OASA Association Update

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.

■ The 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.

■ All 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.

■ The CCOSA Federal Program Bootcamps are new this year. This series of trainings will be your best guidance for maximizing your federal program dollars. Kathy Dunn, CCOSA’s Director of Professional Learning for State and Federal Programs, will lead the trainings. They are a must for central office staff who are leading your federal programs.

Join Us!

OASA’s strength comes from its many members. We want to be sure that all of our superintendents, principals, special services directors and central office staff have the opportunity to become members of CCOSA/OASA and the other organizations under the CCOSA umbrella. We are so much stronger with advocacy efforts and professional learning when we are joined together as members. Thank you for renewing if you are already a member! Help us grow new members in your district! . Please remember that school administrators must pay for their own dues, but can have that amount included in their contract. If you would like sample language to include your professional dues in your contract, please contact Dr. Deering at deering@ccosa.org or Derald Glover at glover@ccosa.org.

➤ CCOSA’s District Level Services (DLS) provides a great opportunity for you to add directors, finance staff, and other members of your leadership team to participate in CCOSA workshops, get advice from CCOSA staff, and take advantage of the zoom consortiums and Frameworks. Besides the free workshops and Frameworks, now DLS member schools have access to 8 out of the 10 required beginning year professional development presentations. This easy to access digital training takes the burden away from the school to find experts and presenters for those topics. We are committed to continuing to build quality frameworks and trainings. If you have needs or ideas that you would like for us to add, please do not hesitate to contact us.

➤OASA is your professional organization and will continue to respond to the needs of its members. We will continue to fight on behalf of public-school administrators by advocating on your behalf at the State Capitol. Through our Quality School Frameworks, our communications network, and our advocacy, we continue to show that schools are being led by true professionals. We hope you will continue to be an active part of this amazing organization and continue to ride with the OASA brand! ■