February 4: Agenda Preview 

This week's meeting is packed with a lot of important items that reflect the breadth of the County Board's work. 

We honor teacher George Rehmet as employee of the month in person and recent retirees through resolutions. 

We will receive a report on the 2025 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and California School Dashboard. These are the standardized tests that public school students take. The test results and multi-year progress on them is reflected on the dashboard.

We will receive the 2025-2026 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) Mid-Year Budget Expenditure Report, which  aligns with the LCAP report presented in January. We will also  review and act on the Comprehensive School Safety Plans for San Mateo County Office of Education Student Programs. 

We will also conduct a hearing and act on the ratification of a power purchasing agreement between the County Office of Education and Peninsula Clean Energy. 

At one point in the meeting, we will move into closed session for two Interdistrict Attendence Appeals for students residing in the Cabrillo Unified School District, but requesting to attend school in the San Mateo Union High School District. When a school district denies an IAA request, the parents can appeal to the County Board of Education.

Highlights from Previous Board Meeting

Special Meeting - Board Governance Retreat

Sunday, January 31, 2026, 9:00 a.m.

Half Moon Bay

The Board worked on team building and planning for 2026. We have some work to do, but we made progress. Thanks to Association of California County Boards of Education leaders Dave Patterson and Debbie Maus for facilitating the meeting.

Read all of my Board reports here. 

Other Updates

CTE Event

On January 12, I attended an excellent presentation on Career and Technical Education organized by the San Mateo County School Boards Association. San Mateo County Office of Education Associate Superintendent Kris Shouse presented. She  did a wonderful job explaining how CTE has been a great program for keeping students engaged in their education - we have seen that in the Court and Community Schools. Also, she shared how it is important to have at least two classes in a pathway as that allows students to be considered "completers" and results in funding for school districts. Having just one class is not nearly as beneficial. She also provided tools districts could use to assess and plan for CTE. Here is a link to her slides. 

Inaugural Prevention in Action: Schools, Communities, and Youth Voices Conference

On January 7, I attended a conference focused on preventing students from entering the juvenile justice system and,  if they are system-impacted, supporting them in achieving the best possible outcomes. I appreciated that so many people came together for this important event and appreciated learning from presenters - there is a lot of good working going on. The highlight was hearing from students both in the general meetings and in the breakouts. I was a bit confused about why the County Office of Education was not a co-organizer or at least a presenter. The Office does both prevention work and serves the students in Hillcrest. So, their absense was a missed opportunity. I will explore that with the organizers and can report back if anyone reading is interested.

Hearing from Former Court and Community School Students

I attended an Association of California County Boards of Education meeting with former court and community school students. Much of what we heard, we already knew was true, but hearing it directly from the students made it more powerful. Before they got into trouble, some found school boring and adults did not engage much or have high expectations for them. What made a difference in their education - all have gone on to post-secondary education - were the adults who made an effort to get to know them. One student said a teacher asked her every day about how she was doing, which she had never experienced and it made her feel great.  They said being given choices helps show their voice matters. This is not rocket science, but why is this hard to do?

Learning and Advocating at the California School Boards Association's Annual Meeting

On December 3rd and 4th, I attended the California School Board Association's Annual Education Conference in Sacramento. The session kicked off with a panel of candidates for Governor. I attended sessions addressing interdistrict transfer appeals, funding, policy, and other issues related to the work of the County Board of Education. I asked the Legislative Analysts Office presenter about whether we might see a change in the excess property tax sweep from county offices of education - currently San Mateo County pays more than $40 million to the State in property taxes paid in San Mateo County and designated for education. These "excess" property taxes support the trial courts. The response I received was county offices don't have use for the money. I picked up some information that may be useful as we update our interdistrict transfer appeals process. I attended an inspiring presentation on an app designed to support youth in foster care - it was designed by students who are or have recently been in the foster care system. I also heard a nice presentation on funding inequities, including possible solutions and connected with colleagues from San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.

Momentum Gathering for Work on School Funding

Since we released the School Funding Task Force report, I have had meetings with the authors of the report, Excess Revenue, Unequal Opportunity: Revisiting Basic Aid in the LCFF Era. The report is excellent and does a great job explaining the challenges of school funding. The authors then connected me with Todd Collins who has been leading efforts on this issue in Santa Clara County. We found much to align on, and I look forward to further collaboration.  On November 5, members of our Task Force held a meeting with staff from Senator Josh Becker's office to discuss options for moving forward with legislation that begins to tackle the funding challenge. Our team will work on a fact sheet to share with the Senator later this month. We are meeting with Santa Clara County Board of Education trustees to explore how we might collaborate with them.

Meanwhile, the San Mateo County School Boards Association's Legislative Committee is actively organizing itself under the skilled leadership of David Li. David has been active on the Funding Task Force and participated in the meetings with Todd Collins and Senator Becker's staff.

Opportunity for County Committee on School District Organization?

One of my roles on the Board is to serve as the Board's Governing Board Representative to the County Committee on School District Organization. We meet once a year to elect members of the committee. This  meeting was held on November 3 and we elected five individuals to serve on the committee. I inquired at the meeting as to whether the group spent time assessing how well our current school district boundaries serve students across the county. The answer was no. This body is more reactive then proactive. Given that we have all of these talented people on this committee, which did not meet even once this year, I think this is a missed opportunity. I will explore this more as I am not sure whether and how they might do this type of long-term visioning and planning.

California AI in Education Task Force Moves forward on Draft Guidance

I attended the second meeting of the state's AI and Education Task Force meeting. We spent time reviewing and suggesting edits to a draft shared by California Department of Education staff.  I was a bit underwhelmed by the report as its recommendations for the State were things like provide a resource library and training. There was nothing about leadership or visioning about how we might use AI to transform education so it better serves students and makes teaching a more rewarding and less stressful profession. I was shut down a bit after asking about this. The CDE doesn't provide leadership; local school districts are independent and lead their own way. I was disappointed by that response. Here is a page with information about the task force.

Visit to Canyon Oaks School

On October 10, I had the opportunity to visit our students and educators at Canyon Oaks, a co-ed residential treatment center for students ages 12-17. Canyon Oaks provides students with a therapeutic environment that helps them regain emotional and mental stability. I appreciated the opportunity to hear from the students about their studies and what they planned to wear for Halloween. They were going to have a party later in the day to send off one of their classmates who is leaving Canyon Oaks to return to their high school. A goal of the school is to have students return to their community within the shortest time possible. You can learn more about Canyon Oaks and Gateway, the County Office of Education's alternative community schools here.

County Board of Education Approves School Funding Task Force Report and Work

At the Board meeting on Ocotber 8, I provided an update on the School Funding Task Force's work and its report that highlights findings from four task force meetings, research by interns in Senator Becker's office, and other school funding work. The Board adopted the report and gave the task force the green light to continue this work.  Here are three potential areas for legislation the task force proposed:  Cost of Living Adjustment – adjust LCFF funding to reflect the high cost of living in counties like San Mateo; Excess Property Taxes – allow County Offices of Education to redistribute excess property tax revenue back to local schools; and Housing Solutions – align affordable housing requirements with educator salaries in high-cost regions.

The Task Force will continue to work with local legislators, with the goal of introducing a bill in the 2026 legislative session. More information can be found on the County Office of Education website.

New Report Explains How Funding Disparities Are Reinforced

Policy Analysis for California Education, Stanford University (PACE) and Bellwether researchers released a report, Excess Revenue, Unequal Opportunity: Revisiting Basic Aid in the LCFF Era in October that addresses the concerns raised by the School Funding Task Force. The report includes excellent data and analysis and serves as a good companion to the task force's report, also released in October. I also highly recommend the report as it provides an excellent overview of how schools are funded and why this has led to disparities.

Funding Adequacy Task Force Completes Initial Report

We shared an initial report on our work and recommendations with the Task Force, received input from Capitol Advisors, and discussed our options and next steps at a hybrid meeting on August 25. We're taking the report to our Board in October, though a copy was shared with them at our meeting on September 3. We have begun reaching out to other county boards of education and the legislative delegation to build support and for the work. Trustee David Lee from the Redwood City School District will join our team and help build support at the San Mateo County School Boards Association. 

California AI in Education Task Force Launches

I attended the first meeting of the state's AI and Education Task Force meeting. I was joined by educators from around the state to begin developing a policy and guidelines for California schools. Many folks were excited about the process and really leaning in to consider how AI might impact our world and how students can be ready. My hope is that AI also allows teachers to find more joy in their work as they have more time for their students and themselves as AI takes over other tasks that are less impactful. I hope that the people in the room are willing to think big and long about this. Here is a page with information about the task force.

Appointed to California AI in Education Task Force

I was just appointed to the State's AI in Education Task Force. I had applied because I don't think you can overestimate the impact AI will have on our lives, our students, and our education system.  When I worked at the County Office of Education, I was a strong proponent of focusing on AI and helping our organization and school districts do the same. I co-chaired our AI committee and gave several presentations to districts on AI, building our shared knowledge and continuing to explore new issues. I hope this task force will be open to new ideas - not just layering on old ones - and impactful. Our students are counting on us.

Visit to Mariposa and Arroyo Schools in San Carlos

On April 15th, I visited the fourth graders at Mariposa School. I attended their history classes where they were busy working on the design of a museum they will create to highlight their learnings about California history. The students were working together to identify their priorities for the museum. Later, two classes merged seamlessly to check in on whether they were with addressing guiding questions they developed for this project. Like at Arroyo School, the teachers were facilitators of learning - not simply transmitters of knowledge and rules. The students responded well as they were engaged in and excited about their learning. Thank you Principal Fox for arranging this visit. 

I had the opportunity to visit the fourth graders at Arroyo School on April 14th as they shared their work from their Project Based Learning initiative with others from their grade. All were engaged and excited to share. I heard some creative stories addressing natural disasters that built on their learning over the last several months. Principal Shelton had a wonderful rapport with the students. Another great example of high-quality education in San Mateo County.

Please read my Guest Perspective from The Daily Journal highlighting this visit and the excellent work being done in our schools.

County Boards Governance Workshop

I spent Friday, April 11th in Sacramento learning alongside and connecting with other county board members from across the state. We addressed budget development, board dynamics, legislation, advocacy, and community engagement. I especially appreciated my conversations with two new board members from Santa Clara County and an experienced board member from Sacramento County. I look forward to working with them in the future, especially as we address returning excess property taxes to our counties. I also received some great input on ways to bring on a youth trustee.

County Office of Education School Site Visits

I had the opportunity to visit County Office of Education school sites in March. These visits are so important to our understanding of the work of the County Office of Education. Plus, they give us the chance to connect with students and staff. Read more here.