The OSBA Oregon Rural School Board Members Caucus picked its leaders at its first meeting Tuesday, Jan. 2.
The caucus, created by an OSBA member vote in December, has set itself a mission of building collaborative relationships in service of rural school needs. Its newly elected Rural Leadership Assembly will be working out the details and providing a voice for rural concerns.
The nine-member assembly chosen Tuesday comes from around Oregon: MacKenzie Rodgers (Enterprise SD), Nichole Schott (Condon SD), Will Cahill (Lake ESD), Tracy Adevai (Glide SD), Risteen Follett (Alsea SD), Kris Lachenmeier (Tillamook SD), Mary Anne Crandall (Pinehurst SD), Edward Dressel (Dallas SD) and Anber Nelson (Scio).
Officers were chosen from the assembly: Schott as president, Adevai as vice president and Crandall as secretary-treasurer.
Schott has been a board member for a decade and has seen district facilities and programs fall short of school opportunities in the bigger cities.
“We want to create better equity for rural students,” she said.
She said the caucus has a lot of work ahead to show how legislation and policies affect rural schools differently. Schott is excited about the opportunity presented by the OSBA caucus to get that message to state officials and agencies.
“What works for bigger schools doesn’t always work for little ones,” she said. “I have learned no one will listen to us until we have a seat at the table.”
The caucus will have a voting position on the OSBA Board and the Legislative Policy Committee. Schott will take the Board spot, and Adevai will sit on the committee.
OSBA Board President Sami Al-Abdrabbuh said the rural caucus will provide valuable opportunities for leadership, professional development and advocacy.
“I am confident that OSBA is becoming an even stronger advocate for the success of each Oregon student, no matter their ZIP code,” said Al-Abdrabbuh, a Corvallis board member.
The online meeting brought forth some school board members who have not been involved with OSBA leadership in the past.
OSBA Acting Executive Director Emielle Nischik said it is exciting to see the rural school leaders’ engagement.
“We look forward to the caucus highlighting the unique challenges and strengths in our smaller communities,” she said.
At its first meeing, the caucus also adopted bylaws and a $10,000 budget for this fiscal year. The caucus plans to meet online again in February.
– Jake Arnold, OSBA
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