ST. LAWRENCE LEWIS COUNTIES SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION
ON-LINE NEWSLETTER
1ST EDITION
AUGUST 2008
www.sllcsba.org

This Newsletter has been a long time coming and is still in its infancy.  We have attempted to find the most economical and yet accessible method of getting the information out to our members.  While writing, editing and getting it typed and printed could be done by our students, it would be very time consuming.  Most of us do not have the luxury of enormous amounts of time and the internet seemed to be the most feasibly option available to us.  Here it is.  It is your Newsletter, so we invite you to submit anything you wish to have discussed, an article or letter published or an issue explored, in addition to the calendar of events and announcements we would normally provide.  At this time, your President is doing the writing, your Secretary-Treasurer is doing the liaison with the Webmaster and we are going to get our feet wet.  Please be a part of it and let’s see how it develops.

For those who have not heard, we have once again contracted for a bus to the NYSSBA Convention in NYC in October.  We will leave Canton on October 16 at approximately 8AM and arrive back there on Sunday October 19 at approximately 5PM.  Let Sue Collins know ASAP if you are going to ride with us.  We expect a full load this year, so get your names in early.  The cost will be set based upon numbers.  We do not expect it to be any more than last year, which was $100 per person.

Preliminary plans have been sketched for the 2008-09 SLLCSBA event calendar.  Final plans will be made at our meeting in Canton at BOCES Central Office on Thursday, August 21 at 6:30PM.  We would really appreciate having more people in attendance to help us develop the events for the coming year.  New ideas and fresh perspectives are always welcome.

Several ideas have been suggested to enhance the calendar of events and hopefully increase membership participation.  A current issues forum on a Saturday afternoon or evening during the winter is one.  Another is an active workshop involving boardmanship skills enhancement.  It’s never too late to learn something new and to improve our abilities as Board members to bring that enhanced perspective to the Board table.  We’re never too old to learn. 

It was wonderful to have the turnout we did at the New Board Members Workshop at Hermon-DeKalb in June.  As usual, there are excellent new people bringing life to our leadership roles at the local level.  The information-sharing and willingness to learn were refreshing.  We wish them all the best in their new responsibilities.  Now, we hope they continue, along with the rest of us, in going to the New and Veteran Academies run by NYSSBA each summer.  Announcements are out, so keep in touch with what’s going on.  Visit the NYSSBA, BOCES and this web site frequently to keep abreast of all developments.  Our aim is to do at least quarterly newsletters and to put all announcements on the web site. 

As noted above, articles, schedules, issues, etc. are welcome to be included here.  Let us know by contacting Dana at dsmith8usa@netscape.net or Sue Collins at BOCES.   The organization is as effective as the participation of its membership. 

Dana Smith, President
Roger Bennett, Vice President
Sue Collins, Secretary-Treasurer