2 weeks Ago By ELLA HUTCHERSON [email protected]
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save When Corvallis school board incumbent Sami Al-Abdrabbuh thinks of his educational inspirations, he thinks of his grandmother. Because there wasn’t a school in her area, she created one. With only a sixth grade education, she ensured every one of her children received more schooling than she had.
Sami Al-Abdrabbuh “That idea really inspires me,” Al-Abdrabbuh told Mid-Valley Media. “Living in Corvallis, calling Corvallis a home for myself, I found the most important thing I need to invest in my community and our country is a solid, resilient public education.” Al-Abdrabbuh, a 38-year-old installation project manager and higher education instructor, has served on Corvallis’ school board since 2017.
He is running for his third term against IT consultant Chris Blacker and real estate broker Charlotte Willer on the May 20 ballot . People are also reading..
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Going into a potential third term, Al-Abdrabbuh’s priorities are supporting each student through targeted programs and investments, protecting students’ rights in the face of threats at the federal level and making Corvallis a more resilient community through bridge-building and partnerships. Chris Blacker Charlotte Willer Al-Abdrabbuh spent most of his childhood in the Middle East, and attended Oregon State University for his graduate-level education, where he was elected to student government. Prior to serving on the Corvallis school board, he was appointed to the district’s budget committee.
He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022, the Oregon House of Representatives in 2016 and 2024, and for Benton County’s Board of Commissioners in 2018, all unsuccessfully.
However, Al-Abdrabbuh told Mid-Valley Media that his focus is always on the children. In his time on the school board, he has seen how social services, interventions, opportunities for career and technical education and other specific investments pay dividends when it comes to student success, and he wants to continue these investments in a new term. Corvallis school board member Sami Al-Abdrabbuh smiles as he describes his experience attending a robotics competition and play at Corvallis High School during an evening school board meeting in March 2025.
He is running again for a board position but faces two challengers. He’s also focused on students’ rights to learn, no matter their documentation status. According to Al-Abdrabbuh, Plyler v.
Doe , the 1982 Supreme Court decision that determined states cannot deny undocumented students access to education, is in question under the Trump administration . Standing up for students and schools is going to be important on every level, he said. His third priority is creating resilient schools through a resilient community — since he joined the school board, Al-Abdrabbuh said, student enrollment in Corvallis has been declining , and income has not been catching up to the cost of the median single-family house.
He views housing affordability as key to solving the problem and wants to see workforce housing for district staff and the community at large. “The less students we have, the less money we get,” he said, “and the less opportunities we can provide to our students.” Al-Abdrabbuh sees his life as one fully dedicated to service.
He quotes George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright, who said “I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.” “My passion is to serve my community,” Al-Abdrabbuh said. “Until I perish, I really hope that passion does not go away.
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