Four local BOE members join OSBA | News, Sports, Jobs

Four members of the Washington County Board of Education were recently named to positions with the Ohio School Boards Association.

Sidney Brackenridge and Debbie Proctor from Warren Local Schools, Stephanie Lang from Fort Frye and Cathy O’Donnell from Belpre will serve the next year on committees with the association.

Lang said the association has five regions and she and Brackenridge are from the Southeast Region, which covers 18 counties. Eighty-five boards of education with 400 board members and 119,000 students are in the region, she said.

Brackenridge and Lang will serve on the legislative platform committee. The committee consists of 25 board members from around the state, five from each region.

Lang said this will be her fourth year on the committee.

“What takes place is we review…any school board can submit a resolution to amend OSBA’s legislative platform,” she said.

Brackenridge said the committee meets once a year to discuss those resolutions and approve or oppose them. The resolutions are to change association policies on how schools should operate, he said.

The resolutions approved are submitted to the assocition at a conference every year in Columbus and then they are voted upon.

Brackenridge said policy changes could be something like changing pronouns in handbooks from he to they “or the children or whatever.”

Lang said in the delegate handbook are issues the legislative committee have opposed and those supported.

“My understanding is (OSBA’s) attorneys may lobby at the state capital for us,” she said. “Our views and the views of the board of education, those are taken into consideration.”

She said reviewing the legislation is something she takes seriously.

“It’s an honor and a big deal,” she said.

Debbie Proctor from Warren Local and Cathy O’Donnell from Belpre were appointed to the southeast region’s arrangement and hospitality team.

O’Donnell said being on the team entails welcoming people and having information on the OSBA and the southeast region in particular during fall and spring conferences.

“We serve at the table and greet people and look for other people from the southeast to make them feel connected,” she said. “Making sure people feel welcome.”

She said she was pleased four people from Washington County were appointed.

“The more we’re represented, the better,” she said.

She said Washington County can be overlooked but “we need to make sure we extend ourselves and represent the people who voted for us.”

Brackenridge said with the buildings they have in the Warren School District are new buildings “and on the cutting edge in school business.”

“It’s good we’re being represented in what’s going on,” he said.

Warren Superintendent Kyle Newton announced the appointments during last week’s school board meeting.

“Two of our board members are on OSBA committees. These are real committees with committee responsibilities and that’s awesome,” he said.

Proctor was unavailable for comment.