Executive Director Jim Green discusses potential OSBA advocacy with the Springfield School Board and superintendent Tuesday in Eugene. The opening night of the OSBA Legislative Roadshow gave area education leaders a chance to ask Green about statewide education issues. (Photo by Jake Arnold, OSBA)
David Fowler, a new Crow-Applegate-Lorane School Board member, headed to Eugene on Tuesday night to get information.
“I want to know how legislation affects my district,” he said.
This year’s OSBA Legislative Roadshow launched in Eugene to provide just that and a whole lot more.
The roadshow, OSBA’s annual fall regional meetings, will hit spots around Oregon with gatherings through Nov. 1. The meetings include dinner and a chance to network with area school board members and superintendents.
At their heart, though, they provide a chance for OSBA leaders to share the latest education developments and answer questions.
Executive Director Jim Green led a presentation sharing OSBA business, including a member services survey to shape the organization’s future and a proposal to create a rural school board members caucus. There were also tabletop discussions to help direct legislative advocacy.
But the main reason school board members said they went to the session was to learn more about the intense 2023 legislative session and how it will impact their district.
Green touched on education funding, school board stipends, early learning funding, workforce adjustments and abbreviated school days, among other things.
Roughly three dozen board members and administrators attended. Lane ESD Superintendent Tony Scurto said good attendance at these regional meetings helps education leaders learn from each other and strengthens their work.
Siuslaw School District Superintendent Andrew Grzeskowiak said it was worth making the 90-minute drive.
“It’s one of the few times you get to have all the school board members and superintendents turn out and talk about what’s important,” he said.
The roadshow continues this week with a meeting Thursday, Sept. 21, in Portland. Next week, the meetings swing east with dates in The Dalles, Condon and John Day.
Fern Ridge School Board Chair Mark Boren and new board member Lisa McCann attended with Superintendent Gary Carpenter and Director of K-12 Programs Michelle Marshall. Boren and McCann said the meeting was especially useful to help them understand the issues their administration would be facing with the new laws.
“It’s good information on how things are going and where they might be going in the future,” Boren said.
– Jake Arnold, OSBA
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