News

The monthly virtual Zone Meetings have a new name! 

To more accurately reflect the nature of the meetings, we're calling them the OSFMA Roundtable. 

If you were registered for the previous zone meetings, we will transition your registration to the new format over the next day. 

If you were not registered, please take a moment to register. You'll receive a confirmation that will include the meeting link that will be used for all of the meetings going forward. 

If you have questions, reach out. We're happy to help!

Register Now

Due to low enrollment, we have made the decision to cancel the 2024 Mini-Conference.

We will do our best to incorporate the topics into other events throughout the year. 

If you registered, we have notified you about the refund process. If you have any questions, please let us know.

As of Monday, September 9, the OSFMA general email has changed to info@osfma.org. 

Please update your records as needed.

No other contact information has changed. 

Membership requires renewal by April 1, each year, regardless of when you joined OSFMA.

School member dues have been set at $50 for the 2024-2025 year. 

Consider the benefits of your membership: 

COMMUNITY - OSFMA members connect through Zone Meetings, the Listserv, and at conferences to share best practices and discuss hot topics. The community being built by membership serves to support the profession.

MAGAZINE - The quarterly magazine is full of great ideas, the latest information, and business member information.

LEARNING - whether at a conference, a webinar, or by invitations to participate in educational partner organization learning opportunities, members have access to loads of resources and people who can help. 

DISCOUNTS - Members receive discounted registration rates for events. 

The Renewal Process

An email that looks like an invoice will be sent to you about 40 days in advance. 

This email is the only invoice you will receive. You must login to your account to pay with a credit card or forward this invoice to your accounts payable department for payment by check. If you do not receive an email, the invoice can be downloaded or paid by logging into your OSFMA account.

Your OSFMA username is your email address.

Payment

OSFMA accepts checks or credit cards. 

Credit Card - Payment must be made through your member profile while logged in. OSFMA does not accept credit cards over the phone.

Checks - Checks may be mailed to OSFMA, 707 13th St SE Ste 100, Salem, OR 97301

Have you ever considered serving on the OSFMA Board?

We'd love to talk with you if you're curious about what it would be like. We are seeking candidates for 3 positions. See the information below and reach out if you have questions.

Treasurer

This position serves as a monitor of the financial affairs of OSFMA. The Treasurer is one of five officer positions, serves a two-year term, and does not progress through the roles of the executive board. The Treasurer works closely with OSFMA staff to develop the budget, review finances, and approve expenses. OSFMA board members serve on committees and additional meetings may be needed throughout the year.

Zone Director (Zones 2 & 4)

As Zone Director, your representation on the Board not only gives a voice to different geographical areas but also assists the Association in serving the unique needs of the zones. Candidates must be a member of the zone they are declaring candidacy for. Zone Directors may serve two consecutive, two-year terms (total of four years).

Other Board Positions

We have 2 other board positions open and have nominations. Having a nomination for a position does not mean that you cannot declare interest and run for these positions. If you wish to run for either of these positions, send an email.

Vice President

Anne Birky from Bend-LaPine is a nominee for this position. She has served as the Zone 4 Director and desires to move into an officer position.

Zone 1 Director

Robyn Stolin from Parkrose is a nominee for this position. He is completing a term and is eligible to serve for one more term.

Why Serve on the OSFMA Board?

The Board directs how the Association serves members, both school and business. In addition to having a positive impact on the work of the association, board members also expand their own knowledge base which increases their capacity and potential job growth.

Process & Eligibility

When officer positions are open, an election is conducted during the Annual Business Meeting at the Annual Conference. Zone Directors are elected by members in their zone during the zone meeting held at the Annual Conference. Candidates must be a current OSFMA member.

Role & Commitment

As a member of the OSFMA Board, you'll need to be available to attend all board meetings (monthly or bi-monthly depending on time of year and virtually). One two-day retreat is held in August and is in person. OSFMA is committed to making service on committees and the Board as easy as possible by allowing virtual attendance at in person meetings and holding select meetings virtually.

Are You Interested?

Candidates who wish to serve may nominate themselves by emailing OSFMA or contacting the Past President, Vonnie Good. We can discuss your experience or answer questions.

The OSFMA board of directors is requesting nominations for the Jim Grossnicklaus Leadership Award.

All nominations must be received via email. Any OSFMA member may nominate a candidate for the award. Nomination letters must include the name, address, and title of the nominator(s).

The letter of nomination should include:

• Name of nominee;
• Nominee’s current title and employer;
• Nominee’s employment history;
• OSFMA membership and participation;
• Major contributions to school operations and education;
• Biographical sketch of the nominee including education, personal interests, and/or family; and
• Nominee’s community, fraternal, and philanthropic activities and services.

Candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Demonstrates outstanding leadership and management skills and earning the support and respect of their fellow staff and school/district;
• Had a notable achievement in their local school or district such as responding to a critical situation or meeting a long-term challenge their school/district endured;
• Has served OSFMA through committee work, board service, or similar leadership work; and
• Contributed to the statewide improvement of facility-related activities, i.e., legislative activities, providing assistance to other schools, and/or professional development efforts.

Submit nominations by January 25, 2023. Email the nomination materials to OSFMA.

We've combined our virtual Zone Meetings into a single meeting held on the second Tuesday of each month. We're excited to provide a regular opportunity for all OSFMA members to share ideas, solve issues, and build community.

Have a question for other members? Want to hear what others are doing? These highly valuable meetings allow you to connect with your peers virtually.

From time to time we will also bring in experts to answer questions or share information with us. Do you have a topic you'd be interested in discussing? Let us know and we'll be happy to add it to the schedule.

When

Meetings will be held the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 9 - 10 am.

Registration

Registration is FREE for members. You only need to register once for all of the meetings. If you can't make a meeting, it's ok. Join us for the next one.

Register Now

Not a Member?

If you are interested in attending but not a member, get in touch. We'd love to have you join us for a meeting before becoming a member.

Business Partners

Our Business Partner members are welcome to join the meeting to hear what is going on in schools. We ask that your participation be limited to answering questions directed to you about the area of expertise you have only. This is not an opportunity to present information or talk about your company.

The Oregon School Facilities Management Association consists of members from public and private schools throughout Oregon. We are facilities managers, operations staff, custodians, maintenance staff, and groundskeepers dedicated to the upkeep of our schools and providing the most appropriate educational environment for students.

We will award five scholarships of $1,000 each, one in each OSFMA Zone. There must be an active OSFMA School Member in the school or district where the student attends.

We look for candidates who will be pursuing an area of study that would relate to a job in facility management, maintenance, support operations, engineering, or technology. Scholarships may be used at any accredited post-secondary institution such as a junior college, community college, trade or technical school, university, or college. Funds will be sent to the financial aid office of the school once verification of enrollment has been completed in the Fall.

Download the application and find more information on our scholarship page.

Applications are due March 4, 2022.

OSFMA members are encouraged to share this information with the guidance counselors in their school or district.

Out of concern for the health and safety of conference attendees, staff, and our business partners, OSFMA is canceling the Annual Conference scheduled for April 14-16, 2021 in Albany, Oregon. A virtual conference will not be held in place of what we hoped would be an in-person event. 

As our school members prepare for and see a return of students in buildings this spring, we felt holding an event would compete with the herculean task of bringing learning back in-person. All of this in addition to limitations to meetings in place based on the guidance for Linn County where our conference would be held. 

Future Events

OSFMA is planning to hold a one-day conference in October on the in-service date. Whether this conference will be held in-person or virtually is unknown. Additionally, it may be possible to hold a portion of the meeting regionally, in-person with a virtual component. More details will be forthcoming as we learn the date of the inservice, the topics of workshops, and the limitations of county guidance. 

Business Partners

For our business partners, we have some opportunities we’re working on. We also would love to hear from you if you have ideas about connecting with school members. Additionally, we now have a form for you to submit workshop ideas for conferences and webinars to be held throughout 2021. Head to our workshop form to submit your idea. 

As always, we have our OSFMA News magazine published quarterly. Opportunities for advertising and content are available to business partners. Please let us know if you would like to submit an article for publication or want to advertise.

The Oregon School Facilities Management Association and Oregon Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) have teamed up to work on issues related to COVID-19 and schools. These workgroups have produced resources, distilled information and worked to stay on top of the ever-changing information and guidance.

Specifically, the Facilities Workgroup has been meeting regularly to discuss best practices and the most current guidance in order to provide some clarity on many issues ranging from summer projects and cleaning to return-to-school operating changes.

All of these workgroups are open to receiving questions from the OSFMA and OASBO membership as you navigate the issues in your local district. If you have a question, visit the workgroup page for the topic you are inquiring about and ask a question.

On each of the workgroup pages are also resources pertaining to that topic area. If you are looking for a specific piece of advice that is not there, let us know so the workgroup can address the issue.

COVID Resources

Are you interested in serving on a workgroup? You are welcome to participate. Just send an email to Josie Hummert.