Superintendent
Owatonna Public Schools
The AASA Governing Board convened in Washington D.C. July 9-11 for the Legislative Advocacy Conference.
Tuesday, July 9: The Minnesota delegation comprised of Lisa Sayles-Adams (Minneapolis), David Law (Minnetonka), Chris Mills (Thief River Falls), Craig Oftedahl (Luverne) and Jeff Elstad (Owatonna) convened with other members of AASA Region 3 state delegates (North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan and Minnesota) to discuss the issues from a regional point of view.
We were also able to hear a full afternoon of presentations on the topics of school vouchers, the value of advocacy from our superintendents from across the country, and the impacts of federal funding proposals. You can find a full list of the key issues discussed here.
Wednesday, July 10: The Minnesota delegation began our day hearing from influential members of Congress with a reminder that our voice matters to our federal legislators.
We were then off to the “Hill” to meet with our Minnesota elected representatives. Through great scheduling and planning (Thank you to our MASA staff), we were able to meet with all of our elected officials or their office staff including Senator Klobuchar, Senator Smith, Rep. Fischbach, Rep. Finstad, Rep. Dean Phillips, Rep. Emmer, Rep. Craig, Rep. Stauber, Rep. McCollum and Rep. Omar. With temperatures soaring to over 100 degrees, it was a full and sweaty day!
We concluded our day with a special ceremony to install Gustavo Balderas (Beaverton, OR) as our new AASA President, but more importantly to see David Law (Minnetonka) installed as our AASA President-Elect.
Thursday, July 11: The conference closing session included viewpoints from our AASA legal staff regarding major regulations, guidance and key lawsuits that are either being heard currently or are scheduled to be heard. These of course include the most recent changes to Title IX.
We also heard from a panel regarding advances in AI and how it may impact policy moving forward.
I encourage our members to remain active as advocates for public education and to be aware of the key issues. OUR VOICE MATTERS.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeff Elstad
AASA Governing Board Member
Superintendent, Owatonna Public Schools
Find your governing board member information here: www.mnasa.org/mn-aasa-governing-board.
