Southern Oregon Education Service District hosted OSBA’s first 2026 Fall Regional Meeting at its new district offices in Phoenix.
OSBA holds Fall Regional Meetings all over the state every year to connect with members and share information about federal and state policies and OSBA’s work. OSBA leadership and staff will spend six weeks visiting 20 locations.
Last year, OSBA also began offering board member trainings before the regional meetings. This year, more regions asked for training, and the OSBA Board Development team expanded its offerings.
The meeting Monday night kicked off with a training session on community engagement.
Mysti Jacob, a Rogue River School Board member, said she already wanted a chance to get up to date on education issues, but the community engagement training was an extra draw. She said her district is facing a lot of public education skepticism, and her board is looking for ways to communicate in more helpful ways.
A dinner break gave about four dozen school board members, ESD board members and superintendents a chance to make regional connections.
Southern Oregon ESD Superintendent Mark Angle-Hobson said relationship building, with peers and with OSBA, is one of the most important aspects of the fall regionals.
“Folks in Southern Oregon appreciate when people come to us,” Angle-Hobson said.
Angle-Hobson also had a chance to show off the ESD’s new conference space, complete with a mural painted by a recent local graduate. The mural features the logos of all the ESD’s member districts.
Southern Oregon ESD’s main offices burnt down in the 2020 Alameda fire, and the new building opened in April.
OSBA Board President Dawn Watson, a Phoenix-Talent School Board member, will travel to many of the meetings, but this one was just 10 minutes from her home. She has been encouraging board members to attend meetings.
“An important legislative session for school funding and district accountability is coming up, and board members need to be informed,” she said.
OSBA Executive Director Emielle Nischik launched the meeting by inviting the room to share positive developments in their districts. Responses covered everything from higher test scores to more student services and improved facilities.
Stacy Michaelson, OSBA Government Relations and Communications director, offered the legislative update many members came for. She briefly touched on the new accountability rules, developing instructional time requirements, enrollment issues and a look ahead to the next session. She warned members to expect a tight budget and explained some issues that could impact the State School Fund discussions.
Nancy Castillo-McKinnis of the Phoenix-Talent School Board said she wished there had been more time. Castillo-McKinnis is the new school board adviser to the State Board of Education and said OSBA was sharing crucial information.
Castillo-McKinnis said the opportunity to meet with different district members who are facing similar regional challenges was the most valuable, though.
“We are here, and we feed off each other,” she said. “What a gift.”
– Jake Arnold, OSBA
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