PRESENTERS: RUTH JOHNSON, BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT RAYMORE-PECULIAR SCHOOL DISTRICT JERRY MILLER, BOARD MEMBER BELTON #124 SCHOOL DISTRICT Meaningful Legislative Advocacy

HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY KIDS FIRST Why did we pursue this?  We discovered there was a need in Cass County for all 10 of our school districts to work together for legislative purposes. We all shared the same legislators, it only made sense to work together as one voice.  We also wanted the legislators to know we were paying attention to their votes in regards to education. Who was at the table?  Board of Education members of all districts  Superintendents  Legislators What did we want to accomplish?  We wanted to be focused on Board members and legislators, not the district administrators. Superintendents get paid to stand up on behalf of their districts, Board members volunteer their time.  We wanted consistent, productive, open dialogue between all parties.  We wanted meaningful discussion between BOE and our legislators that is productive for both sides (2-way).  We wanted this to be elected officials working with other elected officials, not about paid lobbyists.

DEMOGRAPHICS Cass County: 10 school districts ranging from a K-8 with 100 students to a K-12 with 6,000 students. We all share the same end goal – educating our students. Ray-Pec and Belton represent the highest concentration in the county of registered voters. We all have the same state senator and share 5 state representatives.

GETTING STARTED Our interested BOE members and superintendents met to develop a “platform” that all 10 districts could vote on and support.  A former legislator was included in our initial discussions to help us understand the process, climate and culture. We then created a meeting schedule for the year with timing around the state legislative session.  Our first goal was to meet prior to session or early in the session, beginning in their home voting districts.  We wanted to meet mid session in Jefferson City on their turf.  Finally we wanted to do a wrap up session when they returned home after completing their voting session.

FIRST YEAR We opened with a breakfast in January to have a “get to know you” time and show the legislators that we as BOE members wanted to begin an open discussion that would continue throughout the session.  We wanted them to hear our platform that all 10 districts had voted on and agreed upon.  We wanted to hear their “platform” that they believed that the legislative leadership would be for the upcoming session.  We wanted them to feel free to share their thoughts, concerns and ideas with us.  We wanted to keep all discussions related to education issues.

FIRST YEAR Mid session breakfast when they were home on their Spring Break from session.  They were able to share where legislation was currently at in the process that related to education. We were able to provide them with feedback and show them how it would affect our districts. This enabled them to go back to Jefferson City and be better informed of local impacts.  During all of this time, there was constant s, texts and phone calls between legislators and BOE members.

FIRST YEAR We then made a trip to Jefferson City mid session to meet with all 6 of our state legislators.  We met with all of our local legislators. We also had the opportunity to meet with David Pearce, Chair of the Education Committee, and sat in on part of a hearing that was education related.  Surprising discussion of the day was with one of our state reps that had been told we were “out to get them”. It was the best discussion of the day!  We were able to have meaningful conversations about current legislation being offered: SB1 and HB42. We were able to see the differences and take that information back to our boards and constituents.  We were able to show them direct impacts to our local districts and mutual voters.  They were able to share with us more insight and background on current proposals.

FIRST YEAR Wrap up lunch in early June.  This was a time to bring everyone back to the table and see how the legislative session had gone. What pieces had been passed, how they would affect our districts.  It also allowed for open discussions on pieces that did not pass but how they could have been impactful. Bullying Pledge of Allegiance Highway improvements Cyber bullying

OUTCOMES/KEY POINTS The legislators saw we valued their time and efforts by making the trip to Jefferson City to see them. All 10 districts were involved in each meeting. There were constant s, texts, phone calls between BOE members and legislators.  This was especially important in relation to SB1 and HB42. We made a difference in some of their votes!  They were comfortable in reaching out to Cass County Kids First and our Superintendents for information along the way.  We thought that HB42 in its original form was not bad, but it morphed into a snowball more like SB1 that was wrong for the kids of Cass County. We were able to share with them why our thoughts had changed on HB42. This ultimately resulted in 3 no votes!  We were able to show that even though we may not always agree, we can still work together for the betterment of the kids of Cass County.

GOING FORWARD INTO 2016 Continue the discussions with the state legislators. Begin the conversations with the federal legislators. Being able to share with our mutual voting constituents how votes were cast in Jefferson City concerning education. Re-evaluate our platform so that it is the most effective and current.

CONTACTS FOR CASS COUNTY KIDS FIRST Ruth Johnson Jerry Miller Kari Monsees Andy Underwood