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- [00:01]
John Brucato
You're listening to ASBO International's School Business Insider. I'm your host, John Brucato. Each week on School Business Insider, I sit down with school business officials and industry experts from around the world to share their stories and explore the topics that matter most to you. Find out what it means to be a school business official and get your insider pass on all things school business. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to School of Business Insider. In today's episode, we're taking you behind the scenes of one of asbo's most impactful groups, the Legislative Advisory Committee, or lac. I'm joined by three key voices in asbo's federal advocacy work, Elika Yost and asbo's Director of Advocacy and Research and LAC Chair and Vice Chair, Tricia Shock and Jeff Holloman. We're diving into what the LAC has been working on, including Asbo's newly finalized 2526 US policy priorities and what's ahead at this summer's Legislative Advocacy conference in Washington, D.C. you'll hear insights on funding issues like Title 1 IDEA, school nutrition, and more, and get practical advice on how you, as a school business official, can engage in effective advocacy. Welcome to the podcast, everyone. I'm so happy to have you today.
- [01:27]
Tricia Shock
Thank you.
- [01:28]
Elika Yost
Thanks.
- [01:29]
John Brucato
Absolutely. So let's dive right into it. For those who may not be all too familiar with the lac, maybe we can start by just getting some some broad strokes on what the LAC is, what the mission is, and really what's been kind of going on this legislative season.
- [01:45]
Tricia Shock
So, I'm Tricia Shock. I work at North Central ESD in Washington State. We are essentially a service agency. We serve 29 school districts, one charter and one tribal school.
- [01:55]
John Brucato
Great. Welcome. Tricia. Jeff.
- [01:57]
Jeff Holloman
Hello. I'm Jeff Holloman. I'm a licensed CPA in North Carolina and the Associate Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer for Onslow County Schools, which is located in Jacksonville, North Carolina, down the coast. Been here in that position for 23 plus years. And actually, Onslow County Schools consists of 42 schools and centers across our county with over 27,000 students, about 4,000 employees. We're home to Marine Corps based Camp Lejeune. So we have a heavy military presence in our community. And prior to working with this district, I also worked in two previous districts in North Carolina with over 30 years of experience in school finance. Glad to be on the program today. Thank you.
- [02:50]
Elika Yost
Awesome. So for those who might not be familiar with my role at asbo, I've been with the association for a little bit over 11 years now. I have the pleasure of working with the Legislative Advisory Committee on some annual tasks which involve reviewing our federal advocacy priorities and making sure that the issues that we advocate on in D.C. on behalf of the profession are timely and relevant and actually relate to the issues at hand that are affecting school business professionals in their day to day roles. As far as the LAC goes, this committee was formally established in around, I want to say, 2015. This was under the leadership of our prior Executive Director, John Musso, with the support of many ASBU affiliate leaders and our board at the time who were really focused on having our association have a more increased presence in dc. So ASBO really had been engaging in federal advocacy, you know, to an extent beforehand. And I actually think our current Executive Director, Jim Roanne, had actually served on the Legislative Committee before it became the official legislative committee. So I know he's always proud to share, you know, that he's been involved in our advocacy efforts way before my time at the association. But, you know, since the establishment of the lac, I think, you know, that that was that that milestone point in which we've really been able to scale up or ramp up our federal advocacy efforts on behalf of the profession. And we have Tricia as our chair on the committee here and Jeff as our vice chair on the committee. But the LAC has a about a dozen or so members who are school business practitioners, legal and policy experts, as well as liaisons from our ASBO affiliates, our board and staff. I'm the staff liaison on the committee, but in addition to reviewing our advocacy priorities, they also help me with the day to day work advising on every single bill that we might want to endorse or oppose, or every regulation that we decide to submit public comment on any Supreme Court case that we decide to file. A friend of the brief statement to engage on, they really direct and kind of give me my marching orders. So I understand what issues that we should be raising as an association with policymakers. So they provide invaluable guidance to make sure that we're on the right path advocating for the profession. Tricia and Jeff, did you want to share anything else just based on, you know, your experience being on the committee that I may not have covered?
- [05:36]
Tricia Shock
Well, I guess what I would maybe add is that I think that the advisory committee really helps reshape and advocate, as ELICA mentioned, for different outcomes and components for our schools. So I mean, I think that we have been really successful or I feel like we've been really successful in our advocacy in a variety of different huge federal topics. You Know, we were looking at some large reductions in the past or changes to different programs. And we have been there advocating letting them know how that impacts our schools. And I feel like we've really had large successes on the Hill with our advocacy. So it's been really exciting.
- [06:24]
John Brucato
Great. Elica, I just had a follow up to kind of your overview of lack. You know, you said it was established in 2015 and, you know, having been around for a decade, that's relatively short when you consider just how long ASBO International has been around, how long affiliates have been around. Can you tell me what has changed in terms of the legislative process pre2015 and post2015?
- [06:48]
Elika Yost
So I can only comment back to 2013 because that's when I joined ASBO.
- [06:53]
John Brucato
All right, so you have some frame of reference.
- [06:55]
Elika Yost
Yeah, a little bit. But, you know, my understanding is that while, while there was a, you know, prior legislative committee that did, you know, determine what the priorities of the association are, and, you know, I believe that there was some visits that they had done to D.C. i think there may have even been a trip that they did to the White House back, you know, before I had joined the team there. My understanding was, is they were trying to get this program off, off of the ground. So there was a, there was an interest in advocating on issues. I think it mainly focused on those real top priorities like, you know, education funding, Title 1 and IDEA. Really honing in on that. Maybe a little bit of E rate advocacy and, you know, kind of some ad hoc policy matters when it, you know, when, when it arose. But I would definitely want to like, defer to, to Jim to really speak to, you know, used to do. But as far as the process, like since, since the LAC was formally established, I mean, there, there is like this, this cyclical review and process in which we look at, okay, what issues are affecting the profession, what's happening in the news, what is, you know, the current Congress or administration looking at having calls, you know, with our committee to discuss issues that are coming up in specific states that may warrant federal action and not just specifically be a state issue, sharing information about, like, topics that have come up from members or affiliates that have shared, hey, these are problems that are happening in our state. We'd love to see if ASBO could maybe consider engaging on the specific policy issue if it warrants a federal kind of response. So one of the examples with that is idea funding, because that's something that, yeah, you get special education funding at the state level, but you also, you know, get it at the federal level. And that is just such a critical program that, you know, our, our members rely on. Another example is Medicaid funding, because that's something that has a federal aspect but also has a state match aspect. So there are things that, you know, our members may see this as primarily a state issue, but then realize that there's actually some rollovers or implications at the federal level in which we could complement the advocacy efforts of which the state, as those are doing, but also to do at the federal level. So as far as changes, I think it's just that it's a more systematic process and we're a lot more inclusive as far as how we're casting the net to solicit input from members and affiliates on how we should be updating these priorities every year. And then the LAC comes together. We have a call at the beginning of the year that really kind of digs into this. And then for that first quarter of the year, we're really looking at, you know, based off all the feedback that we're getting with issues that could be things we want to advocate on, how do we incorporate it into this, this document, this, this Policy priorities resource that we just finished working on to communicate to members and other stakeholders. These are the issues that we care about. This is what we are wanting to engage on.
- [10:19]
John Brucato
So before we get into really what the committee's been up to for this agenda, you briefly started talking about soliciting issues from members. Can you tell me a little bit more behind the scenes about that process? Because I'd have to imagine there could or has been potential federal policies that may benefit some districts and disadvantage others. I think, you know, something like the National School Lunch program and making sure that we can feed our kids is a no brainer and applies to probably every district. But I have to imagine there could be some competing priorities. Tell me how you kind of sift through all those and make sure that every district's voice is heard while not disproportionately, maybe disadvantaging one district over another.
- [11:05]
Elika Yost
Yeah, so this is, I think, kind of a trial and error process that we've had to get better at doing. Because, you know, with how things used to be before, if you just had a structured committee that was making these decisions and not soliciting a whole lot of input, you could kind of get that like, tunnel vision approach of like only focusing on maybe certain, you know, narrow issues that may not necessarily be at the benefit of, you know, the, the full profession. Since we have, you know, ramped up Our advocacy program, more members have become aware of it. They know, you know, to reach out to, you know, to me or to our chair and vice chair or to our executive director or to our affiliate liaison. Like any of those. Go to contacts for each of like different stakeholder groups of who's trying to like, just share, like these are things we want ASBO to, to engage on. We listen, we take it seriously, and then I will kind of, kind of like collate or collect that input and share it with the committee. When we are annually reviewing these priorities to let them know we've heard from specific affiliates in these states about this issue, or we've heard a member from a district in this area about this issue, or here's something that we've seen in the news that is specifically, you know, referencing these state affiliates in an issue that they're engaging on. And we figure out, okay, how can we best ensure that the issues we choose to engage on reflects the needs and benefit of the whole profession? So you do have like, naturally divisive issues that, where we've actually had to adjust our priorities over the years. So the state and local tax deduction is an example of that. The SALT deduction, when it comes to dealing with like tax policy and reforms that were proposed, that was something that in the past we had to some extent supported. But then when we actually heard more input from states and state affiliates that didn't benefit so much from that policy proposal, we reassessed and then actually had stepped away from that being a major priority. It was something that, you know, when you're soliciting input from a group, you know, that's a very limited net. You know, you're only hearing a certain amount of perspectives. But as you start having discussions with members more broadly, you realize, oh, maybe this isn't something that, you know, is the most beneficial to advocate for on behalf of the whole profession if not everyone benefits from it. We've had similar conversations around even charters and vouchers. And that's something that there's not always a clear cut answer on the best way to go about what to advocate for. So we in our policy priorities, you'll even see that our position on school vouchers and, you know, public dollars funding public schools is very nuanced because we outline the reasons for why we take the position. We do, because we're looking for, you know, schools that receive public dollars to be held accountable to the same enrollment requirements, the same civil rights obligations, the same fiscal accountability requirements. It's the aspect of the stewardship of those dollars rather than necessarily the specific model itself. And that's something that, with Tricia and Jeff being on our committee for several years, have kind of seen that the discussion around charters, we're always constantly tweaking that position to make sure it actually reflects where we stand on the issue versus it just being a black and white. We only support public schools or we don't, which tends to be the narrative, I think, in broader conversations, if that makes any sense.
- [14:57]
John Brucato
Absolutely. I mean, that background is really helpful and I can imagine it's a pretty challenging process to deal with those competing interests and making sure that you, to your point, are representing the profession to the best of your ability. So maybe let's talk about what has been on the agenda for this year's federal priorities. Trisha, can you maybe give our listeners an idea of what the LIC has been working on and, you know, what topics have come up and what discussions are happening for, you know, this 25, 26 session?
- [15:27]
Tricia Shock
Sure, we have. I mean, it kind of runs the gamut, like Elica has mentioned, but we have taken on things, you know, we've had our standing priorities of IDEA funding, Title 1 funding, really all the formulary funding. We've also talked about CEP funding because feeding kids is obviously very important to us. Ecap. Not ecap. I apologize. E rate. ECAP is different. E rate funding is been a big interest and priority for us, you know, connectivity for our schools. We have taken on the voucher conversation recently. The loan forgiveness program has been a conversation lately. So we run the gamut of all kinds of things. But as you can see in our federal policies, there's kind of some things that stay consistent. And that is our food service program for schools, our IDEA funding, our Title 1 formulary funding. And I think that those are like Elica has already mentioned, those are really key critical areas of funding for our schools throughout our nation.
- [16:40]
John Brucato
Great. Jeff, anything to add to that?
- [16:43]
Jeff Holloman
Yeah, just to follow up on Trisha's comments, you know, we do have those long standing programs that we advocate for. As you know, this is the 50th anniversary of the passage of IDEA to support our children with special needs. And we really need to emphasize that the commitment from the federal government when this was established was that they would pick up 40% of the national average per pupil expenditures to address the extra costs that are incurred in educating students with special needs. But that is a promise that the federal government has never completely fulfilled. In fact, I think we're down to believe around 14% of that funding, unfortunately.
- [17:33]
Elika Yost
Jeff, it's closer to 10 now.
- [17:35]
Jeff Holloman
Oh, my God.
- [17:36]
Elika Yost
I know, I know.
- [17:38]
John Brucato
Elica always with the great news.
- [17:40]
Elika Yost
I know. Just Debbie Downer over here. But that means we need to advocate for. Right. It's going in the wrong direction. So this is a motivation.
- [17:49]
Jeff Holloman
Exactly. And that's one of our major cost drivers and one of the things that we can all get behind. So that's a huge focus for this year, one of our ongoing areas to focus on, because, you know, although they committed to 40% of the funding and we've not gotten it, we still get 100% of the mandates that go along with that. One item that's a little new or different this year is emerging area of AI and how that impacts us and our schools. And of course, schools and educators neither created nor are they the sole users of AI technology. And AI impacts our broader society. And we just ask people to recognize that and not place disproportionate accountability on schools. Concerning the use of AI in education, as we work through the policies and procedures that may be coming in the.
- [18:51]
John Brucato
Future, has there been a lot of focus on the federal level of AI and its impact on school districts? Has that been a challenge to kind of navigate? It is such a novel use right now, especially with large language models. We. We're only scratching the surface on. , really what AI is going to mean for education. What are you hearing from the Hill in terms of priorities?
- [19:11]
Tricia Shock
Well, you want to talk about the executive order?
- [19:15]
Elika Yost
Well, okay, so. So there was that executive order on, you know, AI and education. And if you kind of, you know, read. Read that eo, it's really more about promoting it. It's like making sure that this is something that, you know, schools start looking at and prioritizing and, you know, providing, like, professional development and supports for educators to be able to actually use that in schools. And, I mean, I think it's important to understand that executive orders in and of themselves are not law. They really are directives telling federal agencies this is the direction or the agenda or opinion that, like, we. We want to take and try to implement. So there may be instructions for things like providing guidance, providing supports, or just trying to assess how things are done to move toward a specific policy objective or goal. So, you know, it's great to see that there is interest in investing in this area, especially since this is something novel, this is a little bit new for schools to be taking on, and they may not necessarily have the funding to be able to do this. So if there is some sort of directive that's saying, hey, we want to help schools out and find the resources and support to implement this. That's great. At the same time, though, with the fiscal environment that schools are dealing with with regard to federal funding in general, it's problematic if you have funding taken from one area but then are told, oh, we want you to invest in this particular area. As far as AI and education policy goes, like, it's hard to look at it in a vacuum, though, because there's always these interrelated things like cyber security, data privacy, interoperability. So as far as how we're engaging on this, we're trying to have a more holistic perspective on this. So we recognize that AI in education is this newer trend that we also need to be monitoring and looking for opportunities to engage on. But to Jeff's point, we're really apprehensive if there's going to be policy proposals that are like, prescribing that schools have to do this, that and the other, and have this kind of disproportionate burden regarding the implementation of AI in education in a way that may be better off relying on policymakers to have a role, education technology vendors to have a role, parents and students, like your end users to also have a role with responsible and safe use and implementation in the classroom. It's not just about the schools. AI is a much broader topic and a broader policy area that needs a holistic approach. So I think our position on it right now is like, we're open to those conversations and having those discussions. We just want to make sure this isn't something that's going to turn into prescriptive mandates on schools.
- [22:21]
John Brucato
Right. I mean, it's hard to know what the impact is going to be in totality at this point, and it's going to affect every industry differently. So that's. There's going to be a lot of nuanced conversations, I'm sure, surrounding artificial intelligence. But Elica, you had mentioned, you know, we were talking a little bit about the decision tree process in terms of representing all members in the association. Tricia and Jeff, I'd like to hear a little bit from your perspective. You know, the LAC has representation from red and blue states. I would argue that the. The political state is divisive at best right now. Can you, can you talk to me about how you're reaching consensus on advocacy priorities when you may have those competing interests that Elica was kind of talking about earlier?
- [23:06]
Tricia Shock
Yeah, I think that, you know, obviously that's been sometimes a little Challenging when we have, you know, a divisive situation. I feel like I live in a purple state. So where I live in Central Washington, there's a lot of red in our region. But of course my state is a blue state. So it's created some interesting conversations. And this is something that came up as the LAC was working through different policy language for our updates. And it really kind of comes down to prioritizing that we are representing schools and kids from all facets. Right. And all backgrounds. And kids aren't red or blue yet maybe. Right. Maybe they're. Maybe they are, I don't know. But we really need to stay grounded in our shared purpose, advocating for strong, equitable funding and policies that serve all students. Right. So that needs to be our continued focus regardless of what color of state we come from. And you know, I had shared with the group that we really need to stay foundational in things that unify us versus dividing us, because it's easy to find those areas that divide us, remind ourselves that we are doing work for kids, for every community in our country, and that that common ground really is about extending that olive branch to move forward on important policy pieces to shape the future of the kids that we serve. Like that. That's why we're here. Right. Is to provide funding and shape that future in a positive way, moving forward regardless of where you come from.
- [24:48]
John Brucato
Right. So really keeping that ship moving forward, keeping kids at the focal point of all the decisions that are being made. Jeff, what about you? What has been your kind of takeaway on the LAC as it relates to those competing priorities, Red and blue, the political spectrum right now.
- [25:06]
Jeff Holloman
Sure. Completely agree with Trisha's comments there. I was thinking a little earlier today about differences. She said she's a purple state, but really kind of blue and we're purple state, but you know, maybe really kind of red and you think through differences that you have there. And you know, it struck me today as I was having an early lunch of my Southern fried chicken and iced tea that probably by that time my good colleague Trisha was getting her day started with a espresso and some heart shaped drink and maybe some avocado toast.
- [25:49]
John Brucato
Trisha, you yuppie, what are you.
- [25:52]
Tricia Shock
That's amazing. That is probably totally what I would eat too for breakfast.
- [25:58]
Jeff Holloman
But the real point is at the same time, we have exactly the same thing on our mind and that is what am I going to do today to improve the educational opportunities for our students. And that doesn't vary from state to state in our profession. We all want the best interest of our kids and give them the best educational opportunity they can get. And that is what unifies us in coming together. And so where there may be slightly different viewpoints approaching a topic, we stay focused on that. And it's important as a LAC that we concentrate on the messaging that we send out that can apply to a professional in any state. As I once heard, when you approach one of these things, you have to make a decision, do I want to make a noise or do I want to make a difference? And that's where we need to focus our attention, our messaging, to make sure that we can send the most effective message to the decision makers to benefit our kids.
- [27:16]
John Brucato
Well said, Jeff. Well said.
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Tricia Shock
Very well said.
- [27:19]
John Brucato
So let's change the focus a little bit on what's coming up in, in July. So we have the legislative advocacy conference July 8th to 10th in Washington, D.C. i have never personally attended, but I understand it's a highly regarded conference. I think Elico, we were, we were at an EAC meeting lately and someone had chimed in saying what a benefit it is to attend the lac even if you're not on the committee. It's just such a rich experience for school business officials to really see what it takes to advocate in D.C. so, that being said, what is going on this summer? What's on the agenda? What are the priorities? What's gonna happen at the advocacy conference this year?
- [28:01]
Elika Yost
Yeah, so, yeah, I believe that was Lynn Knight who gave us the raving reviews of our advocacy conference. Last year was her first opportunity to, to, you know, experience attending. And she said it just completely opened her eyes to just everything going on in the federal level and how it impacts districts. So would definitely encourage you, John, if you can, as well as anyone else who might not have had the opportunity to go to do so. While we do spend one day on the Hill, we do have a Hill day. There are, you know, education sessions during the event which address federal policy issues and the impact that it has on your schools. So some things prepare you for the Hill visit, and then some things are things that you learn, and you're like, okay, I'm going to take this back to my district as some key topics or issues that I need to monitor or be aware of as things develop throughout the year. So you kind of get the, the, the education that preps you for the Hill, but then also the education to take back with you afterwards if you are a fan of any of the federal updates that Noel and I typically do for members like this is that on steroids, you get three days of us. So I mean, just be warned with that.
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John Brucato
The Noelico.
- [29:11]
Elika Yost
Yeah, the. Yeah. But as far as, you know, what's on the agenda, I mean while there's going to be a whole bunch of talking points and stuff that we hand out to attendees, you know, for, for, for ideas on what to, to take to the Hill, I think the big thing is funding. Right. Because that, that is the heart of like really what our members are worried about right now with all the unseen uncertainty around federal funding that they're navigating. And there's three buckets that I like to think of or kind of divided into when we're talking about funding just to kind of keep members straight based off what's going on in D.C. and what we're actually going to be likely discussing on the Hill. So the first is Federal fiscal year 2025 funding. This was that continuing resolution that Congress passed in March that, you know, flat funded education programs that deals with the programs that you all have for the upcoming 25, 26 school year. There is still some uncertainty based off of some wonky language within that CR or how it was done concerning Title 2 funding. This is something that we're still waiting to see what's going to happen in this area. Basically, we don't know if Title 2 is flat funded or if the administration is going to leverage flexibility that was given to them through this CR that was passed to maybe shuffle around or reallocate some education dollars from one program to another. And while there are other programs that are impacted, a lot of it is definitely on the higher education side. But the two programs that I've noticed that could really be implicated here is title $2 and then also your McKinney Vento education for Homeless Children, youth funds. We are waiting any day now for an update from the department about what their spending plan is. If this money is going to get shuffled around to any extent, but that is something we've been flagging for members is like that's, that's the big element of uncertainty with the package that just passed.
- [31:13]
John Brucato
Given the political climate right now. What, what do you, what are you thinking is going to be a win, keeping things status quo, increasing funding? What is kind of your, your mindset walking into this?
- [31:24]
Elika Yost
So for the FY25 bill, getting flat funding for most education programs here, that that was considered a win. And that's because last year where we were with the prior Congress, they were talking about deep cuts to all sorts of education programs. I think like eliminating Title Three, all sorts of stuff. So that didn't come to fruition. So we do consider in this environment, flat funding is an advocacy win. We're still waiting to see what shakes out with just this particular pool of funding that, that we're waiting for information on. But the second bucket, and this is really where we're leaning in right now. This is budget reconciliation and this is what Congress is working on now over the next coming weeks. This deals with a pool of federal funding that's called mandatory spending. So this is your snap, your Medicaid, your kind of entitlement programs. This is not the appropriations funding that, you know, districts typically think of when they think about federal funding, like Title one idea, that sort of thing. So we are all focused on this mandatory aspect of the budget right now and any reforms that could impact schools with that. So that's something that is really at play between now up through. We're estimating now July 4th is when we're expecting like the deadline for them to try to pass this bill. So this will be leading right up before our conference. And this is where school business officials are able to advocate for, you know, change or just kind of share their district stories and impact and all that about now. So this is the kind of the big advocacy area where we're asking members to lean into. And with budget reconciliation, the things that play are, we've, we've had a few school Business Insider podcasts talking about some of the things at stake. You had a food Research and Action center on as host talking about the school meal or nutrition provisions that were potentially being considered. The good news with that one is, is that's actually off the table now. Our advocacy has actually made successful like head waves on that. So there are no school meal related provisions in that section of the bill that we are seeing that is like putting anything at stake at this point. So we're like, awesome, that's great. But there's many other issues that we're still engaging on with this bill, one of which is Medicaid funding. I believe you also had the Healthy Schools campaign do an episode about our school Medicaid survey and report and all the data from that that we shared talking about just why Medicaid funding is so important for schools. We still don't know what type of cuts are coming for this program. We just know that cuts are likely on the way because of just how much money Congress is trying to find for cost savings with this reconciliation package. So Medicaid is definitely something that members can engage on in the coming weeks and really try to influence the conversation and decision making around that. And then some other issues would be the potential of a creation of a federal tuition tax credit school voucher program via the Educational Choice for Children Act. This is something that would establish a hundred billion dollar federal tuition tax credit program. So it would be like aside from the DC Voucher program, one of the first major federal voucher programs that could come into creation through this reconciliation bill. So we're urging members to contact their lawmakers about concerns they have with this program. You can learn more@novouchers.org that's where our Coalition for Public Education has a call to action and tools and resources to help folks engage. Other than that, the other aspect we're looking at are like tax and bond issues. And this is something that would either be addressed by the House Energy and Commerce committees or the House and Ways committees because it just how it gets split up with who has jurisdiction over each one. But the proposals we're worried about there is any repeal of like clean energy tax credits that help schools for financing energy efficient improvements as well as potential revoking of tax exemption on municipal bonds which is used to finance infrastructure projects as well. So we're still waiting to see, you know, what, what comes out of those markup hearings for those respective committees. But we've been working with our school infrastructure coalitions, we've been working with gfoa, the Government Finance Officers association and the Public Finance Network to advocate on those issues. And we're just encouraging, you know, members, like if you're, if you're worried about like you know, any options you have for financing capital projects, if you're worried about Medicaid, if you're worried about the impact of federal voucher program could have with, you know, taking public funding away for public schools. These are the type of issues to really be raising with your lawmakers at this time. Tricia and Jeff, I don't know if you have any thoughts about any of those particular proposals and maybe how they might impact your district or anything that you're particularly concerned about as we're looking at reconciliation.
- [36:38]
Tricia Shock
Yeah. So I was going to say it when I woke up this morning and I looked at my email and I saw the Legislative Affairs Digest for today and I saw that the House didn't cut CEP funding. I was excited. So that was a win.
- [36:53]
Elika Yost
Yay.
- [36:54]
Tricia Shock
And I forwarded that email on and I said look when for now for CEP funding because you know, in our state we're looking at reductions in cost cuts Sorry. Across our state. And our state actually increased the CEP rate, so. Or not the rate, but the percentage. So we actually. Or I should say decrease the rate. And so we have our state funding an additional gap for our schools, which is fantastic. But you know, I was really concerned if the federal government cut that, then would our state need to be looking at picking up an additional portion of those dollars and did we have that money and that could really impact our schools across our state. And so our legislative session just wrapped up. And so when I saw that, that was like, woohoo. I'm really excited to see that that hasn't been cut. You know, and as Elica mentioned, we're closely watching Title II and some in the tax voucher program. We saw what's going on in Texas with tax vouchers or the voucher programs. So just kind of watching what's going on across the nation and closely. We've met with our representatives in our state already around the voucher program and we're just hoping that we can maintain public school funding.
- [38:16]
John Brucato
That's great. And Jeff, what has been your experience? What are you most concerned about? ELICA just listed off a lot of things and I'm sure there's plenty more. But what really is kind of keeping you up at night in terms of what could potentially impact your school district and your surrounding neighbors?
- [38:30]
Jeff Holloman
Sure. I'll just mention two of the items that already been discussed somewhat, and one is making sure that don't get our Medicaid funding eroded. Going along the lines of what we were talking about earlier with IDEA funding. We also rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursements in order to fund the high cost of our special needs students. And the other area Chris just talked about, the federal school voucher tax credit programs. That has caused me much concern as that has been discussed, because that really goes towards the erosion of our local public schools and their ability to be funded adequately. We've seen on the state level voucher programs have gone on steroids here in the last few years, lifting of income caps and even discussions of expanding that to homeschoolers. All of these are steps that will be very detrimental to providing opportunities in public education and to our overall democracy itself. So I really have concerns in those areas and hope that we can continue to monitor that and make sure people prioritize our local public schools.
- [40:09]
Elika Yost
And Jeff, I'm so happy you connected the dots between Medicaid and idea, because while I understand that school business professionals get that connection when it comes to talking to policymakers just general public helping them understand that Medicaid is basically helping fill the budget shortfall from having IDEA underfunded in order to serve students with special needs is a key point for folks to understand. And actually we had a ASBU member, Heidi Kearns from Asheville City School in North Carolina, who really helped us out with a virtual Hill briefing that we did on school Medicaid funding and really kind of connected the dots between how if you have cuts to Medicaid that results in a cut to school budgets because of the way that that funding helps support all these services that, you know, you would think that, you know, idea would cover, but it because it's not fully funded, you know, they're having to rely on Medicaid in order to help fill that gap. Sorry, I wasn't sure if Jeff was saying something, but yeah. So just being able to share like district testimony or your stories about why this funding matters, how you're using the dollars in your school and to build that case for why policymakers should continue to provide strong investments in these programs are so important. And that kind of brings me back to the conference here while we're dealing with reconciliation now, and that's up through early July, our conference is in middle July. So if reconciliation is done by that point, it's an opportunity to like, share the impact that this bill is now going to have as we walk into these conversations for fiscal year 26 funding, when we're dealing with appropriations and everything over the summer. So fiscal year 2026, the federal one that affects the federal dollars in schools for the 26, 27 school year. So it's just important to know that federal fiscal years are a little different from, from your school fiscal year there. But that's, that's the big thing that we'll really be pushing for on, on the Hill is just, you know, protect education programs from harmful cuts like we this now more than ever, we really do need strong title one idea, all the reliable revenue streams that districts rely on, especially given like, potential cuts to all these other ancillary programs that districts are counting on too. So long winded. Way to say, to answer your question, John, about what we're talking about on the Hill, it's all of this, right?
- [42:53]
John Brucato
Everything. So as we wind down here, if somebody listening is inspired to maybe get on the advocacy train and really start advocating or maybe is a skeptic, and what is advocacy really doing? What should school business officials know about the importance of advocacy? And how would you suggest somebody get started? Maybe Tricia, we can start with you.
- [43:23]
Tricia Shock
So I think that one, we would love to have anybody join us at the conference. And then, you know, I know that sometimes when I came onto the group I was feeling a little overwhelmed on how do you get started? And I think that there was a lot of people there to help coach me, bring me along. So just remember you're not alone and remember that your story matters. And you know, as Elica mentioned, as Jeff has mentioned as he tied how the Medicaid funding matters in his school district, the elected officials need to hear directly from you. And, you know, it matters at the end of the day because every decision we make impacts the students we serve. Right? So as you might be interested in getting started, just, you know, hitch onto one of your buddies, right? That's what ASBO International is great at, is finding peers to network with and finding new friends. I've not lots of new friends out there through the years and just, you know, lean in on that, help build relationships. They, they do build over time. And staying connected over that time is important because as Ella convention, when we go to the legislative conference this year, we're going to the reconciliation is going to be done. So that advocacy has to happen continuously. And I was preparing for this podcast and I came across a quote that I really liked and it said, advocacy is leadership beyond our buildings. And I think that that really resonated with me because that's important to remember that we're here, feet on the ground, trying to let people understand and know how those dollars really impact our individual schools and every single kid in those schools. And so if you're not going to do it, who will? Maybe nobody.
- [45:16]
John Brucato
Well said. And Jeff, your take on advocacy, why is it so important and why does it matter?
- [45:21]
Jeff Holloman
Yeah, I really like that quote, Trisha. I firmly believe that this is the way for us to leverage our expertise to get the maximum benefit. If we just sit back in our district and just do our job and don't get out there and advocate, we're missing a great opportunity to expand educational, educational opportunities for our students. And we really need to get out of our box and do that. Elica has put together amazing tools for us to use. Check it out on the ASBO website and the Advocacy center. And she gives you all the resources, talking points, ways to connect. Really makes it easy for people to get involved in advocacy. And I highly recommend the conference this summer. Again, getting to network with other folks really make an impact up on the Hill. And keep in mind your senators and representatives up on the Hill. You Know, they want to hear from you. They want to know what's going on in the district or in some cases, the ones that don't necessarily want to hear from you. They're the ones that need to hear from you the most. And you need to be out there, be active, and have our voices heard so we can protect our kids.
- [46:53]
Elika Yost
It's so hard to follow that up. Right. You know, I just plug the ASBA Advocacy Center. Jeff had mentioned it. If you go on asboaintail.org advocacy there, you can find the policy priorities that we just updated and released. If you're just curious to know more about the issues that we're engaging on or to get ideas of issues that you might want to raise with your lawmakers. We also have our school Medicaid survey report there that know really breaks down how cuts to that program would impact schools to give you some talking points or again, some ideas to facilitate those conversations with your lawmakers. And we also have an online toolkit to advocate for IDEA funding since this is the 50th anniversary and we really want to do a big push for that program. But, you know, circling back to the. This opportunity to get involved and to weigh in, you know, Asthma International, like, we're, we're your association. We want to ensure that we're advocating for you. So if there are issues that we should be engaging on that you would like to see us engage on, Tricia and Jeff here on the committee, me as the staff liaison, like, we're wanting to hear from members about, like, what can we do better?
- [48:12]
John Brucato
What.
- [48:13]
Elika Yost
Where should our focus really be? So keep the conversation going with us throughout the year so we can make sure that we're responsive to the needs of your district and, and your community. You don't have to advocate alone. You don't have to go through all this alone. We're all here to support you.
- [48:30]
John Brucato
That's great. Well, it's good to know whether you like fried chicken or avocado toast, there's an opportunity for advocacy on the lac. So, Tricia, Jeff and Elica, I'm so thankful for your time today and just really sharing all the great work that the LAC is doing. How great you're representing the profession and most of all, prioritizing kids in Washington, D.C. so good luck on the Hill in July and we'll speak soon and.
- [48:56]
Elika Yost
Come join us, John.
- [48:58]
John Brucato
I will do my best. I got a baby on the way, so I got to work on it.
- [49:01]
Elika Yost
All right. You got an excuse.
- [49:04]
Tricia Shock
Next year. Next year.
- [49:05]
John Brucato
Right, right, right. Thanks. Everyone.
- [49:08]
Elika Yost
Thank you.
- [49:10]
John Brucato
Thank you for tuning in to School Business Insider. Make sure to check back each week for your favorite topics on school business.