OSBA Legislative Roadshow has role for school board members

OSBA’s Legislative Roadshow is hitting Oregon’s highways and byways, starting Sept. 29 in Portland.

OSBA’s Legislative Services, which plans the roadshow, has scheduled 20 stops over 29 days to try to reach every part of Oregon. The meetings present a chance to network, catch up on education news and share questions and concerns.

“This is not a sit-and-get,” said Lori Sattenspiel, OSBA interim deputy executive director. “We’re going to be interactive.”

OSBA staff will provide a legislative update and talk about OSBA’s work in the coming year. OSBA Board and Legislative Policy Committee members will attend, and Sattenspiel said it will be a good chance to meet regional LPC representatives.

OSBA is asking committee members to play more of a role advocating in the Legislature and sharing with their communities the education work going on in Salem. 

“COVID and Zoom meetings have created barriers to education advocacy and communication,” Sattenspiel said. “We need school board members, especially the LPC representatives, to help us.”

The roadshow is important for both giving board members a grounding in education issues and relaying to OSBA the local issues that most need attention, Sattenspiel said.  

- Jake Arnold, OSBA
jarnold@osba.org