Oregon Rural School Board Members Caucus

About the Caucus

For decades, rural school board members have faced an uphill battle in seeing the unique needs of our students addressed in Salem. The Oregon School Boards Association recently formed the Oregon Rural School Board Members Caucus (ORSBMC). The ORSMBC was formed to turn the tide through these goals:

• To elevate the voice of rural school districts and recognize their unique needs.

• To build and maintain collaborative relationships between OSBA and rural school boards.

• To develop, promote, and advance legislation supporting rural schools and understand the impact of statewide legislation to each rural community and district.

• To build collaborative relationships and promote quality education for all students with emphasis on the unique needs of school boards and students in rural communities.

• To support school boards in rural communities by prioritizing professional development of rural board members and bringing training and other resources to rural areas.

Our strength comes through adding voices. People eligible for membership in the Rural Caucus are those elected school board members who serve on a school board with a district population density less than 200 people per square mile, and/or less than 20,000 people (population) within their district boundaries. All school board members of ESD boards are also eligible for participation. There is an appeal process for boards who do not meet the criteria but wish to be included in the Rural Caucus. (Please use this map for eligible districts.)

Click here to join!

We are excited to get started with the Rural Caucus, and we thank you for your support in our efforts to elevate the voices of rural board members in Oregon.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out, [email protected], subject line: ORSBMC.

Governance Documents

ORSBMC Bylaws

ORSBMC bylaws, adopted on November 8, 2024

Bylaws

Resolution

Resolution 1 was adopted by the OSBA membership during electronic voting, Nov. 15 – Dec. 15, 2023.

Resolution 1

Governance

Leadership

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Caucus officers
- President – Nichole Schott
- Vice President – Tracy Adevai
- Secretary-Treasurer – Mary Anne Crandall
Leadership Assembly
- Position 1 – Amy Charette
- Position 2 – Nichole Schott
- Position 4 – Will Cahill
- Position 6 – Risteen Follett
- Position 9 – Tracy Adevai
- Position 14 – Kris Lachenmier
- At Large #1 – Mary Anne Crandall
- At Large #2 – Edward Dressel
- At Large #3 – Anber Nelson
Membership

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People eligible for membership in the Rural Caucus are those elected school board members who serve on a school board with a district population density less than 200 people per square mile, and/or less than 20,000 people (population) within their district boundaries. All school board members of ESD boards are also eligible for participation. There is an appeal process for boards who do not meet the criteria but wish to be included in the Rural Caucus. (Please use this map for eligible districts.)
Mission

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To build collaborative relationships and promote quality education for all students with emphasis on the unique needs of school boards and students in rural communities.
Goals

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- To elevate the voice of rural school districts and recognize their unique needs.
- To build and maintain collaborative relationships between OSBA and rural school boards.
- To develop, promote, and advance legislation supporting rural schools and understand the impact of statewide legislation to each rural community and district.
- To build collaborative relationships and promote quality education for all students with emphasis on the unique needs of school boards and students in rural communities.
- To support school boards in rural communities by prioritizing professional development of rural board members and bringing training and other resources to rural areas.

Resources

Upcoming Caucus Events

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Meetings of the Caucus are posted on OSBA’s Public Meetings page. Meeting agendas and Zoom meeting information will be distributed upon request. For more information, please contact Nichole Schott.

Oregon Rural School Board Members Caucus Executive Committee Meetings:
ORSBMC Executive Committee – January 9, 2025
ORSBMC Executive Committee – February 5, 2025
ORSBMC Executive Committee – March 4, 2025
ORSBMC Executive Committee – April 1, 2025
ORSBMC Executive Committee – May 6, 2025
ORSBMC Executive Committee – June 3, 2025
ORSBMC Executive Committee – September 2, 2025
ORSBMC Executive Committee – October 7, 2025
ORSBMC Executive Committee – November 4, 2025
ORSBMC Executive Committee – December 2, 2025

Oregon Rural School Board Members Caucus Leadership Assembly Meetings:
ORSBMC Leadership Assembly – January 21, 2025
ORSBMC Leadership Assembly – February 24, 2025
ORSBMC Leadership Assembly – March 18, 2025
ORSBMC Leadership Assembly – April 15, 2025
ORSBMC Leadership Assembly – May 20, 2025
ORSBMC Leadership Assembly – September 16, 2025
ORSBMC Leadership Assembly – October 21, 2025
ORSBMC Leadership Assembly – November 18, 2025
ORSBMC Leadership Assembly – December 16, 2025

Oregon Rural School Board Members Caucus Membership Meetings:
ORSBMC Membership – August 8, 2025
ORSBMC Membership – November 7, 2025
Meeting Minutes

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Minutes of the meetings of the Oregon Rural School Board Members Caucus are available through the following link.

Meeting Minutes
Advocacy

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NSBA Center for Public Education’s Five Part Series on Education Equity for Rural Schools

Part 1: “Growing Diversity of Rural Students”: This report examines changes in the enrollment patterns in rural schools and the growing diversity of their students. Data cover not only the demographic changes of rural students, but also isolation levels, poverty concentration, regional differences in poverty, and other challenges.

Part 2: “An Urgent Need to Fix the Digital Divide”: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgency of building equal access to internet services in rural areas. This report addresses how the persistent digital divide ― often referred to as the homework gap ― causes underserved rural students to face more challenges and disadvantages, and what strategies education leaders may take to close the gap.

Part 3: “Thinking Broadly and Deeply about Rural Student Achievement and Teacher Pipelines“: This report focuses on the student achievement gap and teacher shortages in rural areas. We examined the diversity of rural students on the Nation’s Report Card, namely, regional, demographic, and geographical patterns in student academic performance. Based on our findings, we discuss five unique learning opportunities that rural students often miss and encourage education leaders to consider providing more policy and practice support in those fields.

Part 4: “School Safety and Mental Health of Rural Students: Things That Matter“: In this report, we present data about how the COVID-19 pandemic changed rural student behaviors and aggravated mental health issues in rural schools. Challenges and considerations are examined in the areas of preventing suicide in rural schools, preventing school violence in rural areas, and partnering with parents and communities to foster a safe and healthy school culture.

September 22, 2022 – Scott Rogers presented on the impact of school ventilation needs of school districts to the 2021-2022 Interim Senate Interim Committee on Education

View Scott Rogers presentation

View the full informational meeting
Reports

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Checkout some the things that the ORSBMC accomplished in its first year by reviewing the presentation slide deck of their update to the OSBA Board of Directors in January 2025.

During the 2024 OSBA Annual Convention the Caucus hosted a workshop where they surveyed attendees on five different aspects of the education system and how rural school boards may share similarities or differences with their urban counterparts. The survey was then distilled into a report which was presented to the Board in the meeting packet and is being used by the legislative team for advocacy at the Capitol. Access the report here.

Oregon Rural School Board Members Caucus

About the Caucus

Click here to join!

Governance Documents

Governance

Resources

Meeting Minutes

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