Leadership magazine Sept/Oct 2014 V 44 No 1 | Page 19

members to come up with their own ideas
for using public funds. Cities like Vallejo and
New York have used participatory budgeting
for city budgets, and there is growing interest in bringing the process to public schools.

Big ideas from parents and students
Californians for Justice, with the support
of other community groups and district
staff, organized a live demonstration of participatory budgeting that brought together
more than 150 teachers, administrators,
parents, and students to brainstorm ideas,
develop and pitch proposals, and vote on the
best strategies to improve their schools.
The ideas that came out of the meeting
blew out of the water any myths that parents
and students aren’t experts on education.
One of the top ideas was teacher training and
preparation around diverse learning styles
as a way to increase student participation
and engagement in the classroom. Another
big idea was a tiered and cost-effective model
of having college counselors, social workers
and upperclassmen mentors working in co-

ordination to provide more academic and
social support to students.
A group of English learners proposed
adding on-campus bilingual and culturally
competent “parent liaisons” who would be
responsible for engaging immigrant parents,

walking them through the school system,
updating them on their child’s progress, and
linking them to community services.
Although the participatory budgeting
event was a demonstration and not a formal
part of the LCAP process, East Side district

staff and board members are considering
a pilot of the process in the coming school
year. Looking ahead, Associate Superintendent Cruz believes it is essential to continually work on having buy-in from all stakeholders in LCFF. “To believe we are the total
experts on our own – that’s impossible. We
need to approach this like a team.”
Fifteen-year old Tony Bui couldn’t agree
more. “When students and parents are empowered to share their voices and their stories, they realize they can change things and
pave the way for a better future. I think this
year was a huge milestone for the future of
education.” n

Nicole Gelsomini is a law clerk at Public
Advocates Inc., a civil rights law firm and advocacy
organization fighting the root causes of
discrimination and poverty (publicadvocates.org).
Taryn Ishida is executive director of Californians
for Justice, a grassroots organization focusing on
racial justice (caljustice.org).

September/October 2014

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