PACE Day celebrates 20-year legacy

PACE Board Chair Dawn Moorefield presented Trustee Emeritus John Rexford with a Legacy of Leadership award on Thursday, April 23, at the PACE Day conference at the Sunriver Resort. (Photo by Lionel Lynner)

The annual PACE Day Conference drew more than 200 registrations this year, a record.

John Rexford, one of the founding members of Property and Casualty Coverage for Education board, said the school risk coverage pool has come a long way.

PACE, which is jointly administered by OSBA and the Small Districts Association of Oregon, is the leading Oregon insurance pool for education, covering nearly 300 school districts, education service districts, community colleges and charter schools.

The PACE Trust was established in 2006 when the Special Districts Insurance Services Schools Trust and the OSBA Property and Casualty Trust combined forces. PACE Board Chair Dawn Moorefield charitably called those organizing meetings "spirited."

"To say there were 'spirited discussions' would be a serious understatement," said Rexford. As the first chair of the PACE board of trustees, Rexford presided over some discussions about policy, practices and administration that were done at a higher-than-normal volume, he said.

Rexford added, though, that within a year the differences had been ironed out and since then the partnership has created incalculable benefits for members through legal, safety and facilities services and coverage.

Rexford is resigning from the PACE board effective June 30. Moorefield, the Jefferson School District superintendent, praised Rexford at the luncheon Thursday during the PACE conference at Sunriver Resort.

"His leadership and steadiness were key to establishing the PACE Trust," she said.

The PACE conference started unofficially more than a decade ago with trustees attending workshops together. Rexford said PACE Day has "turned into something special."

Thursday's sessions included sessions on the importance of proper supervision in schools, bullying in sports, emergency preparedness, crisis communications, cybersecurity and free speech in schools. Presenters included OSBA and SDAO experts as well as guest speakers.

Brenda Garcia Lua, the Columbia Gorge Community College human resources director, was attending PACE Day for the first time. She said she came "to learn stuff" and the PACE Day more than met expectations.

"I got a lot of good, relevant information," she said.

Garcia Lua said she frequently consults PACE staff, especially the lawyers, and it was helpful to put faces to names.

The sessions were mostly geared toward superintendents, facility directors, human resources and other administrative staff. OSBA Board President Dawn Watson said the conference is important for school board members as well, though.

Board members need to understand what PACE is teaching district staff so that they can both support those efforts and provide accountability, said Watson, a PACE trustee and Phoenix-Talent school board member.

Watson said OSBA pre-loss legal services were especially important for districts so that they can get answers before taking a misstep.

Dave Harvey, PACE administration director, said PACE's wide-ranging school services showed those founding members could be called visionaries.

"They were instrumental in the formation of the trust and its success today because of the policy and procedures they put in place," Harvey said.

With Rexford departing, Harvey said only trustee Tim Belanger remains from that first board. Belanger is the Oregon Trail School District business services manager.

Harvey said Rexford has been a kind of mentor for him, helping him when he first took over leading PACE.

"John has the kind of knowledge of school operations that can only be earned through years in the trenches," Harvey said.

Rexford served decades in school district administration before retiring in 2017 as the superintendent of the High Desert Education Services District and serving as the chair of the Quality Education Commission for the 2024 report. He has continued to work with High Desert and the Oregon Association of School Business Officials to offer training.

During that time he also served PACE, most recently as an emeritus board member.

Rexford said his time with PACE has given him an opportunity to make a real difference for students. He said that good safety measures help keep district costs down, allowing more money to go into the classroom.

"Providing a safe and conducive learning environment is the bottom line," he said. "The better informed our members are, the better we can keep students, staff and patrons safe."

- Jake Arnold, OSBA [email protected]