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Local school boards approve BOCES
2008-09 administrative budget and elect four to BOCES Board
On April 21, the school boards of the BOCES 24 component
school districts voted 23-1 to approve the $6.8 million
administrative budget for 2008-2009. As a result, the
average assessment increase to component districts is 2.9
percent for 2008-2009, the same as the current year. School
boards also elected incumbents Sandra Beloncik, John
Bergeron, John Phelan and John Yagielski to three-year terms
beginning July 1.
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BOCES
Annual Art Show runs April 24-May 23
 The
20th Annual BOCES Art Show will run from April 24
through May 23 at BOCES School Support Services, 900
Watervliet-Shaker Rd., Albany. Coordinated by the BOCES Arts
& Enrichment Service, this year's show features 275 pieces
of student artwork representing 19 of Capital Region BOCES
component school districts.
Artwork
pictured: "Cat" by 12th grade Duanesburg High School student
Margaret Fish.
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Career and Tech students bring home
1st, 2nd and 3rd trophies from SkillsUSA Competition in
Syracuse April 9-11
 Career
& Tech students are state winners - Capital Region Career &
Technical School students (from left) Kyle Meyers of
Ballston Lake, Tim Vander Wouden of Rotterdam, Esther Singh
of Schenectady and Travis Richardson of Selkirk brought home
trophies from the New York State SkillsUSA Competition held
April 9-11 in Syracuse. They earned a 1st, two 2nds and a
3rd place award in the competition.
Read more...
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Charles S.
Dedrick named BOCES District Superintendent
 At
a special meeting on April 9, the Capital Region Board of
Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Board of Education
appointed Charles S. Dedrick to the position of district
superintendent of Capital Region BOCES. Dedrick, an
experienced educator who has been school superintendent of
the Cohoes City School District for the last nine years,
will begin his new p osition on June 9, 2008.
“When I think of the great educational leaders who came before me
in this position and the outstanding reputation of Capital
Region BOCES, I am truly honored to have been chosen as the
next leader of this organization,” said Dedrick.
Read more...
Photo: BOCES Board President Lynne Lenhardt introduces Chuck
Dedrick
as the new district superintendent at the BOCES Annual
Meeting, April 9.
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Bethlehem
student wins Capital Region Spelling Bee at Proctors
Special recognition of the Bee champion and
final round winners will be held May 3 at Albany Barnes
& Noble
Spelling "gourami" in the sixth round,
Bethlehem Middle School eighth grader Dan LaChappelle
clinched the champion title of the Capital Region
Spelling Bee on March 10 at Proctors Theater in
Schenectady. Final round winners pictured left to right:
Anthony Segreto of Shenendehowa, Olivia Marine of
Niskayuna, Craig Maughan of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake,
David O'Connor of Holy Cross School, and champion Dan
LaChappelle of Bethlehem. More than 100 talented
spellers from area public and private schools competed.
LaChappelle will go on to compete in the Scripps National
Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., May 26-June 1.
Read
more...
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Superintendents send strong message to elected officials
Annual meeting with legislators held
March 6
The 48 superintendents and staff from
the Capital Region BOCES and Questar III held their annual
legislative meeting March 6 to seek support from legislators
on a variety of issues stemming from the governor's proposed
budget. Senator Neil Breslin, Assemblymen Peter Lopez, Bob
Reilly, and John McEneny and representatives of Governor
Spitzer and Senator Joseph Bruno's offices were among those
who attended. The superintendents presented their
legislative position paper outlining the issues that face
education. Among the topics the superintendents are seeking
help:
-
restoring promised BOCES
Aid levels
-
providing relief from
unfunded mandates
-
finding solutions to property tax relief, not caps
The superintendents represent 115,000
students and their parents in Albany, Schenectady,
Schoharie, Saratoga, Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene
counties. Read the
superintendents legislative position paper...
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Schoharie
Culinary team is #1 in New York State - again!
The Schoharie
Hospitality Technology & Culinary
Arts
team is headed to the 2008 National ProStart Competition
in San Diego, CA, this April after winning the New York
State ProStart Competition at the Culinary Institute in
Hyde Park, NY, on February 9. This is the second year in
a row Team Schoharie has won the state event! Cooking their
way to first place are students Katrina Gannon and
Matthew Hudson, who both also attend Middleburgh H.S.;
Aaron Giebitz (Berne-Knox-Westerlo H.S.), and Kayla
Williams (Duanesburg H.S.). Supporting the team and
ready on standby was alternate team member Michael
Cushman (Schoharie H.S.). Teacher Chef Nancy Iannacone is 2007-08 ProStart Teacher
of the Year and was celebrated in the competition
program.
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New and improved:
2008-09 BOCES Services Guide
 The Capital Region BOCES has made significant
improvements to its Services Guide. The guide is an
annual publication prepared to help component school
districts plan for and select BOCES services they will
use in the next year. Highlights of the new and improved
2008-2009 Services Guide include:
- More comprehensive service descriptions
including reference to each service's CoSer and
activity code, service code, 2008-09 pricing
information and BOCES contact information.
- 2008-2009 price for services listed in service
code order with page reference to each service
description in the guide. This year, the BOCES made
a concerted effort to set its 2008-09 prices earlier
in its budgeting process so that school districts
would have more accurate pricing information earlier
in their budget development process.
- Services grouped by category under each
division.
- Service names conforming to how the names will
appear on BOCES bills and commitment forms.
- 2008-2009 administrative and capital assessments
for each component district.
If you would like to view or download
the BOCES
2008-2009
Services Guide,
please
click on the link. Please note that
NERIC's Que
Centre Service was inadvertently left out of the
Services Guide.
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Capital
Region BOCES receives audit from the Office of the State
Comptroller
(January
14, 2008)– The Capital Region Board of Cooperative
Educational Services (BOCES) has received its final
report from the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC)
summarizing the findings of an “Internal Controls Over
Select Financial Activities” audit of the BOCES for the
period of July 1, 2005 through February 2, 2007.
“The recommendations by the state comptroller’s office are mostly
procedural in nature and do not represent high risk
systemic issues with the BOCES fiscal operations,” said
BOCES Chief Operating Officer Dr. Gerald Carozza. “As we
continue to work on our long-term plan to tighten
internal controls, we are taking each and every
recommendation very seriously in our efforts to increase
efficiency and the effective use of public funds. The
audit process has been an invaluable tool to uphold this
responsibility.”
Read more...
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BOCES Special Education division launches new Web site
Information about the Capital Region BOCES Special
Education programs and the latest special education news
are available at your fingertips. The new and easy to
navigate Special Education Web site features a resource
page for parents and families, program descriptions,
workshop information, and feature stories about students
who benefit from BOCES Special Education programs. Visit
the
new Special Education Web site.
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Commissioner’s Decision Keeps BOCES As Is
Search for next district superintendent underway
The Capital Region BOCES will not face reorganization or
reassignment of any of its component districts,
according to Commissioner of Education Richard Mills’
decision released on October 5, 2007.
Read
more ...
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Preview
the next issue of Bright Futures
Video "phones" that help deaf and hard-of-hearing
students, data that drives planning for Career and Technical
Education programs, NERIC's growing Distance Learning
Network and Business Support Services that enable districts
to operate more efficiently are featured in the next Bright
Futures. Preview
Bright Futures.
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Statewide Value Added for School
Improvement Conference set for May 28
Capital Region BOCES, in cooperation with NYSSBA,
NYSCOSS, SAANYS, and Battelle for Kids, is presenting
"Ready, Set, Grow! School Improvement through Value-Added
Analysis" Conference on May 28 at the Holiday Inn,
Wolf Road, Albany. It is the first statewide conference on
the Value-Added growth model.
Learn more...
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James
Baldwin discusses local impact of tax caps
The New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief
concluded its public hearing schedule in Albany on April 23,
a month before it is scheduled to present a report to Gov.
David Paterson. Questar III District Superintendent and
Capital Region BOCES Interim District Superintendent James
Baldwin appeared before the commission. Click here to read
Baldwin's full
testimony. Click here for
Searching for
Property Tax Relief, a publication produced in
cooperation with the Capital Region BOCES Communications
Service for the Superintendents’ Legislative Committee of
the Questar III and Capital Region BOCES.
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New Web page "Selecting
BOCES Services" added to assist districts with process,
answer questions
Visit this Web page
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BOCES administrative budget reflects second year of
significant savings
BOCES
Assistant District Superintendent for Business Services Mark
Jones presented the 2008-2009 proposed administrative and
capital budgets and outlined a second year of significant
health care savings to the BOCES Board of Education and
superintendents in January. The proposed administrative
budget is $6,846,312. The average increase in assessment to
component schools of 2.95% – the same as the current year’s
increase in assessment. Like last year, BOCES officials
worked earlier on the administrative and division budgets so
they could provide better information to districts earlier
in their budgeting process.
Read
more...
BOCES Budget Powerpoint presentation
(PDF)
2008-2009 budget publication
(PDF)
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BOCES to conduct final session of required school
board member training for the year June 17, 19
Deadline to register for June session is June 9
Capital
Region BOCES is an approved provider of the legally
mandated fiscal training for Board Members.
The BOCES is pleased to be able to offer the required
training “free” of charge to component school board
members. There are three (3) sessions scheduled for
fiscal year 2007-08.
More info...
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Times Union editorial
supports BOCES
In its Feb. 27 editorial the
Times Union asks: "What is it about regionalization that
Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli fail to
understand? Both leaders have put forth proposals that would
undermine the very economies that regionalization is
designed to achieve." Click
here
to read the rest of the editorial.
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BOCES Aid key to students'
future
Read this article by Capital Region
BOCES Interim District Superintendent James Baldwin
published in the February 24 Times Union,
here.
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Capital Region BOCES, Questar III respond to Governor's
proposed budget
Cut
in BOCES Aid to Schools Would Cost Area Taxpayers $4.3
million
(February 14, 2008)—Governor
Spitzer’s proposed state budget includes a change in the
BOCES Aid formula that, if enacted, would amount to a more
than $4.3 million loss in state aid for area school
districts.
Read more...
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Tech Valley
High to host study tours
this spring
Tech Valley High is offering monthly study tours
beginning February 26. The three-hour study tours are
designed for educators who would like to visit the school,
learn about the principles and practices of Tech Valley
High, observe the practices being demonstrated in the
classroom and interview the faculty and students. For
more information and to register, click
here.
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Board Re-Adopts Budget Development Calendar
BOCES Annual Meeting is April 9
To accommodate component school
board members who will be attending the annual National
School Boards Association conference March 29-April 1, the BOCES Board of Education changed the BOCES Annual Meeting
to April 9 at its December meeting.
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Statewide BOCES Website
launched
The 37 BOCES in New York
State have launched a new Web site at
www.boces.org This site
provides one, easy to find, home for the BOCES as a whole.
Additionally, the information to BOCES' state-wide
initiatives will be posted here with links into each
individual BOCES. The most up-to-date news from the New York
State Education Department as well as the United States
Department of Education will be automatically updated on
this site's home page.
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Presidential Awards for
Mathematics and Science Teaching
The Presidential Awards for
Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
identifies outstanding teachers in
mathematics and science at the national level. In 2008,
teachers of grades K-6 will be eligible for this award.
Nominees must submit their applications by May 1, 2008 to be
considered. For more information, visit the
NYSED Web site.
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MRSA Resources
Capital Region BOCES Risk Management Service has
compiled
a list of informative resources to help districts
and employees stay informed about Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). cases of which have
recently surfaced in local communities.
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CoSer Development Presentation
View the PowerPoint Presentation, developed by BOCES Assistant
Superintendent for Business Mark Jones, that provides an
overview of the Co-Ser process.
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BOCES offers
professional development opportunities to component
districts
BOCES School Support Services, NERIC, Career and
Tech and Special Education divisions offer a variety of
professional development activities. For more
information, go to the bottom of the
Instructional Services Web page for the links to
each division's offerings.
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Preparing for a
possible Influenza pandemic
While the Avian Flu (Bird
Flu) has not arrived in the United States, schools officials
are being urged to
integrate pandemic influenza measures into their ongoing
crisis management planning efforts.
Click here
for a list of helpful resources.
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Statewide Resource Center
at Questar III
Resource
Center is focused on raising student achievement in low
performing schools.
Read more.
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Visit the National Board
Certification Site
Attention Educators--Are you looking to challenge yourself to
the next level, professionally? The National Board
Certification process may be just the path for you. The
process includes teachers and many other professionals.
Click here for details:
http://www.nbpts.org/
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The Superintendent Development Program
A well-established, innovative, yearlong, field program for those interested in becoming a Superintendent of Schools.
Learn more.
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Visit our news archive
for previous
news at BOCES
here.
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All New York State schools follow the
guidance for yellow alert that can be found on the EMSC
Web site at
http://www.emsc.
nysed.gov/. |
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