How can members of the education community be effective advocates for prudent and profitable management of school trust lands? If this is a question that interests you, take a look at the Children’s Land Alliance Supporting Schools.

Now in its seventh year, CLASS is a coalition of states that retain their trust lands — land granted by Congress to be held "in trust" to support public education. (In Washington, the revenue earned from trust lands is used for school construction.) The mission of CLASS is to reinforce the role of beneficiaries as guardians of the land trusts and advocates for effective management of trust lands funds for children’s education.

CLASS members include several groups from the education community. As WSSDA members, all school directors in Washington state are eligible  to join CLASS.

In July, a delegation from Washington state traveled to Salt Lake City to attend the annual CLASS conference. WSSDA members Anita Boyum (Ellensburg), Quent Goodrich (Chimacum) and Russ Pfeiffer-Hoyt (Mount Baker) served on the delegation, as did WSSDA staff member Cindy Sands, OSPI’s Brenda Hood and PTA’s Sherri Marlin. Several trust land managers from the Department of Natural Resources also attended.

The CLASS conference featured distinguished speakers and workshops on permanent funds, investment strategies, and the legal and environmental challenges that states face. WSSDA past president Anita Boyum presented a session on how to influence change through advocacy and education. 

CLASS members also attended the land commissioners’ "roll call of the states," which included a report on the state of Washington by DNR Commissioner Doug Sutherland and a report on the state’s trust lands issues by Boyum and Hood.

As chair of the CLASS conference planning committee, Boyum was instrumental in the success of the conference. "CLASS’s strength will increase as we educate a diverse group to support the mandate of school Trust Lands and partner with state Land Commissioners in managing land and revenue," said Boyum.

Pfeiffer-Hoyt encouraged fellow WSSDA members to learn more about CLASS, which holds its conference next July in Boise, ID. "By learning and sharing together with representatives of WSSDA, DNR and OSPI, we are much better prepared and inspired to work together on important improvements to our trust lands system," remarked Pfeiffer-Hoyt.

For more about the alliance, or to find out how to get involved and raise awareness about trust lands issues, go to www.childrenslandalliance.com.