A school board member serving Oregon’s second-largest district resigned suddenly this week, effective immediately.
Osvaldo Avila submitted his resignation to the Salem-Keizer Public Schools board chair on Wednesday. Avila said being on the school board has been one of his greatest personal achievements, but he’s stepping down to prioritize his family.
Salem-Keizer School Board member Osvaldo Avila photographed in June 2021. Avila resigned unexpectedly on Feb. 7, 2024. He said he’s stepping down to prioritize his family.
Courtesy of Salem-Keizer Public Schools
“I am grateful for the opportunity and privilege I have had over these past few years to serve tens of thousands of students in our community while getting to know the educators and staff that have a daily impact on them as well,” he said in a statement Thursday. When contacted by OPB, Avila referred any further comment on his resignation back to the school district.
He continued in his public statement: “I do this having full confidence in my colleagues on the board and Superintendent [Andrea] Castañeda in leading our district in service of the students of Salem-Keizer.”
Avila, who represented West Salem’s Zone 1, was elected to the seven-member school board in 2021. He was selected shortly after to serve as the board chair — a position he held for a year. He was serving as the first vice-chair until his resignation. His four-year term would have ended next year.
Avila was elected to the nonpartisan school board as part of a slate of candidates considered to be more politically progressive, including current second vice-chair Ashley Carson Cottingham, member María Hinojos Pressey and current chair Karina Gúzman Ortiz.
The slate’s win was historic at the time, changing the racial makeup of the board to substantially shift and more closely reflect the district’s large percentage of Latino or Hispanic students. Avila, Hinojos Pressey and Gúzman Ortiz were the first Latino representatives ever elected to the Salem-Keizer board.
Avila was investigated by the district for his behavior toward a referee at one of his son’s football games in the fall of 2022, as previously reported by the Statesman Journal. He apologized for the incident early last year.
Avila’s resignation comes as Salem-Keizer is in ongoing bargaining with both its licensed and classified labor unions and as the district navigates significant financial woes.
Superintendent Castañeda said she’s grateful for Avila’s steady leadership throughout her transition into Salem-Keizer last year.
“[Avila] is unfailingly courageous and student and family-centered in his leadership of our district,” Castañeda said in a written statement. “We will miss his presence and contributions on the board but are proud to count him amongst Salem-Keizer Public School’s many supporters.”
The district hasn’t announced a process or timeline to fill the position for the remainder of the Zone 1 term. Former board member Danielle Bethell resigned from Keizer’s Zone 6 back in 2022, which led to the appointment of an interim representative until the 2023 regular election.
Salem-Keizer officials said they expect to have more information on future steps next week.
