Minisink Valley Board of Education Members

Standing:  John Odland, Vice-president William Cooper, Shawn Cahill, President Joseph Flaherty, Thomas Salamone
Seated:  James Emery, Jr., Catherine Prezioso, Kathlee DeRose, Christopher Briecke

Click here to contact the Minisink Board of Education.

• The district will cultivate an atmosphere that embraces Minisink Valley’s diversity and supports a learning environment respectful of all students, staff, and community members.
• The district will develop and successfully pass a fiscally responsible budget for the 2019-2020 school year that complies with the New York State Tax Cap Law and supports a quality education for all our students.
•  The district will complete a review of existing administrative regulations and implement all necessary changes to ensure alignment with the board of education policy manual adopted on August 30, 2018.  The district will further ensure that the new regulations are compliant with all State and Federal laws and regulations.
•  The district will continue to expand and improve upon communication capabilities with our staff, students and community to help promote all the positive attributes of Minisink Valley. This will include the implementation of a new website by the end of the 2018–2019 school year.
•  The district will continue to maintain oversight for the additional construction phases of the Capital Project. 

A major function of our board of education is to set the direction for the district.  Board members do this by writing and reviewing policies.   When we set procedures and guidelines, we do so in conjunction with these policies. 

View all Minisink Valley Board of Education Policies 

Policy # 8271 Internet Safety / Internet Content Filtering

The Minisink Valley Board of Education meets on various Thursdays at 8:00 PM, unless otherwise noted, in room 108 at the middle school. Visitors are welcome and encouraged to come.  *Note:  November 14th will be a special board of education meeting for the purpose of uncollected taxes.  January 10th's meeting will be held in the middle school auditorium.

The Minisink Valley Central School District Board of Education has scheduled the following committee meetings for the 2018-19 school year:

• Buildings and Grounds Comm. - 1/10/19 @ 7:00 p.m. - middle school room 108
• Transportation Comm. - 11/06/18 @ 9:30 a.m. - Central Office
• Audit Comm. - 10/11/18 @ 7:30 p.m. - middle school room 108
• Policy Comm. - 8/22/18 @ 11:30 a.m. - to be held in Central Office
• Menu Advisory Comm. - 8/15/18 @ 9:00 a.m. - to be held in Central Office

There will be three three-year openings on the board of education in July 2019 for the expiring seats of William Cooper, Joseph Flaherty and Thomas Salamone commencing July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022.  The election will be held on May 21, 2019 during the hours of 12:00 noon to 9:00 PM.  Orange County School Boards Association will be holding a workshop, Prospective School Board Member, on TBD from 9:00 a.m. - 12 Noon for those that are considering running for the board of education.  

Are you interested in possibly serving on Minisink Valley’s Board of Education? Find out what it takes to be a school board member at a free workshop for perspective board members on Saturday, March 30 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Orange-Ulster BOCES, 53 Gibson Rd., in Goshen.

The Orange County School Boards Association (OCSBA) will present information to interested community members about the roles, responsibilities, and realities of school board service.

 Agenda

• Legal and practical qualifications for serving on a school board

 • Roles and responsibilities of a school board member

• Time commitment and types of decisions made by school boards

• School district relationships

 The workshop is offered by OCSBA as a free community service. Reservations are required. RSVP by March 23 via email or regular mail to: Karyn Meier, OCSBA 7 Panel Lane, Florida, N.Y. Email: karyn.meier@ocsba.com

Important dates to remember:

·       April 22 – Petition must be filed for central, union free and common school districts

·       May 1 – Petition must be filed for all small city school districts

         May 21 – Budget Vote and Election Day

Petitions for nominating candidates for the office of member of board of education must be filed with the clerk of the district by April 22,  2019.  Vacancies on the board of education are not considered specific offices.  Candidates run at large.  Nominating petitions must be signed by qualified voters of the district, shall state the name and residence of each signer and the name and residence address of the candidate.  Nominating petitions with information about disclosure of expenditures by board candidates are available to be picked up from the district clerk's office from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM on days when school is in session.
fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/Prospective-2017.pdf

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• Must be able to read and write.
• Must be a qualified voter of the district. A member does not necessarily have to be a taxpayer, but must be a district resident for a period of at least one year prior to the election.
• No more than one member of an immediate family may serve as a member of the board of education at one time.
• May not be a current employee of the school district.
• May not simultaneously hold another incompatible public office.
• May not have been removed from any school district office within the preceding year.

For any school board of education member appointed to a term beginning on or after July 1, 2005, New York State now requires you to complete, within one year, at least six hours of training in your financial oversight, accountability, and fiduciary responsibilities. The training curriculum must be approved by the commissioner of education in consultation with the comptroller. The commissioner also must approve training providers. There are five (5) approved workshops totaling six hours being offered by the New York State School Boards' Association. The areas covered are:

• School District Finances: Roles and Responsibilities
• Revenue Sources and the Budget Process
• Building School District Fiscal Fitness
• Monitoring District Fiscal Fitness
• Preventing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse of District Resources.

In addition, every school board member elected or appointed for a first term beginning on or after July 1, 2011, must complete within one year, training in Essentials for School Board Governance.  The areas covered are:

• The boards' role in student achievement
• The dynamics of the board-superintendent relationship
• How policy is developed and used by the board
• Key legal parameters such as the Open Meetings Law
• How data is used by school boards in decision making.