: How do the responsibilities and role of the board president differ amongst districts? Register here
• CASB, in partnership with the Colorado Secretary of State's Office, will provide a school election seminars on Wednesday, June 16:
• School election seminar (Part I) from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
• Provides an overview of the School Director Election process — including the roles and responsibilities for boards, designated election officials (DEOs), and county clerks and recorders, candidate eligibility, the petition process, and more. This webinar is open to all but is designed mainly for DEOs and potential candidates. Register here
• School elections seminar (Part II) from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Provides an overview of campaign finance — including committees, disclosure reports and filing requirements, contributions, and more. This webinar is open to all but is designed mainly for potential school board candidates. Register here
• Mark your calendars for CASB in-person events this fall: Regional Meetings are taking place in September-October, Fall Delegate Assembly Conference will be in Fort Collins on Oct 22-23, and the CASB Convention will be Dec 2-4.

ADVOCACY

• There are about 90 education-related bills that would influence public education introduced so far this session. You can find all the details on CASB’s interactive bill graphic and bill tracker. Some items worth highlighting include:
• Reach out to your House representatives to support HB21-1294 K-12 Education Accountability Performance Audit. This bill aligns with CASB resolution #LR1.
• The May 7 School Board Advocate addresses many topics: Where is the School Finance Act?; YES on HB21-1294; Early Childhood in Colorado; Bill Update; Assembling in Fort Collins
• Potential November ballot issues that have the potential of reducing tax revenues by as much as $1.5B collectively have received the green light to collect signatures:
• Initiatives #30 and #31 would reduce Colorado personal and corporate income taxes to either 4.5% or 4.4% from the current rate of 4.55%.
• Separate rulings from the Title Board granted title to initiatives  #26, #27 and #28  which would reduce property taxes on Colorado residential and commercial property.
• CASB’s Key Legislative Priorities are on the website and available for sharing with members and asking them to connect with their Key Legislators.

POLICY AND LEGAL

• The 2021 Election resources are available to CASB members on our website.
• Special Policy Updates are released on a quarterly basis and available on our website.

NSBA UPDATES

• Upcoming NSBA Events
• June 8-10. 2021 NSBA Advocacy Institute (virtual)
• July 13-14, 2021 NSBA Equity Symposium (virtual)
• September 16-18, 2021 CUBE 2021 Annual Conference (in-person) REGISTRATION OPENS MAY 12
• October 22-23, 2021 Equity Symposium West (in-person) Oklahoma City

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

• May is Mental Health Month — Mental Health America has released its May is Mental Health Month toolkit. This year’s toolkit focuses on the Tools 2 Thrive theme to provide strategies and tools to help us all move through the challenges faced during the last year and develop practices to help us thrive.

April 30, 2021 For more information, contact: [email protected]

CASB Serving You!

April 30, 2021
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CASB believes that quality public education is the foundation for our nation’s economic prosperity, community’s quality of life, and every child’s opportunity to live their best life. The following are current events and opportunities for our members:

CASB Serving You!

Week of: April 23, 2021
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CASB believes that quality public education is the foundation for our nation’s economic prosperity, community’s quality of life, and every child’s opportunity to live their best life. The following are current events and opportunities for our members:

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

• The Built to Serve campaign to help recruit school board candidates is up and running. Recommend someone who you think would be a great school board member and we will contact them and provide information on running for school board!
• The next Board President Cafe is scheduled for May 13 and board presidents are welcome to sign up. The May 13 topic is: How do the responsibilities and role of the board president differ amongst districts? Register here
• Please take a moment to share with us your thoughts on our Regional Meetings, Fall Conference and Delegate Assembly, and the 81st Annual CASB Convention — the event survey is open now.

ADVOCACY

• The April 26 School Board Advocate is available on our website and covers the following topics:
• Bills we are still anticipating to drop, but have not yet as of Apr 26:
• Statewide Collective Bargaining
• Marijuana Potency Rules
• Early Childhood Education
• HB21-1294 K-12 Education Accountability Performance Audit dropped and aligns with CASB resolution #1
• Potential November ballot issues that have the potential of reducing tax revenues by as much as $1.5B collectively have received the green light to collect signatures:
• Initiatives #30 and #31 would reduce Colorado personal and corporate income taxes to either 4.5% or 4.4% from the current rate of 4.55%.
• Separate rulings from the Title Board granted title to initiatives  #26, #27 and #28 which would reduce property taxes on Colorado residential and commercial property.
• There are more than 85 education-related bills that would influence public education introduced so far this session. You can find all the details on CASB’s interactive bill graphic and bill tracker. 
• CASB’s Key Legislative Priorities are on the website and available for sharing with members and asking them to connect with their Key Legislators. 

POLICY AND LEGAL

• The 2021 Election resources are available to CASB members on our website.
• Special Policy Updates are released on a quarterly basis and available on our website.

NSBA UPDATES

• The 2021 Advocacy Institute Online takes place on June 8-10, 2021. 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

• As reported in Chalkbeat, Colorado will be exempt this year from federal requirements that the state identify and intervene in schools where students aren’t meeting certain academic expectations.
• April 30 is Decision Day — The Colorado Department of Higher Education honors the opportunities in all pathways, whether students attend a university, community college, private occupational school, an apprenticeship or serve in the military. You can learn more about Decision Day on the website. 
• Teacher Appreciation Week is May 3 - 7. Colorado teachers have gone to extraordinary lengths to swiftly transition to supporting their students' learning at home. Colorado Teacher Appreciation Week is May 3-7, 2021 -— the perfect time for us to thank teachers for their tremendous dedication, creativity and problem solving during the pandemic. 
• May is Mental Health Month — Mental Health America has released its May is Mental Health Month toolkit. This year’s toolkit focuses on the Tools 2 Thrive theme to provide strategies and tools to help us all move through the challenges faced during the last year and develop practices to help us thrive.

May Is Mental Health Month Toolkit 

Mental Health America has released its May is Mental Health Month toolkit. This year’s toolkit focuses on the Tools 2 Thrive theme to provide strategies and tools to help us all move through the challenges faced during the last year and develop practices to help us thrive.