Copyright© 2000 by School Services of California, Inc.

July 7, 2000

Legislators Take Month-Long Recess

With the annual certainty of the swallows returning to Capistrano (and let's not forget the buzzards flocking back to Hinckley, Ohio), California's state legislators take off for home on July 7, 2000, for a month-long, mid-summer recess.

But while the Budget may be behind our legislators, politics will still be front and center. The current two-year legislative session ends August 31 after a mad 32 week flurry upon their return to Sacramento on August 7Cbills that don't make it to the Governor's desk by that time are dead, regardless of how well they did during their legislative Odyssey.

And the pace just picks up for most of these legislators following the final recess on August 31. Most face re-election in November.

Of course, dozens of others are termed out, pushed from office by term limits to make way for a new flock of legislators. And for both veterans facing re-election and would-be rookies, education is a critical issue, so both groups will be as motivated as they will ever be to listen to their local educators regarding local concerns.

As Mark Twain once said, there's nothing like a hanging to grab someone's attention.

So make use of these months to further your local educational agenda with the men and women who will have such influence over your schools in the next two years.

--Bob Blattner