A Letter from USBA's New President,
Nancy Kennedy

Long before I was a member of the School Board, I was asked to run for the first ever Box Elder High School Community Council. This was a new and untried concept, we spent a lot of time trying to figure out just what our role was, what the needs of our school were and just how we were to proceed. Luckily, there were several rocket scientists on the board, very precise individuals and they trained us to look at the fine details of the legislation and the guidelines for proceeding.

Our first school improvement plan was pretty simple, we received our trust land monies and were so excited for the chance to make some very small changes. (I think we bought 5 computers!) With the passing years, improvements in money management and changes in the legislation, School Community Councils are now dealing with huge sums of money, which can have a tremendous effect on their schools and student learning.

With this increase in visibility and accountability, School Boards now have greater authority over their school trust land plans and need to be aware of the changes in law that the 2016 Legislature has made. The school land trust is very unique in that it is the only state funding where the use is driven by the local school community council and solely approved by the local school board. It is imperative that the responsibility to review and approve the plans for funding be taken very seriously by the local school board.

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NSBA News - JoDee Sundberg

Look out Boston here we come!!! The NSBA annual conference is finally here. There are so many wonderful things to look forward to as we come together — school board members across the nation. This conference is shaping up to be a very exciting and worthwhile few days with the amazing speakers, classes, forums and networking possibilities. If you are attending the conference you can get the NSBA app that will help you do all of your planning right from your device. What a great tool to keep track of your entire schedule.
 
At the first General Session on Saturday April 9^th come join me while I introduce the National School Boards Action Center (NSBAC) official launching of the “Building America’s Future in Public Schools” campaign. This will be an interactive opportunity for you to join with thousands of other school board members in reaching out to presidential candidates in support of public schools across America. Through this campaign, we call on our next President to support local governance and advance equity and excellence in public education.
 
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