Learn about the issues and the people making decisions. OSBA is here to help! Check out the OSBA Web site and read OSBA’s Legislative Highlights during the legislative session. The legislative Web site (www.leg.state.or.us) and the Oregon Blue Book (bluebook.state.or.us) can also be great resources.

2. Join LegNAN

Sign up for OSBA’s “new and improved” Legislative News and Action Network to receive Action Alerts. Use the OSBA Web site to see daily capitol updates, search bills OSBA is tracking and see what is happening at the Capitol.

3. Contact Your Legislator

By regularly contacting your legislator and developing a relationship you will be able to have a dramatic influence on their decisions and understanding of education issues. You can use email, write a letter, call or even set up meetings with them when they are in the district.

4. Share Your Knowledge

No one is more qualified than you are to talk about your local school district and what is going on within it. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Ask them to support public schools and to support policies and candidates that support public schools.

5. Get Involved - Part One

As board members, you are, no doubt, very involved in your local community; but you are also uniquely positioned as a community leader and can have a great influence over the beliefs of your community by being involved in many areas outside the education arena. Speak at civic clubs, meet with other locally elected officials, be involved in other local elections (local levies, etc.) and serve on local coalitions.

6. Get Involved - Part Two

Again, as a school board member you are positioned to be a credible and effective activist in any number of broader organizations and activities that reach beyond your community. Organizations such as the Coalition for School Funding Now, the Chalkboard Project and Citizens for Oregon’s Future are great ways to broaden your level of involvement and bring your passion to other communities around the state.

7. Back to School

Invite legislators, community members, and others to visit your schools. Plan a tour of your district to showcase successful programs in action. This is a valuable time to show legislators, supporters and even skeptics the kind of value that our schools are providing “on the ground.”

8. The Media, The Media, The Media

Don’t forget the news media. Getting your message out to the media (newspapers, radio, television, etc.) can dramatically help influence your legislators and public opinion. Write letters to the editor, submit op-ed pieces, appear on local radio talk shows and encourage your district to have a concerted media effort to push the positive message of what we are doing in schools to affect the lives of kids.

9. Come to Salem

During the legislative session, come to Salem to help lobby your legislators on issues of importance to OSBA and public schools. Attend the OSBA/COSA Legislative Conference. This is a major face-to-face lobbying event that is not to be missed! You can also come to Salem to meet with your legislator at other times during the session. Be sure to work with OSBA to coordinate your visit and your messages.

10. Build & Activate a Coalition

Probably the hardest, but certainly the most effective of these, is to build and activate a local coalition around schools and school funding. This can be done in many ways, working with statewide organizations like the Coalition for School Funding Now or Stand for Children, or by developing your own formula for a local coalition. You can form a coalition with neighboring communities and/or other groups in your own community. Be sure to invite local leaders and activists; the broader the coalition, the more powerful. OSBA’s Legislative and Public Affairs Specialist, David Williams, (E-mail or 800-578-6722) is available to help you develop a plan to form and activate a local coalition.