GLENDALE — School board President Mary Boger had her job description grow exponentially last week after being elected vice president of the largest state educational association in the nation.
Boger will not have to relocate to Sacramento, but her position in the California School Boards Assn. leadership will require a lot of traveling.
“It’s a far greater commitment of time for me, but it also means a larger platform for me to advocate for children and public education,” she said.
She will finish her term as Glendale Unified’s board president, and said the new responsibilities would be arranged around her local schedule.
“The biggest increase in my time will be spent as a legislative advocate,” she said. “I will plan my other activities around my board meetings.”
The promotion will put Boger on the front lines advocating for public education when the state is spending almost 3% less per student this year compared with 2008-09, and when her own district is projecting a major deficit in 2012-13.
“The economic impact of the current climate has been much harder on small rural districts, which when you consider how hard it has been on us, it’s almost unimaginable,” she said.
She said a top issue for her would center around lobbying policymakers for more local control, which she said can be sapped by state restrictions and goals.
“Don’t prescribe to us every lesson plan and every approach and hold us accountable for showing growth,” she said. “Don’t give us artificial numbers to hit. If you want us to take care of English language learners, then give us the funding and let us determine how we best can meet the needs of our students.”
Boger will likely run to be the association’s president-elect at next year’s state conference, setting the stage for presidency in 2012.
She will be active in the nitty-gritty of everything the association does, said Executive Director Scott Plotkin.
