ASSOCIATION UPDATES
S EP TEM BER S EP2021 TEMBER | better 2021 |sch bet o otls er sch51 o o ls
OASA
Dr. Pam Deering, CCOSA/OASA Executive Director Derald Glover, OASA Assistant Executive Director
OASA is continuing its efforts to provide strong advocacy and quality member services while at the same time delivering the highest quality leadership training. Legislative interim studies are being scheduled and OASA will be there to present to those studies that will affect school leadership. Tax protests, education savings accounts, the new transfer law, and school funding are just a few of the areas that OASA will continue to focus on this year. ■■ The
State Department of Education sent out the initial state aid allocations to schools on July 20th. Since $136.2 million was added to the formula, we did see a nice increase in the factor as we predicted. The factor increased $126 from the final factor last year, bringing the total factor to $3,517.17/ WADM. OASA made an early prediction of $3,504 in May. The good news is that SDE held out 2% for mid-term instead of the usual 1.5%. That, combined with normal ad valorem growth, will hopefully cover anticipated increases in WADM. ■■ In
July, Dr. Deering, Dr. Melonie Hau, and Drew Eichelberger attended the AASA Federal Relations Network in Washington D.C. They were able to meet with legislative staff and express our concerns over various education issues, along with our appreciation for the COVID-related federal dollars. ■■ Last
year OASA provided numerous “Touch Bases” meetings to provide up-to-date information and ideas for handling the pandemic in their schools. Due to the everchanging issues around COVID, Touch Bases meetings are being held when discussion as needed, and we will resume providing lunch time CCOSA Connects zoom meetings to address current topics.
OSSBA/CCOSA Education Leadership Conference was held August 26-29. It was great to be back together face-to-face. Another training that is in-person again this year is the First Year Superintendent’s Program. OASA is proud to have integrated the Professional Standards for Educational Excellence (PSEL) and Oklahoma’s Vision for Education Standards to the required standards in state law. This rich combination of standards has made the training a truly professional accomplishment for new superintendents. Currently, there are forty-two first year superintendents attending the training. It is important that you reach out to those in your area to offer guidance and direction. ■■ The
OASA School Finance Bootcamps are a great way to ensure that you stay abreast of the current state of Oklahoma school funding, learn about the nuances of the school funding formula, and work towards becoming a truly professional budget maker. ■■ The
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bootcamps will give a report on the state of school funding, but Bootcamp I will focus on basic school finance principles. Bootcamp II is advanced school finance and will go deeper into budget development. Bootcamp III is a spring workshop that guides a school in projecting the budget for the upcoming school year and assists in making wise decisions on hiring. Look for registrations for remaining Budget Bootcamps in your email soon.
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