COSSBA Connection - August 2025

COSSBA
Aug 20
6 min read

Updated: Aug 27

In this Issue:

From The Desk of the Executive Director
New COSSBA Board of Directors for 2025-2026
COSSBA Webpage Dedicated to Superintendent Searches
COSSBA National Conference and UBA Proposals Sought
Call for UBA Advisors
Partner Article Diligent
Partner Article Caissa K-12
Hennes Communications
Upcoming Events

From the Desk of the Executive Director

By Kathy McFarland, Executive Director

I’m honored and thrilled to step into the role of Executive Director of COSSBA. I am excited and grateful for this opportunity to serve and collaborate with state associations and your state leadership. Together, we work toward a shared goal of strengthening local school boards and positively impacting the lives of millions of students across the nation.

Founded in 2022, COSSBA is a nonpartisan, national alliance dedicated to supporting, promoting, and empowering state school boards associations as they serve their local districts and board members (COSSBA). We currently represent 25 state associations that collectively engage thousands of local school boards and more than 24 million K–12 students.

Supporting Your Work, Empowering Local Boards

At its core, COSSBA’s mission is to support state associations through shared resources, collaborative networking, and targeted federal government relations, enabling state leaders to deliver tailored support to local boards. Our programs, including conferences, webinars, the Unified Boards Alliance (UBA), and issue-specific learning sessions, are designed to reinforce state-level capacity so that local boards can fulfill their governance role effectively. Through UBA, for example, we deliver practical training, best practices, and resources that empower boards to address student barriers and challenges such as literacy struggles, broadband access, mental health needs, and more (COSSBA).

Why It All Matters: Direct Impact on Students

Every initiative we offer, including governance training, in-person events, and UBA programming, is intentionally linked to improving outcomes for students. Empowered and informed boards make better decisions about funding, mental health support, educational initiatives, and district policies, decisions that ultimately help more students stay on track to graduation.

By strengthening state associations, we amplify the effectiveness of local school board service, ensuring a meaningful connection between leadership and student success. When boards have the tools, networking, and advocacy they need, students benefit.

Looking Ahead

As we advance, my vision is to make COSSBA an even more visible and indispensable partner to our members. We’ll deepen our program offerings, enhance engagement opportunities, and expand resources so that every state association, large or small, receives the support they need for their unique local context. We will continue our non-partisan government relations, championing policies that preserve local control, address critical needs such as broadband access, special education funding, teacher recruitment, and school wellness.

In Closing

I’m deeply grateful for the warm welcome already extended by many of you. I look forward to learning from and working with each state association leader and state board. Together, we can turn our shared vision into impactful action and ensure every student has a chance to thrive. Let’s go to work!

New COSSBA Board of Directors for 2025-2026

By COSSBA Staff

Dr. Robert Stwalley took over as the Chair of the COSSBA Board of Directors on July 1, 2025. “Dr. Bob,” as he is known, is the President of the Board of Trustees for the Lafayette School Corporation and a clinical associate professor in the Agricultural & Biological Engineering department at Purdue University. He is also very active in the Indiana School Boards Association, having served as the president on their board of directors.

The new Chair-Elect for the COSSBA Board of Directors is Shane Rader from Wyoming. Rader is the president of the Sheridan County School District #2 Board of Trustees and the President-Elect of the Wyoming School Boards Association.

The members of the 2025-2026 COSSBA Board of Directors include:

Vernon Travis, Past Chair, Louisiana

Dr. Kathy McFarland, Executive Director

Sabrina Backer, Pennsylvania

Cornelius Ball, Georgia

Barrett Christina New Hampshire

Ege Cordell, New Hampshire

Steve Corona, Indiana

Mark Harms, Illinois

Steve Hyer, Michigan

Bruce Jolley, Wyoming

Katherine Lemoine, Louisiana

D.T. Magee, Iowa

Lance Melton, Montana

Dr. Cardell Patillo, Virginia

Thomas Patterson, Ohio

Sally Smith, Alabama

Scott Walter, Montana

For more information, see the website at www.cossba.org/board.

COSSBA Webpage Dedicated to Superintendent Searches

By COSSBA Staff

The COSSBA website now has a page dedicated to superintendent searches from our member state associations. Go to COSSBA Member Superintendent Searches for a listing of each member state association and a link to the latest searches within each state. Thank you to our state association staff for their collaboration in the National Affiliation of Superintendent Searchers (NASS), a nationwide work-a-like group.

National Conference Call for Proposals Now Open

By COSSBA Staff

The 2026 Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA) National Conference and the Unified Boards Alliance (UBA) Preconference are headed to The Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky. The UBA Pre-Conference kicks things off on Thursday, March 12 with the COSSBA National Conference running Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15. We are looking for exciting and informative presenters for both. October 3 is the deadline to submit your proposal with selected presenters being notified the week of November 14, 2025.

2026 National Conference Call for Proposals

Call for UBA Advisors: Strengthening the Voice of the Unified Boards Alliance

As we continue our collective commitment to increase student achievement and address barriers to student success across the nation, the Unified Boards Alliance (UBA) invites the Executive Directors of each state to designate a representative to serve as a UBA Advisor. This role is essential in advancing innovative strategies and collaborative leadership to improve student outcomes. We are seeking individuals who are deeply committed to public education, access and opportunity, and academic achievement for all students.

Advisors will:

Represent their state as an advocate for public education and student success
Have the opportunity to participate in quarterly UBA meetings, webinars and conferences
Collaborate with fellow advisors to address challenging areas impacting student performance
Share proven strategies, innovative practices, resources and successful models with their state association

By appointing a UBA Advisor, your state will play a vital role in shaping a unified, results-driven approach to improving student outcomes across the nation. For additional information, contact Dr. Donna McBride at: 447.448.3078 or donna.mcbride@cossba.org.

Beyond BoardDocs: Diligent is investing in the future of governance for education

By Nonie Dalton, VP of Product Management

At Diligent, we know that effective governance is the heart of effective public education—and that’s why we’re going all-in with AI-powered innovation and purpose-built solutions. Every new feature we deliver, from integrated live-streamed meetings with real-time captions, to sophisticated policy lifecycle management, to intuitive and accessible user experiences, is designed to help school boards focus on what truly matters: improving outcomes for students and communities. It’s personal for me — and for our team—because empowering education with world-class digital tools is how we help our customers build trust, transparency and meaningful results for their districts. Ready to see how we’re growing beyond BoardDocs to revolutionize governance software?

Turn “No Shows” Into Enrolled Students, At No Risk to You!

By Caissa K12

Every year, districts lose students who have enrolled but never show up. These “No Shows” not only hurt enrollment numbers but also drive up chronic absentee rates.

At Caissa K12, we find those students, bring them back, and help keep them in school, improving your attendance and enrollment at the same time. School districts choose us to locate and re-engage “No Shows” and lower chronic absentee rates.

Learn more about our success at caissak12.com.

When Crises Hit: A Blueprint for School Communications

By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications a Legacy Partner

In 2025, Hennes Communications supported over 50 school districts navigating crises from sexual misconduct to labor disputes, social media backlash and book bans. Schools today are vulnerable, highly scrutinized, and operating amid cultural polarization and pandemic fallout. These institutions must speak up, addressing issues head-on for teachers, staff, students and parents, instead of hoping problems disappear.

Effective crisis response hinges on action paired with candid communications: tell the truth, tell it first and fast, share as much as privacy allows, and target audiences directly. Schools should invest in a crisis communications plan, complete with drafted messages, roles, protocols and social media guidance, to safeguard their most valuable asset: reputation. While each situation requires its own communications strategy, with tools and tactics tailored to that situation, there are some basic principles and best practices that apply.