Leadership Conference 2026
Includes a Live In-Person Event on 12/03/2026 at 8:30 AM (EST)
Date: 12/03-04/2026
Location: Hilton Columbus/Polaris | 8700 Lyra Dr | Columbus, OH 43240
Fees:
$300 (OASBO Member - Individual)
$600 (Non-Member - Individual)
$800 (District Team - Up to Three Individuals)*
*Treasurer Must Be an OASBO Member and Part of District Team, Registration Must be Processed through Treasurer's OASBO Account
Hotel Reservations
OASBO has secured a special hotel room rate at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris hotel of $174 + 16.2% tax per night for your stay. Reserve your room today!
*Reservation Cut-Off: November 2, 2026
New this year, OASBO is partnering with the Ohio Educational Service Center Association (OESCA) to create an interactive learning experience specifically designed for leadership teams, including the superintendent, treasurer/CFO, and district and board leaders.
Join us December 3-4 at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris as we welcome back Dr. Marguerite Roza, whose sessions have consistently challenged participants to think differently, ask difficult questions, and explore new approaches to sustaining student success in times of uncertainty. This interactive leadership experience is designed for district leadership teams navigating an increasingly complex educational and financial environment. Effective solutions require collaboration among superintendents, treasurers/CFOs, board members, and other key decision-makers.
Dr. Roza will guide participants through the financial realities shaping K-12 education and facilitate conversations about how leaders can work together to align resources, priorities, and expectations. Through practical examples, data-driven discussion, and interactive exercises, teams will examine how decisions made today will influence their district's long-term sustainability and ability to serve students.
Participants will explore:
- The national and state trends shaping the future of school finance
- Strategies for aligning resources with district priorities and student needs
- Approaches to managing financial pressures while maintaining organizational effectiveness
- How leadership teams can navigate difficult decisions and communicate them effectively
- Tools and frameworks for planning beyond immediate challenges and preparing for long-term sustainability
Whether your district is facing enrollment shifts, funding uncertainty, staffing challenges, or competing community expectations, this conference will provide an opportunity for leadership teams to learn together, challenge assumptions, and return home better prepared to lead through change.
Tentative Agenda (Timing Subject to Change)
Thursday, December 03
8:30 am - 9:30 am
Registration Desk Open/Breakfast
9:30 am - 10:00 am
Welcome and Program Overview
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Program
Dr. Marguerite Roza, Edunomics Lab
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Program
Dr. Marguerite Roza, Edunomics Lab
4:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Program Re-Cap & Wrap Up
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Reception/Dinner
Friday, December 04
8:00 am - 9:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Topic TBD
12:00 p.m.
Adjourn
Dr. Marguerite Roza
Director, Edunomics Lab / Research Professor, McCourt School, Georgetown University
Dr. Marguerite Roza is Research Professor at Georgetown University and Director of the Edunomics Lab, a research center exploring and modeling complex education finance decisions to inform policy and practice. She leads the McCourt School of Public Policy's Certificate in Education Finance, which equips participants with practical skills in strategic fiscal management, policy analysis, and leadership. Her research traces the effects of fiscal policies at the federal, state, and district levels for their implications on resources at the school and classroom levels. She is author of the highly regarded education finance book, Educational Economics: Where Do School Funds Go?
Roza was a Senior Economic Advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a Lieutenant in the US Navy teaching thermodynamics at the Naval Nuclear Power School. She earned a PhD in Education from the University of Washington, a BS from Duke University, and studied at the London School of Economics and the University of Amsterdam.
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