Frequently Asked Questions

County boards of education need a strong, independent voice to advocate for the critical needs of students, communities we serve. County offices and boards of education play uniquely vital roles, impacting every school, and student across California. Our responsibilities encompass supporting students and families facing significant challenges, including those in programs for students with severe physical and cognitive disabilities, early childhood education, foster and homeless youth, and court and community schools. 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. 

Yes, establishing ACCBE brings a unified, strong voice representing the unique interests of county boards on issues impacting County Offices of Education. ACCBE will advocate for the needs of students we serve, often those facing significant challenges, ensuring these needs are not overlooked in the legislative process. As a dedicated advocate for County Boards of Education, ACCBE will educate legislators and policy makers about what we do, who we serve and our needs. Plus join other educational organizations to champion public schools and adequate funding.  

Yes, all county boards of education, including those serving rural counties, will 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 will also have access to ACCBE’s Peer-to-Peer Mentoring and the County Board Resource Library, offering resources like model programs, policies, handbooks, and tools to support effective governance. We will also collaborate with other associations that support rural education, such as the Small School District Association. 

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. 

• 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
• Rick Shae, San Diego 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. 

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.

Absolutely. While county boards of education and county superintendents have distinct duties, they must collaborate to align county office activities with programs, services, and the needs of students and educators. ACCBE Is currently creating open lines of communication with the California County Superintendents in order to enhance advocacy efforts, identify needs and promoting effective, innovative solutions. Supportive and collaborative conversations with county superintendents are also occurring throughout the state and we look forward to working with the California County Superintendents.

ACCBE will work in coalition with other educational associations in support of shared priorities, our member capacity building and public education overall. While each association has its specific focus, ACCBE plans to join coalitions with organizations like the California School Boards Association, Association of California School Administrators, California Association of School Business Officials, Small School District Association, and California Parent Teacher Association, Ed-Trust West and California Children Now. 

Join Now: All the information you need is on this website. Membership in ACCBE is open to all fifty-eight county boards of education. Many county boards are taking a formal board action to join ACCBE. A sample resolution is available here. Board action is not required, so you may also email us your interest in joining and we will send you a membership invitation or invoice. 

If you have questions, please contact ACCBE’s Board President Bina Lefkovitz by emailing info@ACCBE.org and she or another member of the ACCBE Board of Directors will contact you. We are also available to present in person or via Zoom at your board meeting. Information about ACCBE dues is discussed below.

Very Affordable Dues: The dues structure for ACCBE will be determined collaboratively. We are using the 2023-24 voluntary CCBE dues as a starting point. This dues structure is based on county class and was approved by the CCBE board in 2022 with input from CCBE members. A survey of county board members by ACCBE indicated that most people agreed with this methodology for ACCBE’s first year. The ACCBE Board will be gathering information and engaging in discussions to determine the dues level needed for 2026 and beyond to support the advocacy and member benefits our community requires. We are also seeking grants and sponsorships to help keep dues as low as possible.  Click here for the dues amount for a county board as well as the county’s overall budget and the percent of the total COE budget the dues amount represent.

Your Volunteering Makes ACCBE Strong: We appreciate your willingness to get involved! Please complete the interest form on our website under JOIN/GET INVOLVED. You can volunteer as a mentor to a newer board member, or you can join a committee. Committees include advocacy, membership and programming/professional development. If you have specific skills- grant writing, web design or technology skills, strategic planning, advocacy, training and facilitation, other skills and expertise, please share with us so we can leverage the many assets our members bring.