For County Boards
By County Boards

ACCBE is a California-registered nonprofit corporation, organized as a 501(c)(3). It is governed by a Board of Directors, initially comprising volunteers from county boards of education across the state: urban, suburban and rural. This board is committed to developing a permanent governance structure through the collaborative efforts of its members, designed to represent the needs of all. 

Yes, all county boards of education, including those serving rural counties, benefit from ACCBE membership. While rural county boards share foundational needs with other boards, they also face distinct challenges related to geography, population, and resources. ACCBE will ensure these needs are heard, advocating for local control and decision-making in implementing state-mandated programs. Rural county board members have access to ACCBE’s Peer-to-Peer Mentoring and the County Board Resource Library, resources like model programs, policies, handbooks, and tools to support effective governance. We also collaborate with other associations that support rural education, such as the Small School District Association.

CSBA is a very important and influential advocate for public education. ACCBE supports the work of CSBA on behalf of public education and encourages our members to also be members of CSBA. However, it is clear that county boards of education need a strong and independent organization that solely focuses on our needs and interests and the unique role of county boards in the educational ecosystem. We have reached out to the new CSBA president and the new Region 14 Director with the hope we will be able to start dialogue about how ACCBE and CSBA can work together. Region 14 is still in the development phase as is ACCBE and mutual conversations during this time could help reduce duplication, and support collaboration and complementary activities and purposes.

• Bina Lefkovitz, ACCBE President, Sacramento County Board of Education
• Yvonne Chan, ACCBE Treasurer, Los Angeles County Board of Education
• David Patterson, ACCBE Vice President, Placer County Board of Education
• Juliani Feriani, Tuolumne County Board of Education, Emeritus
• Beverly Gerard, San Mateo County Board of Education
• Janet Wohlgemuth, Monterey County Board of Education, Emeritus
• Shelton Yip, Yolo County Board of Education

The ACCBE Board of Directors is seeking additional volunteers. If you support ACCBE’s mission and are interested in serving, please contact Board President Bina Lefkovitz. 

County boards of education need a strong, independent voice to advocate for the critical needs of students, communities we serve. Our responsibilities differ greatly from those of district boards of education. Sometimes our interests are not aligned with other educational associations, in these situations ACCBE gives our members voice looking solely through a lens of County Boards. With only 58 county boards and over 1,000 school districts boards, an organization solely dedicated to advocating on behalf of county boards and offices of education is essential to ensure our unique needs are represented.