Legislative Assembly adopts, prioritizes positions
K-12 funding issues—including unfunded mandates—persist as a top concern for school boards as they look ahead to next year’s session of the state Legislature. Delegates to WSSDA’s Legislative Assembly approved and prioritized more than 70 legislative positions and proposals at last month’s meeting in Vancouver, Wash. To learn more, see our online article (includes links to the approved positions in priority order).

Pre-Assembly presentation materials available
Also available online are presentation materials and several audio recordings from speakers who addressed the Legislative Pre-Assembly, including Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn, Deputy Superintendent Alan Burke, State Board of Education Executive Director Edie Harding, State Chief Economist Dr. Arun Raha, State Budget Director Marty Brown, Governor Gregoire’s K-12 Policy Advisor Judy Hartmann, and attorney Thomas Ahearne, who represents the plaintiffs in the McCleary v. Washington school funding lawsuit. Click here to access these resources.

Survey coming on graduation requirements framework
The State Board of Education is preparing an online survey to gather information related to the new 24-credit high school graduation framework it provisionally approved last month. (See our online article for details on the new "College and Career Ready" framework). The survey is expected to be posted in the next few days. Links to the survey will be available at www.sbe.wa.gov under "Get the Latest."

President’s Column: The Blind Side and The End Zone
In his latest column, WSSDA President Kevin Laverty talks about progress made during the past several months and looks ahead to the Annual Conference in November. Read his remarks here.

Build your own Conference schedule online!
Speaking of Annual Conference, be sure to try out our new online Conference scheduler. It allows you to build and update your own personalized schedule of Conference sessions and workshops while connecting to other conference attendees and presenters. Signing up is easy…you can log on using your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn accounts, or create your own registration. Click here to view the Conference program and create your own schedule. Not yet registered for Conference? Sign up today!

WSSDA Board of Directors meeting recap
The September meeting of the WSSDA Board of Directors including deliberations on association budget issues and proposed changes to the WSSDA Bylaws. Highlights from the board meeting and links to meeting materials are available here.

Regional Meetings continue through Oct. 14
Many thanks to all those who have been turning out for the at the fall series of WSSDA Regional Meetings…attendance has been great! We’ve got seven more on tap: Yakima (Oct. 5), Hoquiam and Ephrata (Oct. 6), Lakewood (Oct. 7), Brush Prairie and Republic (Oct. 13), and Spokane Valley (Oct. 14). Register today at www.wssda.org/regionalmeetings. Also, many of the handouts and presentation materials from the meetings are now available online.

WSSDA Elections 2010
School directors will elect the WSSDA President-elect, the Vice President and numerous committee positions during the association’s elections at the Annual Conference in November. To learn more about the candidates and the positions subject to election, see our Guide to WSSDA Elections 2010.

Applications sought for Leadership WSSDA 2010
If you are an experienced school director interested in taking your leadership skills to the next level, consider taking part in the Leadership WSSDA program in the coming year. Consistently praised for its high-level curricula and training, Leadership WSSDA challenges school directors to grow as visionary, influential leaders who effectively govern to improve student learning. Learn more here.

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