CSDC News

The Top 30 Questions from Season 1 of CSDC’s Boarding Pass Podcast

  • Mar 07 2025

The first season of CSDC’s Boarding Pass Podcast is a wrap!

In the inaugural 10-episode run, CSDC’s Governance & Policy Specialist, Caitlin O’Halloran Hellar, brought together experts in governance, finance, student achievement, advocacy, and more.

Each episode is packed full of helpful information for California charter school leaders—especially CEOs (and other senior administrators) and governing board members.

To celebrate the conclusion of the first season, we’ve compiled the top 30 questions, providing timestamps so you can quickly access each answer.

By the way, each episode is conveniently bookmarked on YouTube. Just click "...more" in each episode description to find the bookmarks.

If you find this information helpful, please take a moment to like or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube—your support makes a huge difference!

Episode 1 • Charter School History, Definitions, and Legal Aspects with Eric Premack

  1. Why did the charter school concept arise in the late 1980s/early 1990s? 02:04
  2. To which laws and regulations are charters subject? 17:55
  3. What does the charter landscape look like in California today? 27:18

Episode 2 • Ready, Set, Vote! With Kennedy Hilario

  1. How do you prepare board members for their first meeting? 08:16
  2. What norms should a board have? 14:36
  3. What should be the biggest priorities for new board members? 26:36

Episode 3 • Renewal and Succession Planning with Reggie Lee

  1. Why does board composition matter? 12:10
  2. What are some benefits—and limitations—of succession planning? 17:36
  3. What is the board’s role in charter renewal? 37:57

Episode 4 • Acronyms and Advocacy with Laura Kerr

  1. Why should board members be charter advocates? 04:50
  2. Why is it a great idea to reach out to your legislators' district offices? 21:38
  3. How does California's political spectrum impact charter advocacy? 34:50

Episode 5 • Board Member Budgets and Financial Oversight Responsibilities with Joyce Montgomery

  1. What makes for a bad charter school budget? 06:52
  2. What financial oversight responsibilities do board members have? 22:42
  3. From Joyce's perspective, what are the key things board members must know and do? 25:19

Episode 6 • Deep Dive into Monitoring Student Achievement with Vanessa Garza

  1. What is the purpose of collecting student achievement data? 02:48
  2. In addition to academic data, what other forms of data do charter schools collect? 03:24
  3. What questions should board members ask about their school's data? 20:35

Episode 7 • Human Resources: How Involved Should Board Members Be? With Laura Regan

  1. What role can board members play in HR? 04:33
  2. What are some ways board members can support HR initiatives? 08:07
  3. In terms of HR, are there things that may fall outside of the board’s scope of responsibilities? 14:08

Episode 8 • Overview of Ethics and the Brown Act with Jennifer McQuarrie

  1. What’s the purpose of the Brown Act and why are charter schools subject to it? 03:37
  2. Board agendas: What must they contain? And where must they be posted? 05:33
  3. Public comment: What should board members know? 10:17

Episode 9 • Roles and Responsibilities of Board Members with Malka Borrego

  1. How can CEOs better partner with their boards? 06:25
  2. What are some differences between governance and management? 09:37
  3. What are the key responsibilities of board members? 14:33

Episode 10 • Moving Charter Schools into Decade Four with Ting Sun

  1. What’s one surprising characteristic of many charter school boards? 03:06
  2. How has legislation impacted charter innovation over the years? 09:30
  3. Looking ahead, what might charter leadership look like? 17:14

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