Published: October 24, 2024

OSBA Executive Director Emielle Nischik has devoted a significant portion of this year's regional meetings to learning what members need and want from the association. (Photo by Jake Arnold, OSBA)

With 2025 shaping up as a pivotal year for Oregon school funding, district leaders attending the OSBA Legislative Roadshows have advocacy on their minds.

But this year's fall regional meetings have also been a sharing of successes, and the Clackamas Education Service District has a big one to show off.

The ESD, which hosted Wednesday night's OSBA fall regional meeting, opened its new Clackamas Early Learning Center to the area's school board members and administrators. The center provides instruction for children ages birth to 5 and family support, with a focus on traditionally underserved populations.

Before the meeting began, school leaders toured its fresh and welcoming classrooms specially designed to accommodate small children with sensory, mobility or other issues. The center sits just across a parking lot from the ESD offices.

The 20-stop OSBA Legislative Roadshow is at roughly its midpoint. OSBA leadership and the Legislative Services team have split up so they can cover more ground. On Wednesday, OSBA Executive Director Emielle Nischik and Legislative Services Specialist Efren Zamudio were in Clackamas near Portland. Haley Percell, OSBA's interim deputy executive director and chief legal officer, and Legislative Services Specialist Adrienne Anderson were in Enterprise in northeastern Oregon. On Thursday, the teams are moving on to Pendleton and Astoria.

The annual fall regional meetings, which span the state, are OSBA's opportunity to connect with members and see their communities to better understand local issues. OSBA executives and lobbyists share information about the association and the upcoming legislative session while soliciting feedback on how OSBA can better serve members.

The meetings have opened by asking attendees what they are proud of in their district. Nischik said school leaders are often inundated with negative education stories and OSBA wants to lift up some of the great work going on around the state.

The response has been notable, Nischik said, with board members talking about such things as literacy growth, career and technical education programs, community support, and creative collaborations.

"It feels different this year," Nischik said after the meeting. "School board members are excited about the growth they are seeing since the pandemic, and they want to advocate for the education supports to keep the progress going."

Early in the meeting, Nischik took a few minutes to explain three resolutions on the ballots OSBA recently sent out.

OSBA is asking members for a gradual membership dues increase. OSBA has not increased its dues since 1998. OSBA is seeking the dues increase to help ensure OSBA's services can match boards' needs, according to Nischik.

OSBA members are also seeking to create an Oregon School Board Members PRIDE Caucus, which would operate similar to the Oregon School Board Members of Color Caucus and the Oregon Rural School Board Members Caucus.

The third resolution would update OSBA's bylaws to more clearly state the roles and responsibilities of caucuses and OSBA Board members.

The evening's main attraction, though, was the legislative update.

April Dobson, a North Clackamas School Board member and candidate for the Oregon House, said she is again attending a meeting this year to learn how to more effectively advocate for education.

"I always come away smarter than when I walked in the door," she said.

Zamudio talked about the upcoming session through OSBA's three 2025 focuses: funding, accountability and addressing chronic absenteeism.

Gov. Tina Kotek's recommended budget will come out at the end of November. OSBA representatives along with education allies have been working hard to make sure the budget better represents the true rising costs of running a school. Public Employees Retirement System rates and substitute teacher pay related to Paid Leave Oregon have hit school budgets hard recently.

"Current service level," the cost of merely maintaining a school's staff and programs, isn't enough, though, to address students' true needs, Zamudio said. OSBA and other educations advocates are looking for investments in things such as literacy, summer schools, special education services and addressing absenteeism, one of the most critical challenges facing schools.

"We all have a stake in Oregon students' success, so accountability can't go just one way," Zamudio said before the meeting. "We need the state to take responsibility for assisting and resourcing districts."

Oregon City School Board Chair Katie Wilson and board member Alex Halpern were delighted to tour the Clackamas Early Learning Center before the roadshow. They see a critical need in their own district and wanted to see what Clackamas is doing.

But they said their true purpose for the evening was to learn to engage their community more effectively as well as build relationships with fellow board members and OSBA staff.

"We want to be doing the work on the ground locally but thinking statewide," Halpern said.

- Jake Arnold, OSBA
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