VASBO PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Dear School Business Officers, Supporting Vendors, and Friends,
It is an honor to serve as the Virginia Association of School Business Officials (VASBO) President for 2025-26. Though our work is never easy, new and difficult challenges seem to have become the norm over the last few years. We need each other more than ever to navigate the changing landscape and figure out the best ways forward for our schools. Fortunately, VASBO stands ready to provide the foundation and the opportunities we need to collaborate and support one another.
One of our main priorities this year is the continuation of efforts to develop the pipeline of school business officials in our schools. We will continue to have focused education tracks to ensure you and your team members have resources that fit your needs. VASBO is also working on ways to help connect interested retirees with school divisions that may need short-term help during periods of transition.
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2025-26 is an exciting year because we have the opportunity to join forces with the Southeastern Association of School Business Officials (SASBO) for our spring conference. SASBO will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in Virginia through a joint conference with VASBO March 24-26, 2026 in Alexandria. And with the broader multi-state focus of our spring conference, I am excited to share that we are bringing back an in-person fall conference this year, to ensure we have ample time for our Virginia-focused training and collaboration. That conference will take place November 13-14, 2025, at the Omni Homestead Hotel in the beautiful mountains of Bath County. We will, of course, continue to jointly host a winter conference with the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) January 5-6, 2026 in Richmond. This is always an important opportunity to hear about the state budget and to have focused time with our superintendents.
Kathleen M. Jackson, MBA, SFO
VASBO President
2025-2026
By serving as a school business professional, you do vital work in your community. Serving students is at the forefront of every decision we make, every budget we develop, every payroll we process, every bus route we create, every lunch menu we devise, every building we renovate. We could do similar work in many other industries, but there is service in our hearts and service in every step we take to meet the needs of our communities’ children. VASBO is highlighting and honoring that commitment through this year’s theme, “Service in Every Step.”​
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I hope you will plan to participate in all that VASBO has to offer this year. By sharing ideas, successes, and things we would do differently, we strengthen each other and our schools. Thank you for all you do for Virginia’s children.
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Kathleen