It was a high honor for me to be asked to speak by Ann, Jack and Rob about Bob's incredible legacy in the Capitol. He was an extraordinary professional who contributed mightily to public education in California.

I must the acknowledge the hard work and expert editing assistance provided by Bob's dear friend and mine: Sandy Silberstein. The following thoughts on "six, undeniable Bob qualities" reflect our admiration of him.

We thank Superintendents, professional colleagues, Capitol staff and Legislators for meeting and taking calls from us to share cherished memories and "confirm facts" about Bob's professional story. Specifically, and in no particular order we wish to thank Cheryl Black, Jeff Vaca, Annette Porini, Gail Evans, Ken Kapphahn, Ken Hall, Paul Goldfinger, Karen Stapf-Walters, Senators Jack Scott and Joe Simitian, Jeff Frost, Derrick Lennox, Sara Bachez, John Fogarty, Chris Evans, John Gray, Paul Reed, Misty Feusahrens, Chris Ferguson, and Roger Mackensen for their special stories and memories.

Everyone who attended Bob's service could speak eloquently and passionately about Bob. These reflections are what Sandy and I have chosen. You all have your own stories that are equally important. Ann and their sons have put together a beautiful memorial site for Bob online and we encourage everyone to contribute their memories.

As we all can attest, Bob was one-of-a kind, and could be the very best definition of "eccentric." But, he was so much more than pink shirts, shorts in the Capitol, an open convertible no matter the weather.

Bob was a Brilliant Professional. True Genius and eccentric often go together, right?

Ken Hall, the founder of School Services of California, shared with me that when Bob made the decision to work in education consulting and advocacy in 1994, he applied at SSC. The firm quickly made Bob an offer and according to Ken was quite surprised when Bob said yes-thinking that some other firm or perhaps a legislator who knew of his incredible intellect and writing ability would offer him more money and grab him.

Bob quickly became a true EXPERT on California school finance. While largely self-taught, he was mentored by Ken and Paul Goldfinger. Paul Goldfinger majored in Physics and held a Masters degree in Engineering Science. Bob's formal academic training was in European Medieval history, Music Composition and Journalism. There may not be a more symbiotic, profound-- almost scary combination of brain power than that. We, in education, got lucky.

When Paul retired in 2008, Bob became THE preeminent expert on California school finance. He was one of a very few who fully grasped Proposition 98 - California's complicated Constitutional school funding guarantee.

Bob was a Humble Professional. While Bob was always the smartest person in every room; he was also the most unpretentious.

Unlike many very smart people, Bob was more than a "Walking Brain"-he was patient, very kind and never took the opportunity to show someone up. Rather, he consistently overestimated the intelligence and knowledge of others-always assuming they knew what he knew and would have a certain mastery of the subject matter being discussed. How many of you ever found yourself in a conversation with Bob when it was clear he assumed you knew more about the topic being discussed than you actually did?

And once Bob figured out you weren't keeping up, he gave you a respectful pass, taking you to the closest white board to explain the issue. Cheryl Black, a long-time and highly respected Capitol staffer, shared this observation: "I marveled at his intelligence and experience, but also at his humility. For despite his credentials and knowledge and brain power, he never, ever made you feel inferior. Quite the contrary. He made you feel like royalty. Indeed, …. he once let me wear his monocle".

Bob possessed great Integrity - He was honest, sometimes to his own detriment.

In the lobbying business it takes years to build trust with members and their staff, but it only takes a minute to lose that trust. Lobbyists provide critical data and information-none more than Bob Blattner. The best advocates build a bond with legislative staff based on truth – regardless of the impact on one's clients. Not everyone follows those rules…but Bob did.

A quick story: shared with me separately by, Ken Kapphahn who worked in the Legislative Analyst Office, and one of his fellow advocates. Bob represented Districts of Choice, - school districts specially authorized to serve students from neighboring districts. These districts have encountered difficult battles to get the enabling statute reauthorized every 5 years. Bob had a detailed understanding of this program and how his clients were implementing it. And while Bob strongly believed in the program's value, he was open about how elements of the program – and the behavior of his clients - could be improved. Most advocates wouldn't do that, but Bob's honesty paid dividends when the program was reauthorized with the changes he encouraged his clients to accept. As our colleague Jeff Frost stated: "Bob's credibility with legislative staff was enhanced by the truth of his advocacy."

Bob was committed to public service - Especially public education.

He went into journalism at Berkeley because he wanted to make a difference in the world.

Through his reporting at the Bee, Bob came to understand the oversized role of education in the State Budget and that public education was a "core function of government". Bob became enamored with the idea of working in the Capitol on behalf of children and the public schools that serve them.

Unique to Bob, he was the only colleague who annually brought students to the Capitol. Irvine Unified annually transported high school students to the Capitol for meetings with legislators, staff and Bob's advocate colleagues. Bob made sure that his students were well prepared. Irvine administrator John Fogerty escorted students each year and marveled at how meticulously Bob prepared his students for these meetings to make sure that topics and questions were timely, respectful and appropriate. Capitol staff and legislators said these meetings were always highlights, always exceeded expectations and were a perfect example of Bob's "special way".

Bob was Hard Working. His work ethic, writing skills and experience working under deadlines as a reporter gave Bob a natural advantage over the rest of us. When major policy proposals and agreements were reached by the Governor and Legislative leaders, without fail, Bob's initial analysis would be the first to drop-and it was always the most insightful, useful, and …. definitely the most entertaining.

Bob's clients all speak of his unique insights, practical advice, genuine interest, good cheer, and 24/7 availability. One client I spoke with confided, and Ann confirms this, that he called Bob with a technical but urgent budget question while Bob and Ann were out of the country. Walking back to his dinner table and placing his phone in his pocket, Bob proudly smiled and said, "I just saved my district over $2 million....".

Every one of Bob's clients told me that their relationship with Bob was personal. They knew Bob had their back - that he truly cared for them, their students, staff and Boards. Over the past three years, I had numerous conversations with Bob in which we commiserated about the enormous pressure being placed on our superintendents and boards surrounding the critical need to protect the health of students and staff during the pandemic. The stress was - and continues to be - a heavy burden and Bob personally felt that burden. School leaders were his respected friends-not just his clients.

Bob was Highly Effective. Bob's intelligence, humility, passion, compassion, integrity, commitment to public service, and hard work all combined to make him an extraordinarily effective public school advocate.

Bob Blattner made a huge difference in education policy and funding in California. And not only through the budgets and policies he impacted; but, also to the professional colleagues he taught, supported and mentored. Bob's white papers on school finance were legendary and all seasoned advocates I know keep a "Blattner file" that contains his brilliant original research and prose. Bob's good friend and colleague, Jeff Vaca, wrote recently that "Bob's Paper on the ‘Three Tests of Proposition 98' will someday hang in the Education Advocates Hall of Fame". So true. And there were many more.

In 2018, Bob wrote a brilliant analysis entitled "Why a Windfall in Tax Revenues Won't Translate into a Windfall in Proposition 98 Funding", explaining why a significant new increase in state revenue in a "Test 2 Year" was NOT going to produce more money for schools, as most assumed. This paper was used, with Bob's permission, by numerous colleagues to educate school superintendents, chief business officials and school board members throughout California on just one of the many peculiar features of school revenue and will no doubt be used again.

Bob's approach to lobbying was straight forward: Uncover the facts, report any problems, collaborate with others, do everything you can to get it fixed, ....and then don't take credit.

In May of 2020, the Governor proposed $3 billion of federal COVID relief funds go to districts with high concentrations of poor students in a program called Learning Loss Recovery Grants. Bob was the first to discover that, while well-intentioned, the funding formula would leave out thousands of poor kids. True to his nature, instead of just opposing the concept, he did the hard work to make it work for all disadvantaged kids. Bob's "data runs" were the tool we all used that Spring to find a more equitable formula. And, unsurprisingly, the formula Bob identified early on - was the final solution adopted.

As the highly respected education policy staffer Roger Mackensen said: It's very hard to say "one person ever broke (or built) the dam with a snap of his and/or her finger on a particular issue". Rather, it's smart people like Bob who typically reveal a crack, make the rounds, discover more, make the rounds, until everyone was looking at it. Bob was a big part in that process, especially on the tough issues".

One of my precious memories of Bob will be a conversation we had (over a few beers in my backyard on a summer afternoon) about how students acquire new learning and make it their own. That linking new information to our prior experiences, knowledge and feelings is how we gain deep and profound understandings. I now have a deeper appreciation for that day and my conversation with Bob.

The past month has been difficult; but, so rewarding. The stories and remembrances that helped shape these remarks, combined with the wonderful stories shared publicly (and privately) at Saturday's celebration, have given me a deeper and more profound understanding of Bob's importance-his legacy. Moreover, I feel certain this time of collective reflection about Bob and his most wonderful qualities has provided us all with a powerful appreciation for the significance of having had him in our lives. Bob's love of Ann, his sons, his extended family, friendships, good food, music, history, baseball - what a well-lived life looks like. Thank you for that, my friend.