School Board Service:

What Community Members & Leaders Should Know

With more than 20 seats coming open on the boards of education of Chenango’s nine school districts, it’s more important than ever to have dedicated community members willing to step forward to take on those roles, says Kevin Walsh of The Chenango Foundation.

While the job may be thankless at times, serving on a school board is one of the most important ways of supporting public education in our communities. It is equally important to ensure prospective school board members have a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the board and its members.

Recognizing this need, the organization Walsh chairs has planned two forums to provide prospective school board members with the basic information they need to go into the job with their eyes open. “I think this is a great program, and I am proud that the Chenango Foundation is able to support it,” said Foundation Chair Kevin Walsh.

The forums are titled, “School Board Service: What community members and leaders should know.” The first is planned for 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 18 at the Greene High School auditorium. The second is scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 19 at the DCMO BOCES Chenango Campus Dining Room.

Each session will focus around a panel discussion, featuring Linda Baskt, Director of Leadership Development for the New York State School Board Association; DCMO BOCES Superintendent William Tammaro; and Judie Wright, a former Norwich City School Board member and the current facilitator of Leadership Chenango. Policies and procedures, budget and planning, the role of the school board and time commitments are among the topics which will be covered.

Any and all area residents interested in learning more about serving on their district’s board of education are encouraged to attend. Advanced registration is recommended for each of the forums, which are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

The “School Board Service” training is a program of The Chenango Foundation.

For more information on the program, or to pre-register, contact Jennifer Tavares at 334-5532 or via email at jtavares@chenangony.org.