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Consultant urges Bellflower Unified to adopt advocacy platform as state budget brings one-time block grants
Summary
Capital Advisors advised the board to adopt a focused advocacy platform so the district can act quickly in Sacramento; presenter warned a proposed 'super COLA' may include a state-mandated paid-leave cost that could be deducted from local COLA dollars.
Kevin Gordon, president of Capital Advisors Group, briefed the Bellflower Unified board on the state budget environment and urged the district to adopt a concise advocacy platform for the upcoming two-year legislative session.
Gordon said the state is seeing unusually large one-time revenues tied in part to market gains and noted that much of the expected funding may be one-time block grants rather than ongoing increases. He warned about a "super COLA" proposal that includes a 14-week paid-leave mandate. "The amount of money it takes to pay for that 14 weeks of leave is about $195,000,000 statewide," Gordon said, and cautioned that counting that mandate against COLA effectively directs how districts must spend what is typically an inflationary adjustment.
Gordon recommended the board select a short list (five to ten) of advocacy priorities that staff and consultants could use to speak on the district's behalf at short notice in Sacramento and Washington. He said Capital Advisors can support the district in pre-meeting prep, drafting talking points, and coordinating testimony or virtual participation when committees offer opportunities for local boards to weigh in.
Board members discussed whether the platform should be developed solely by the board or include community input and whether the district's existing legislative action committee could be leveraged for the work; staff and Gordon described the consultant role as complementary to local committees rather than a replacement.
