Area 6 Director Dana Smith Represents the Following School Districts:

Au Sable Valley, Beekmantown, Brasher Falls, Brushton-Moira, Canton, Chazy, Clifton-Fine, Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washington BOCES, Colton-Pierrepont, Crown Point, Edwards-Knox, Elizabethtown-Lewis, Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES, Gouverneur, Hammond, Harrisville, Hermon-DeKalb, Heuvelton, Indian Lake, Keene, Lake Placid, Lisbon, Long Lake, Madrid-Waddington, Malone, Massena, Minerva, Moriah, Morristown, Newcomb, Northeastern Clinton, Northern Adirondack, Norwood-Norfolk, Ogdensburg, Parishville-Hopkinton, Peru, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Putnam, Raquette Lake, Saint Lawrence-Lewis BOCES, Saint Regis Falls, Salmon River, Saranac, Saranac Lake, Schroon Lake, Ticonderoga, Tupper Lake, Westport and Willsboro

Area Director Electronic Newsletter

Welcome to the August 15, 2008 issue of the Area 6 electronic newsletter. The electronic newsletter is designed to facilitate communication between members of your NYSSBA Board of Directors and the Areas they represent. The newsletter contains information about Area 6 and NYSSBA. I hope you find it informative. I would appreciate your sending comments and suggestions for future newsletters to me at area06director@nyssba.org. If any of your board colleagues do not have computer access, a copy will be sent to the district office for distribution. If others with email did not receive their own copy, please submit their e-mail address to NYSSBA at info@nyssba.org.

Thank you

The support of the Boards who nominated this Area Director this year is greatly appreciated and it is hoped that Area 6 representation will meet the needs of those boards within its boundaries.  I look forward to serving all of you for the next two years. 
 
Area 6 Dinner

The letter announcing the Area 6 Dinner on September 25 at the Malone Golf and Country Club will be coming out in the next few weeks.  Please look for it and get your reservations in as soon as possible.  Our President, Wayne Schlifke, will be joining us this year and is anxious to spend time with us.  In addition, Dave Albert, Director of Communications, will also join us.  It should be another enjoyable evening in a beautiful venue. 
 
Back to School

Opening day activities are being scheduled and we are all gearing up for another school year.  Good luck and best wishes for a successful one, with scores continuing to improve and graduation rates increasing.


If you would like me to attend any functions, please let me know by telephone at (315)388-5585, email or through NYSSBA's main office. 


Welcome New and Trial NYSSBA Members

NYSSBA is pleased to welcome our newest member, the Silver Creek Central School District (Area 3).  

Convention

As of August 14, we have 2,235 people registered, representing 367 boards.  To register online, go to www.nyssba.org.

The online housing link has been sent to all registered Convention participants via e-mail.  Currently, the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, the Sheraton Manhattan and the Wellington Hotel are filled to capacity.   NYSSBA is now referring participants to designated overflow hoels.

Booth space at the upcoming Annual Convention is now sold out.  156 companies will be exhibiting on the trade show floor, including 29 new vendors.   In addition, there are 3 companies so far that will be exhibiting at tabletops.

We are pleased to announce that Prepared Response, Inc. is the newest sponsor to join us at Convention.  This company will be sponsoring the “Community Relations” track of educational seminars.  This brings our total number of sponsors to 21.

2008 Proposed Bylaw/Resolutions Booklet

The 2008 Proposed Bylaw/Resolutions Booklet has been mailed to all member districts.  If you have not received your booklet yet, please contact Christine Decatur in the NYSSBA Governmental Relations Department at 800-342-3360 or via e-mail at christine.decatur@nyssba.org.

Fresh Perspective

Ten school districts requested Fresh Perspective proposals in the first week of the launch of the new unique partnership between The Council of School Superintendents and NYSSBA to provide guidance for new leadership teams in transition.  For more information on Fresh Perspective, contact NYSSBA at 800-342-3360.

Welcome New NYSSBA Staff Member

Aileen Noonan will be joining NYSSBA as assistant counsel next month.  She currently works at Keane and Beane, P.C, in White Plains, one of NYSSBA's legal partners.  Aileen has worked with school districts on a variety of matters for several years.  She has also presented seminars and training sessions to educators in school districts and BOCES.
 
NYSSBA Staff Member Elected LCAA President

Marc Humbert, NYSSBA Senior Writer, has been elected president of the Legislative Correspondents Alumni Association.  Marc retired from The Associated Press in the summer of 2007 after more than 30 years with the world's largest news gathering organization, the last 13 years as the AP's New York state political editor.  Congratulations, Marc!

Membership Survey

NYSSBA’s membership survey is underway. School board members and superintendents were e-mailed the survey on Aug. 8 requesting they fill out the survey electronically. Hard copies were sent to those districts that NYSSBA doesn’t have e-mail addresses for.  Please let us hear form  you so we can serve you better.

Wellness Policy Workshop

NYSSBA Policy staff continues to do preliminary planning on the Wellness Policy Workshop, which will be offered in November.  Staff from the Monroe-Woodbury School District, which was recognized with an NSBA/Sodexo Magna Award, will present their successful program. 

New Member Video

NYSSBA has put together a new member video, which can be viewed at www.nyssba.org.  The video is also available by CD-ROM upon request. 

Board President’s Guidebook

NYSSBA is putting together a new Board President’s Guidebook.  Look for it in early 2009.

Fiscal Oversight Online

All Fiscal Oversight Online courses for the second cluster have concluded.  In all, 48 students were enrolled in the second cluster of courses.  Year to date, 143 students have enrolled in the online course.  Registration for remaining courses in 2008 opened on August 6, with the first class scheduled to begin on September 5.

NYSSBA’s Staff Celebrate Anniversaries

Congratulations to Tim Kremer, Executive Director, who celebrated his 10th NYSSBA anniversary on August 1.  NYSSBA staff helped Tim celebrate at the annual staff summer picnic with activities such as a Tim-themed crossword puzzle contest (Kremer’s Klews) and a dessert contest (Kremer’s Kake-Off). 

Congratulations also go to the following staff who will also celebrate their NYSSBA anniversaries in August:

Mark Guidetti - 10 years
George Negron - 9 years
Arlene McKeon - 5 years
Kate Andrejko - 3 years
Richard Bruns - 1 year
 
Upcoming Events
 
Fiscal Oversight Workshop
  August 18-19, Holbrook, Eastern Suffolk BOCES
  August 23, Rochester, Marriott Airport Hotel
  September 5, Albany Desmond (during the New and Veteran Academies)
  October 16, New York City, Sheraton New York Hotel
  November 15, Fairport, Woodcliff Hotel
  November 15 - Ronkonkoma, Cortland by Marriott Long Island
  November 22 – Elmira, Holiday Inn Elmira
  December 13 – Oneonta, Holiday Inn Oneonta

New School Board Member One-Day Academy
  August 22, Rochester, Marriott Airport Hotel

Board Officers Academy
  August 16, Ronkonkoma, Courtyard by Marriott Long Island
  September 20, Latham, NYSSBA Headquarters
  September 27, Binghamton, Broome-Tioga BOCES

Fiscal Oversight Online course schedule
  September 3 thru October 15
  September 17 thru October 29
  October 8 thru November 19

New School Board Member Academy
  September 5-7, Albany, Desmond Hotel

School Board Institute Courses
  September 5, Albany, Desmond Hotel
  October 16, New York City, Sheraton New York Hotel

32nd Annual Education Law Conference
  September 11, Syracuse, Syracuse University

Media Relations Boot Camp
  September 12, Plainview, Marriott Residence Inn
 
Pre-Convention School Law Seminar
  October 16, New York City

89th Annual Convention
  October 16-19, New York City, Sheraton Hotel and Towers

Wellness Policy Workshops
  November 7, Rochester
  November 14, Latham, NYSSBA Headquarters
  November 20, Long Island

School Law Conference
  December 10, Albany