An Open Letter to School Board Members: Communities rise in crisis. We’ve seen it happen time and again. But rare is the moment every community in the country – and many throughout the world – find themselves facing the same crisis. This public health emergency demands for leadership – and not just at the national and state levels. School […]
Five Oklahoma school board members have been selected as the Oklahoma State School Boards Association’s 2020 All-State School Board for their outstanding service on their local school boards and to the state. Combined, the winners have served more than eight decades on their local school boards. The honorees are: Jess Merriott, Stilwell; Stan Kline, Northwest Technology Center; Fred Sordahl, Pryor; […]
By Rooney Virgin OSSBA Staff Attorney & Director of Government Affairs The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S, Constitution, which states: “Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers […].” The […]
The saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words, and here are two: This graphic almost needs no explanation. The single statistic of emergency teaching certificates issued by the state Board of Education shows Oklahoma’s teacher shortage has grown at a phenomenal rate. I have a spreadsheet that dates back to July 2012 tracking […]
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 […]