A Pride Caucus Within the Oregon School Boards Association Fails to Gather Enough Support

A plan to create a Pride Caucus within the Oregon School Boards Association (OSBA) has fallen flat after a two-year campaign.

Victory Would Have Given a Voice to LGBTQ+

Oregon school boards were asked to vote on a proposal to give a voice to LGBTQ+ school board members, students, and staff across that state’s educational system.

The proposal required a two-thirds majority from the governing boards of 197 school districts, 19 education service districts, and 17 community colleges.

A weighted voting system was applied, in which votes cast by larger districts serving greater numbers of students carried more clout.

While the final vote tally results will only be announced when schools reopen, it is understood that the motion failed by a small margin.

If the move to establish a Pride Caucus had succeeded, it would have secured a voting seat on OSBA’s board of directors and its legislative policy committee and a budget supporting member participation in training sessions and travel expenses to attend meetings.

The defeat will undoubtedly be a great disappointment to advocates like Katrina Doughty, a Multnomah Education Service District board member and member of the OSBA board. Doughty played a key role in the push to create the caucus, which would have joined the association’s existing caucuses for board members of color and for those from rural communities.

However, voters did approve a resolution to increase OSBA membership fees for the first time in more than 20 years.