Minisink Valley Board of Education Members

Back Row:  Kathlee DeRose, John Odland, Thomas Salamone, Alfred Gibbs, Cathy Prezioso
Front Row:  Paul Rickard, President Joseph Flaherty, Vice-president William Cooper, Shawn Cahill

Click here to contact the Minisink Board of Education.

• The board will develop a budget for the 2015-2016 school year that will continue to provide a quality education for all our students and attempts to maintain current program and staffing levels, while remaining sensitive to the fiscal implications for our taxpayers.
• The board will continue to advance technology and its integrated use as an instructional tool and information source across the curriculum.  It will propone a budget and policies, as necessary, to support our administration, staff and students in meeting the requirements to effectively implement the components of the Regent Reform Agenda as we continue to raise our instructional and learning standards and student achievement levels.  It will also commit the necessary resources to maintain a professional development program that cultivates ongoing learning and professional dialogue that will ensure the continuance of our highly skilled teaching staff.
• The board will negotiate in good faith and in a timely manner with appropriate bargaining units whose contracts are in line for succession this year in a fair and fiscally responsible manner.
• The board will remain cognizant of the district's good relationship with the community, staff, and students and sets as its focus the goal of continual improvement.
• The board will bring to successful completion the remaining capital projects titled as Excel II A/B.
• The board will incorporate a feasibility study for the use of solar energy in the district as it works with Tetra Tech in developing the revised Building Condition Survey that must be submitted to SED by January 2016.

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 

6121  Sexual Harassment of Employees
7310 Code of Conduct
7540  Sexual Harassment and Grievance Procedures for Students
8357 Acceptable Use Policy for Mobile Devices (AUPMD)

The Minisink Valley Board of Education meets Thursdays, twice a month, at 8:00 PM in room 108 at the middle school. Visitors are welcome.

The scheduled board of education meetings for the 2014-15 school year are as follows: ***Dates will be determined at the July 10, 2014 reorganization meeting.

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The Minisink Valley Central School District Board of Education has scheduled the following committee meetings for the 2014-15 school year:

• April 23 - TBD - Menu Advisory Committee
• March 26 @ 6:30 PM - Finance Committee
• March 19 @ 7:30 PM - Transportation Committee
• March 12 @ 6:30 PM - Finance Committee
• March 5 @7:00 PM - Buildings and Grounds Committee
• Feb. 26 @ 6:30 PM - Finance Committee
• Feb. 19 @ 7:30 PM - Athletic Committee
• Feb. 12 @ 6:30 PM - Finance Committee
• Jan. 22 @ 7:15 PM - Athletic Committee 
• Jan. 8 @ 7:30 PM- Menu Advisory Committee
• Oct. 23 @ 7:00 PM - Menu Advisory Committee
• Oct. 9 @ 7:00 PM - Audit Committee
• Sept. 4 @ 7:00 PM - Buildings and Grounds Committee 
• Sept. 4 @ 7:30 PM - Policy Committee

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There will be three three-year openings and one one-year opening on the board of education in July 2015 for the expiring seats of Kathlee DeRose, Catherine Prezioso, Paul Rickard, and Thomas Salamone.  The election will be held on May 19, 2015 during the hours of 12:00 noon to 9:00 PM.

Petitions for nominating candidates for the office of member of board of education must be filed with the clerk of the district by April 20, 2015.  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.

• 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.

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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.

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