Ohio School Boards Association
| Ohio School Boards Association | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Columbus, Ohio |
| Type: | 501(c)(4) |
| Affiliation: | Nonpartisan |
| Top official: | Tom Hosler, CEO |
| Year founded: | 1955 |
| Employees: | 42 |
| Website: | Official website |
The Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) is an organization of school boards in Ohio. The association says it "[serves] Ohio’s public school board members and the diverse districts they represent through superior service, unwavering advocacy and creative solutions."[1] As of December 2025, the OSBA provided resources, training, and legal services to school board members, as well as legislative advocacy on issues affecting education in Ohio.[2]
The OSBA terminated its membership with the National School Boards Association in October 2021.[3]
Background
Ohio's school districts adopted the OSBA constitution on December 4, 1955.[1] As of December 2025, OSBA's described its mission in the following terms:[4]
| “ |
OSBA engages and serves Ohio's public school board members and the diverse districts they represent by fostering or delivering:
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” |
Leadership
As of April 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at OSBA:[6]
- Tom Hosler, chief executive officer
- Drew Clark, chief technology officer
- Sara Clark, chief legal counsel
- Allison Morris, chief financial officer
Work and activities
As of December 2025, OSBE provided a number of services to members ranging from resources for new board members to assistance with superintendent searches.[2] OSBE's other offerings included legislative advocacy, insurance programs, legal services, school board policy development, and survey and evaluation tools.[2]
Legislative and policy work
According to its website, OSBA advocacy work included tracking education-related education and talking with lawmakers about the organization's legislative priorities. The OBSA stated its lobbyists attend legislative hearings on issues affecting education.[7]
In 2025 the OSBA supported legislation that:[8]
- Developed and funded "adult education programs in Ohio’s public schools."
- Allowed "school districts to collaboratively create alternative schools to address unique student needs" and provided "state funding for those schools."
- Aligned "state assessment laws with the federal requirements" and provided "school districts with flexibility and proper resources to meet their students’ needs."
- Enabled "locally elected boards of education to make decisions regarding the adoption of curriculum, textbooks and instructional materials, with advice and input from staff, parents, students and community members."
- Furthered "the ability of educators to maintain control of their classrooms, buildings, facilities and other school property, and offers appropriate discipline measures as determined by locally developed, board-approved policy and/or district procedures."
- Created "an inclusive environment that ensures that our students have a future that allows all students to be successful, no matter their race, ethnicity or socioeconomic background."
The OBSA opposed legislation that:
- Subjected "school districts to a one-size-fits-all approach that fails to recognize the unique needs of individual students and individual school districts."
- Did not "not include all students in the baseline beginning in kindergarten and continuing through grade three."
- Mandated "board member training."
- Authorized "the sponsorship of charter/community schools by an entity other than the locally elected board of education."
- Imposed "mandatory open enrollment policies" and mandated "expansion of open enrollment to noncontiguous districts."
- Expanded "vouchers, scholarships, tuition tax credits and similar programs at either the state or federal levels."
Finances
The following is a breakdown of OSBA's revenues and expenses from 2014 to 2023. The information comes from ProPublica.
| Year | Revenue | Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $7.9 million | $7.6 million |
| 2015 | $8.0 million | $7.6 million |
| 2016 | $8.4 million | $7.8 million |
| 2017 | $8.6 million | $7.6 million |
| 2018 | $8.8 million | $8.1 million |
| 2019 | $9.0 million | $8.3 million |
| 2020 | $7.6 million | $7.4 million |
| 2021 | $9.3 million | $7.9 million |
| 2022 | $9.7 million | $8.3 million |
| 2023 | $10.1 million | $9.1 million |
See also
- What is an influencer?
- Public education in Ohio
- List of school districts in Ohio
- Consortium of State School Boards Associations
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ohio School Boards Association, "Who we are," accessed December 4, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ohio School Boards Association, "Homepage," accessed December 4, 2025
- ↑ Ohio School Boards Association, "NSBA Letter," October 25, 2021
- ↑ [https://www.ohioschoolboards.org/osba-mission-and-vision Ohio School Boards Association, "OSBA Mission and Vision," accessed December 4, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ohio School Boards Association, "Staff Directory," accessed December 4, 2025
- ↑ Ohio School Boards Association, "Legislative issues," accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ Ohio School Boards Association, "Legislative Platform," accessed December 5, 2025
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