Board members, K-12 Education meet to discuss system reform

The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley Board of Directors took initial steps toward creating a long-term plan to reform the region’s education system by addressing real opportunities and challenges during a special session.

Board members attending the special session asked the K-12 Education Work Group to begin work on pursuing a business plan covering the next 10 years that would outline financial, physical and human resources necessary for reform, especially in the area of teacher and curriculum for English learning. Board member Frank Gornick, chancellor of West Hills Community College District, suggested that the Valley could be an appropriate site for a pilot project that would allow for additional multiple-language speaking teachers, loan forgiveness, and additional incentives for dual-immersion instruction.

The comprehensive plan to address the region’s educational also should focus on finding new ways to measure success, including exploration of waivers in testing standards for students in the Valley; improvements in the preschool education system, including streamlining of funding systems for pre-K and incorporating pre-K in data collection systems; improving data collection systems to better track students and their academic progress; and increased alignment of the education system with the needs of businesses.

The plan will be based on the following principles: it will build on best practices to replicate what is already working; include business and private sector alliances and support; build alliances around students, not just around schools; clearly define roles and accountability of all stakeholders in school performance; and engage foundations and alternate funding sources.

The board members also directed the Partnership’s K-12 Education Work Group to draft a resolution for the board to consider at its June quarterly meeting to support or advocate for reform initiatives contained in the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence report. The K-12 Work Group also will study whether the San Joaquin Valley would be an appropriate pilot site for specific reform initiatives.

In addition, the board directed the K-12 Education Work Group to prepare a "white paper" on a comprehensive data system that would align federal and state standards to allow an accurate assessment, early intervention and appropriate instructional intervention.

Minutes from the special session will be available soon on the Partnership's Web site.

Metro Rural Loop stakeholders provide input at 'historic' workshop

More than 150 stakeholders for the Metro Rural Loop Corridor Preservation Feasibility Study project attended a recent workshop to discuss alignment alternatives and gather data on the future of transportation and land use in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties.

Members of the Metro Rural Loop Regional Land Use and Corridor Preservation Feasibility Study Committee called the meeting “an historic milestone workshop” because of the unusual collaboration among jurisdictions and the interest exhibited by all who attended.

The Metro Rural Loop (Loop) is an innovative regional development approach envisioning a multimodal, multicity and multicounty, transit-oriented transportation corridor system. It would directly and efficiently link the development of 14 incorporated cities in Fresno and Madera counties. The Loop would define one of the most significant, sustainable and effective smart-growth-oriented regional metropolitan areas for the future of California.

The workshop focused on how staff has set parameters for regional cooperation, establishing base democratic and land-use projections, and the preparation of preferred land-use and multi-modal network alternatives.

Project officials now are meeting with each of the COGs and the local agency planning staff in each of the four counties to gather additional input.

The Metro Rural Loop project is funded in part through a $125,000 seed grant from the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley to the City of Fresno Planning and Development Department.

Download a copy of the Metro Rural Loop draft report.

Update on Partnership sustainability bill

Legislation authorizing the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley in statute passed the Assembly Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Committee on April 17 by a unanimous vote and will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, April 30.

AB 2342, sponsored by Assemblymember Nicole Parra (D-Hanford), outlines the composition of the board as well as setting its duties.

“This legislation has received strong bipartisan support and is supported by most of the cities, businesses, school districts, and counties throughout the 8-county San Joaquin Valley,” Assemblymember Parra said. “The Partnership is an innovative public-private partnership approach to improving the living and economic conditions of all residents throughout the Valley.”

Clean energy organization lends support for energy efficiency grant

The San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJVCEO) submitted a letter to Assemblymember Anna Caballero in support of AB 2176, a bill she has introduced that would help fund energy efficiency measures in cities and counties with small populations.

“The energy efficiency grants administered through the provisions of this bill would provide valuable resources to enable impacted jurisdictions in our region to make needed energy efficiency improvements to help tackle our economic, environmental and growth challenges,” SJVCEO Chair Rollie Smith wrote. “Many of our jurisdictions currently lack technical and financial resources needed to identify and capture these energy efficiency opportunities.”

AB 2176 requires the California Energy Commission to administer funds allocated to the state from the federal Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 for energy efficiency measures and requires that 60 percent of those funds be used to provide grants to cities and counties with relatively small populations.

The SJVCEO was established by the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley to lead a regional effort in the development, planning and implementation of energy efficiencies and clean energy.

Download AB 2176 Support Letter to Assemblymember Anna Caballero.

CPUC chair, clean energy organization connect for Valley opportunities

Paul Clanon, executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, participated in the April meeting of the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJVCEO) board of directors and offered his insights on ways that SJVCEO could best help capture some tremendous clean energy opportunities in the Valley.

The board reviewed plans to support greening efforts for Valley communities and increase renewable energy use for production of fuels and electricity. Mr. Clanon indicated he was very impressed with the progress made during the last several months and the board’s strong united vision to make the Valley a clean energy leader and resource for the state.

The SJVCEO is now exploring specific partnering opportunities with the CPUC and its staff.

Partnership board's third quarter meeting in June

The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley Board of Directors will hold its quarterly meeting at the Madera Center of the State Center Community College District, 30277 Avenue 12, Madera, on Friday, June 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Please note: This is a change in date from any previous Partnership correspondence.

The meeting will include an in-depth report of activities from the Partnership’s Economic Development Work Group, an update on high-speed rail, and an update from the K-12 Education Work Group about its progress on priorities from the special session.

The board also will discuss and determine the next steps needed to address the three priority issues it has identified for the Valley: air quality; water supply, quality, and reliability; and transportation.

The agenda package will be available soon on the Partnership's Web site.

Meet the Board:
Kirk Lindsey, driving the Valley forward with 'passion'

“City of Action” is the motto of Riverbank, Stanislaus County. It is fitting then that Kirk Lindsey lives there, a fourth-generation Californian who returned after college, the Army and working for a “short stint” on Washington State’s waterfront. He is truly a man of action.

Lindsey has been involved in transportation of agricultural products and products of preservation since 1972 when he established and became president of Brite Transportation, Inc. He also was from 1976 until 2007 managing general partner of agricultural trucking company B&P Bulk.

His actions, however, are not just in the business of transportation. Lindsey has dedicated his life to being part of his community, whether it’s judging a county beauty pageant, coaching girls’ high school aquatics or serving on the boards of a number of organizations.

In addition to serving on the board of directors of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, Lindsey is chairman of the board for the Modesto Chamber of Commerce, past chairman of the Stanislaus County Workforce Alliance Board, board member of the California Casualty Insurance Company and president of the Beyer High School Educational Foundation.

He also is a man of passion for the future of the San Joaquin Valley.

“It is my hope the Valley is a vibrant place to live and work,” he says. “To achieve such will require many changes.”

“We must have an infrastructure that supports the education and retaining of our workforce; land use policies that preserve our agriculture and maintain the ability to create space for new businesses and expand existing ones,” he says, “and the management of water use to meet all services—residential, business demands, agricultural and recreational.”

“All of this and the improvement of the quality of our air,” he says. “That would be my hope.”

This passion for the Valley’s future is not unusual for Lindsey.

For more than three decades, Lindsey has been dedicated to local and state government affecting Stanislaus County and the San Joaquin Valley.

Lindsey was reappointed in 2007 to the California Transportation Commission and is a past chairman. He is a member of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, a past president of the California Trucking Association and a board member of the California Workforce Investment Board.

Governor Schwarzenegger in May 2007 appointed Lindsey to board of directors of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley.

“The most important thing about the Partnership is its survival,” Lindsey says. “It has provided an avenue to better understand that our needs are not parochial but actually regional; that working together we can influence decisions affecting our quality of life."

Using one voice to advocate for the Valley has proven to be invaluable, he says.

“It has been wonderful to meet people from all over the Valley that have the same passion for the Valley that I have,” Lindsey says. “We’ve all done a great job of understanding the issues facing the different counties and coming to consensus without losing either the people or the passion.”

Lindsey and his wife Cynthia, a trustee for the Sylvan Union School District, have four daughters who are as active as their parents.

When coaching duties for girl’s water polo and swimming are done for a season, Lindsey continues his travels to add to the more than 70 countries he has visited.

Legislative Update

Legislation Consistent with the Partnership Strategic Action Plan

Land Use, Agriculture and Housing

AB 1129 (Arambula) - Housing Trust Fund

This bill would establish the San Joaquin Valley Regional Affordable Housing Trust as a voluntary organization for the purposes of fostering the regional collaboration of San Joaquin Valley cities, counties, developers, financial institutions, and community-based organizations to meet affordable housing needs in the region.

Status: Bill was last amended on Jan. 18; passed the Assembly on Jan. 24, 2008. Now sits in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee. Hearing is expected in June.

Sustainability of the Partnership

AB 2342 (Parra) - California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley

AB 2342 is a bill to authorize the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley. The bill sets the structure and duties of the Partnership.

The current Partnership board directed staff to work with the author on the language of the bill as well as maintain ongoing discussions regarding all approaches for sustainability of the Partnership.

Status: AB 27, the original bill, was last amended on January 17. The first hearing was held on Jan. 8, 2008, in the Assembly Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Committee, and passed by a unanimous vote. The next hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee was held on Thursday, Jan. 24, and was placed on suspense due to the minimal projected cost of the bill. As a result, it did not meet the Jan. 25 final deadline for all committees to report out to the floor bills introduced in their house in 2007.

Assemblymember Parra introduced a new bill, AB 2342, with slightly different language. This bill passed out of the Assembly Jobs Committee on April 8 and will be on the suspense file in Assembly Appropriations on April 30

Letters of support may be sent to Andrew Hoag, legislative director, at andrew.hoag@asm.ca.gov or faxed to 916.319.2130

Energy

AB 2176 (Caballero) - Energy Efficiency Grants

The bill requires the California Energy Commission to administer funds allocated to the state from the federal Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 for energy efficiency measures, and requires that 60% of those funds be used to provide grants to cities and counties with relatively small populations.

Status: This bill was last amended on April 1, and unanimously passed out of the Assembly Utilities & Commerce as well as the Natural Resources Committee. It will be heard in Assembly Appropriations on April 30.

For more information, go to Legislative Updates on the Partnership Web site.

Dates to Know

May 1

Water and Energy Innovation Showcase
7 a.m.to 9:30 a.m.
Piccadilly Inn - University
Shaw and Cedar avenues
Fresno
Information: tori@cvbi.org, 559.292.9033

May 5

Central Valley Town Hall
Raising Student Achievement and Closing Achievement Gaps at All Levels
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
California State University, Fresno Foundation
4910 N. Chestnut Avenue
Fresno
Information: Shanna Everts, 916.498.8980

May 7-8

Green Momentum: Prospering in a New Economy
sponsored by Great Valley Center
Radisson Hotel
500 Leisure Lane
Sacramento
Information: www.greatvalley.org/conference

May 15

Advanced Communications Services Work Group meeting
1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Great Valley Center
201 Needham Street
Modesto

May 19

Charter School Legal Workshop
sponsored by K-12 Education Work Group
1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Smittcamp Alumni House
California State University, Fresno
2625 E. Matoian Way
Fresno

June 13

California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley Board of Directors
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Quarterly Meeting
State Center Community College District
Madera Center
30277 Avenue 12
Madera

June 20

Methamphetamine Recovery Project Advisory Council meeting
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Madera (location TBD)
Registration: anamika@csufresno.edu, 559.294.2216