By Ed Tillery For the last decade as a school board member, the scenery in my rear-view mirror was more colorful and serene than the view in front of me. More school board meetings than I care to remember were spent discussing declining state appropriations for education and the inevitable budget cuts that followed.     As we look forward to 2019, […]

OSSBA’s new member portal has features designed to improve the experience for school board members and administrative employees of member school districts. While much of the member portal will look familiar and operates similar to the existing portal, we’ve also made improvements based on feedback received since we first launched the member portal two years […]

By Kim Bishop, OSSBA Staff Attorney In the last few years, there has been a growing trend of individuals making private donations to public school districts and teachers. It is common for school foundations and PTAs to raise money for schools, mainly for extras such as school trips or playground equipment. Private donations are now being made to public school districts and teachers for day-to-day operational expenses. The internet has further enabled this trend by making it easy to donate to public schools and teachers.  Social […]

By Jessica Sherrill, Director of OPSUCA and Staff Attorney  Can a support employee who is contracted for 150 days be terminated for cause without a hearing?  Yes, a support employee who has worked less than a year, or 172 days, can be terminated without any due process. In fact, school law doesn’t require the school to provide any reason for termination. The support […]

By Shawn Hime “Education is the key to building a better Oklahoma.” That recent comment from Phil Albert, a Claremore business owner, a University of Oklahoma regent and a member of the Step Up Oklahoma coalition, was more than just a statement of fact. It was a much-needed message of hope for educators, families and […]

The week of Oct. 11, districts will receive information about student performance on state-mandated tests taken last spring. As district and school leaders begin analyzing that information, it’s important board members be aware of how these test scores differ from information reported in prior years. The scores that will be released soon aren’t comparable to those […]

Employment Law Q & A By Jessica Sherrill, Director of OPSUCA and Staff Attorney Can a support employee who is contracted for 150 days be terminated for cause without a hearing? Yes, a support employee who has worked less than a year, or 172 days, can be terminated without any due process. In fact, school […]

The Election Resolution for the 2018 Annual School Board Member election is now available. This resolution is due to your county election board by close of business on Nov. 17, 2017. Additional information regarding the election will be provided to you in the next few weeks. We are awaiting final confirmation of election cost payments […]

Don’t Give Out Paydays like They’re Candy By Jessica Sherrill, Director of OPSUCA and Staff Attorney We give out Payday candy bars at the OPSUCA booth in the Exhibit Hall of the Annual OSSBA-CCOSA Conference! This will be my 10th conference as a member of the OSSBA legal team and the Director of OPSUCA, and […]

  OSSBA issued a trio of legislative alerts today on several key bills that are in committee next week. You can read more about each bill and find contact information for the respective committees in the emails below: Reading Sufficiency Act (third-grade reading bill/retention) and mandatory grading policies: Read the alert Proposed changes to ad […]