OSBA Legislative Services Specialist Efren Zamudio led popular discussions Saturday at the OSBA Summer Board Conference on cellphone policies in schools. (Photo by Jake Arnold, OSBA)
Marisa Bayouth-Real, a Neah-Kah-Nie School Board member, offered a pretty commonly stated reason for attending the OSBA Summer Board Conference.
“I’m a nerd, and I like to learn,” she said, laughing.
The OSBA Summer Board Conference and Preconference, Aug. 9-11 at the Salem Convention Center, fed that desire to learn, with varied workshops about effective school governance and issues affecting education. More than 225 school board members, administrators and administrative professionals registered to attend.
This year’s theme was “Lift student success through the Board Leadership Institute,” with sessions on data-driven and research-based school leadership practices. With a mix of workshops offering basic foundational knowledge as well as current topics and peeks at education issues on the horizon, the conference supports new and experienced board members. Discussions dug deep into accountability, transparency, community engagement and best practices.
Bayouth-Real is in her second year as a school board member. Despite being a teacher for 17 years, she said the amount she has had to learn about running a school can be “overwhelming.” She said an in-person conference and one-on-one conversations with experts made it easier for her to understand.
The sessions give school board members not only knowledge for good governance but also help prepare them for important education advocacy.
Oregon is in the midst of a debate over a potentially earth-shifting change in school funding. School board members will be asked to take the stories of their districts’ needs to their legislators and the 2025 Legislature.
Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, OSBA Board president, in opening remarks implored school board members to work with OSBA to advocate for full funding for a high-quality system for all students.
Oregon school spending has not kept pace with inflation over the past 30 years, he said, while school funding has shrunk from 44.8% of the state budget in 2003-05 to 30.5% in 2023-25.
Oregon has seen some progress in recent years. The 2019 Student Success Act, fought for by OSBA and other education advocates, aims to add $1 billion a year to education funding. In June, Gov. Tina Kotek revised a key state school funding estimate, aligning more closely with estimates from school business officials and adding roughly $515 million to the discussion.
“This is a time of great opportunities,” said Al-Abdrabbuh, a Corvallis School Board member.
Still, Oregon has a ways to go to reach the recent recommendations of the Quality Education Commission for a high-quality education for all students. The commission’s report, the Quality Education Model, calls for a $13.5 billion State School Fund. The State School Fund is $10.2 billion this biennium.
The conference’s Hot Topics sessions captured current issues with 20 small-table discussions led by OSBA representatives, Oregon Department of Education staff and other education representatives. Attendees could choose to go to three.
Tables addressing artificial intelligence in education, new public meetings law requirements and implementing social and emotional learning standards were among the more popular. The tables discussing absenteeism and cellphones in schools had rings of people about them.
Joash Bullock, who joined the Parkrose School Board in February, came to the conference to broaden his understanding of what a school board member can do.
Bullock, who is on the autism spectrum, wants to provide for his district the perspective of neurodivergent people, but he is also keenly aware that he serves one of Oregon’s most diverse school districts. Students in the Portland district speak more than 40 languages, according to ODE.
Bullock doesn’t identify as a person of color, but he planned to attend the Oregon School Board Members of Color Caucus meeting at the conference to better understand issues facing his community.
“We are all in a boat, and we need to row together to get where we are going,” he said.
Lisa Frasieur of the Yoncalla School Board came to Summer Board so she could help make sure her district remains in compliance with the many policies and laws school boards face.
Frasieur is in her second stint as a school board member. Her children are grown now, but she feels a duty to her community and its children.
“You want to see them succeed,” she said. The school “did a lot for my kids, and I want to help other families.”
– Jake Arnold, OSBA
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