Developing a Grass Roots Network: OSBA’s Jennifer Economus gives pointers on advocacy at the most basic level.

National School Boards Association Annual Conference

Sunday, March 30, 2008
From Orlando, Florida

Andrew C.M. Mizsak
Member of the Bedford Board of Education (Bedford, Ohio)
E-Mail: amizsak@sbcglobal.net

How do you get your legislators to listen to you? Ask Jennifer Economus, Legislative Specialist of the Ohio School Boards Association.

This afternoon, Jennifer presented tips to Board Members as to how to get your State Legislators and Members of Congress to listen to you when it comes to pending legislation and issues of importance for public education.

Jennifer is one of OSBA’s Legislative Services Staff Members, and is part of the great team of Fred Pausch, Michelle Francis, Maryse Gonzalez, who work daily on behalf of the 1.2 million public school students and over 700 school districts in the Buckeye State. Jennifer also coordinates the Ohio Delegation of NSBA’s FRN Network for the OSBA. In addition to the Legislative Services team, our Executive Director Rick Lewis, President Ed Bischoff, President-Elect Tawanna Lynn Keels, and members of the Legislative Platform Committee and Federal Relations Network help to spread OSBA’s message on behalf of public education in Ohio.

One of the most important things a Board Member can do is to foster strong relationships with their legislators, so there is an open line of communication and a constant dialogue with each other. In addition to this, because the education community is affected by so many external forces (transportation policy, utilities regulation, agriculture legislation, for example), Board Members need to be cognizant of issues, and how their local school districts will either benefit or be hurt by public policy decisions.

Jennifer reminded us that when we, as elected officials, raise our voices (especially in a concerted effort), it helps to make a difference when a Legislator is making a decision on a pending piece of legislation. One of the things, that sometimes we fail to do as elected officials, is to be vocal about the things that affect us, and unfortunately, it might be perceived as being supportive of the proposed policy.

So, how do we do it? We organize. We organize like any other political action group, and use the old adage of strength in numbers. We come together as elected officials, and say “Hey, we represent people just like you, and you need to listen to us.” Instead of being a silent majority, we transform into a vocal majority, and that would truly bring the real sentiments of the constituency to the forefront, instead allowing a vocal minority to dictate policy decisions.

The key to making this grassroots organization happen, as I mentioned earlier, is to build relationships. These relationships are not only Board Member to Legislator and vice versa, but also Board Member to Board Member, but inside your School District and out, and make them an important part in policy decisions.

Ohio is fortunate where our State Association asks each Board of Education to designate one Member as its Legislative Liaison, where their job is to communicate to their respective Board what is going on at the State and Federal Level. Being a Legislative Liaison, however, means that you have to be on top of responding to Calls for Action when they are sent out, well-versed in legislation, and willing to serve as a resource to your fellow Board Members regarding what is going on in Columbus (or your State Capital) and DC. The best part is that our State Association and National Association staffs are just a phone call or e-mail away.

There were some really good ideas mentioned today at this session, including what was done by our colleague Susie Lawson and Legislative Liaisons in Ashland, Holmes, and Wayne Counties came together to form the Tri-County Legislative Liaisons, and they meet monthly (or at least bi-monthly) as a group with their local legislators to discuss issues affecting them. I like this idea, and I could see where it could have some legs in any part of the state, as long as Legislative Liaisons or Board Presidents or whoever is willing to come together.

Jennifer’s presentation was highly informative and is great for anyone who would like to get involved with grassroots lobbying and/or legislative politics. There is always so much to learn, even if you do these types of activities on a regular basis. The skills and techniques Jennifer presented can be used at both the state and national level, and are a great thing for anyone in local government or school governance to know!

All of us in the OSBA family are really proud of Jennifer and all of our Ohio presenters and congratulate them on a job well done here at Annual Conference.

For additional information, please contact Jennifer Economus at j_economus@osba-ohio.org, or 614-540-4000.