The School District of Washington Board of Education is among 31 Missouri school boards earning the Missouri School Boards’ Association’s 2024 Governance Team Award.

This prestigious award is based on the outstanding commitment of the school board and superintendent to ongoing professional development in effective governance practices. The award also recognizes their commitment to regional and statewide leadership and to active participation in legislative advocacy for public schools and the students they serve.

Board of Education members are Dan Leslie (President), Kelly Brinkmann (Vice President), Kevin Blackburn, John Freitag, Dr. Frank Wood, Bob Oreskovic and Rob Horvath.

The school board in each awarded district achieved the following criteria:

*The district is fully accredited.

*All seven school board members completed the Essential new board member certification from MSBA.

*All seven board members fulfilled the Refresher Training requirement for the current year through MSBA.

*At least two board members attained the Advanced level of certification from MSBA.

*At least one board member attained the Master level of certification.

*At least a quorum of the board and the superintendent attended the 2023 MSBA Annual Conference and a regional meeting during the past year.

*A representative attended the 2024 MSBA Advocacy Day.

*A board member representative participated in MSBA’s Delegate Assembly.

The school boards and superintendents receiving the award were recognized during MSBA’s Summer Summit held June 24 -25 in Branson.

The School District of Washington Board of Education recently received the Missouri School Boards’ Association’s 2024 Governance Team Award. Pictured from left are outgoing MSBA President Ruth Johnson, SDOW Board of Education members John Freitag and Kelly Brinkmann, and MSBA Executive Director Melissa Randol.