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Trustee blasts OSBA as 'woke' and urges withdrawal; board votes 3-2 to keep membership
Summary
Trustees debated whether to renew membership in the Ohio School Boards Association, with one trustee calling the group 'woke' and citing $8,000+ in annual costs. Supporters said OSBA provides legal assistance and training. The motion to leave failed on a 3-2 roll call.
A split Carlisle Local School District Board of Education on Monday debated whether to renew membership in the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA), with trustees sharply divided over cost and perceived politics.
One trustee argued the district could save roughly $12,000 a year by leaving OSBA and criticized the association’s policy positions, saying, “It’s just a woke association” and that the board should model spending cuts rather than maintain the membership. The trustee cited local districts that have left OSBA over disagreements on issues such as state legislation and local control.
Board supporters countered that OSBA provides practical services the district uses, including policy support, conferences and legal assistance. “The biggest thing for us is … legal assistance,” a trustee said, adding OSBA also offers training such as boardsmanship and school-finance sessions that are difficult to replicate online. Another trustee said the concern about many districts leaving OSBA was that fewer participating boards would weaken school boards’ collective influence.
Trustees discussed the sticker price and ancillary costs: one board member estimated annual OSBA-related spending could exceed $8,000 for membership plus thousands more for travel to conferences, while others noted some expenses are optional and that certain policy services are duplicated by providers the district already uses, such as Neola for policy.
After debate the board took a roll-call vote on whether to remain a member. The motion to continue membership was supported by two trustees and opposed by three, so the effort to leave OSBA did not pass.
The board then tabled a separate item to join a joint OSBA legal-assistance fund until April so trustees could clarify costs and whether legal coverage would be available if the district changes membership status.
The discussion drew on both ideological concerns and practical cost-benefit arguments and underscored differing views among trustees about the district’s fiscal priorities and preferred sources of legal and policy support.
