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 September 4 , 2009 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 atinfo@nyssba.org.

The letters of invitation to the Area 6 Annual Dinner at the Malone Golf Club on September 24 have been mailed out.  The cost is $28 again this year and we have a great agenda, including Chancellor Tisch from the Board of Regents and David Albert, Director of Communications for NYSSBA.  It will provide to be a great evening, so get your reservations in to Sue Collins at 315-385-4504, NLT September 15.  See you all there.

School is back in session and the issues are on our tables.  Make sure that we all stay current by reading On Board, E-Clips and the many announcements NYSSBA sends out to keep us abreast of all the issues of the day.

Welcome New Member

We are pleased to report that the Salmon River School Board (Area 6) has voted to rejoin NYSSBA immediately.

Health insurance consortium report

NYSSBA is pleased to announce the release of a new NYSSBA research report entitled Condition Critical: Can Health Insurance Consortiums Rein in School District Health Care Costs?

The report is mainly authored by Paul Heiser, NYSSBA Research Analyst, and is the culmination of extensive research and discussions with school officials and health insurance experts.  We are particularly pleased with the release of this report, primarily because it tackles a complex issue at a time when our nation is debating how to control runaway health care costs.  The report itself is an electronic-brochure that can easily be downloaded from the NYSSBA website – www.nyssba.org/healthinsuranceconsortiums.  Moreover, the website provides enhanced content to support the report – including a brief video, health insurance consortium success stories, an interactive map, blog, and links of interest.

Iris Wolfson Honored

The late Iris Wolfson, former NYSSBA Area 11 Director and Treasurer, was honored a recent NYS Teachers Retirement System Board meeting.  Iris was a long-time member of the TRS board, and was serving as Vice President at the time of her death in June.

NYSSBA Mailbag

The NYSSBA Mailbag has launched! The NYSSBA Mailbag is a weekly, two minute video clip starring NYSSBA staffers who will answer frequently asked questions by school board members and other district staff. School board members are encouraged to submit any questions to mailbag@nyssba.org.

The Mailbag clips can be seen on the NYSSBA website – www.nyssba.org and also on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbMlkVeRKe8.

Save the Date

The NYS Educational Conference Board (ECB) will be hosting a policy conference entitled 21^st Century Bullying and Its Implications for Schools.  The conference will take place at the Desmond Hotel in Albany on December 10.  The registration is $75 and all are welcome.  Topics include School Climate, Cyber Bullying and Identifying Bullying.  Speakers include Susan Limber from Clemson University, Mary Jalloh from the NYS Center for School Safety, Maurice Elias from Rutgers University.  Also, board members from local districts will be on hand to tell you about the successful programs in their districts.  Registration information will be sent soon.

Annual Convention Update

The New York Sheraton and Sheraton Manhattan room blocks are sold out.  Attendees are registering at overflow properties, including the Flatotel, which is attached to the Sheraton Towers. We have 1,596 paid registrations to date.

Plans for the trade show continue to take shape.  To date, 35 new vendors will be exhibiting at the trade show this fall, including newly-signed exhibitors Virtual Driver Interactive, Cabot Creamery, Synthesis Architects, Penco Products, and Oswego County BOCES.

In addition, we are pleased to welcome back Whiteman Osterman & Hanna as a year-round sponsor, and newcomer KeyScan, Inc.  Whiteman Osterman & Hanna will be supporting our Pre-Convention Law Seminar, while KeyScan will be sponsoring our Employee Relations strand during Convention.  This brings our total number of year-round sponsors to 27. 

Fresh Perspective Webinar

Have you registered for the September 23 Fresh Perspectives webinar yet?  The New York State School Boards Association and The Council have collaborated to create a service designed specifically for leadership teams in transition – Fresh Perspective.

This service was created to support new and early career superintendents and their school boards by providing current status analysis and recommendations designed to generate an action plan for the district’s leadership team. The service is also helpful to veteran superintendents moving to a new district and/or governance teams undergoing significant changes.

During this webinar, you will learn about our Fresh Perspective service, from start to finish. Fresh Perspective sends a team of trained consultants to your district to gain an objective snapshot of your district’s current operations and circumstances in key areas like administrative and governance operations, financial management and internal and external relations with key stakeholders. At the end of the process, the consulting team will provide a detailed report with recommendations and a prioritized action plan for your leadership team’s consideration. 

To register for the webinar, go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/699351249. For more information on Fresh Perspectives, contact Archa Wachowicz, AdvisorySolutions Manager, at 518-783-3788 or archa.wachowicz@nyssba.org.

Pulse Poll

We sent out the August Pulse Poll on Back-to-School Issues on August 20 that attracted 539 responses.  When asked what issues were of concern as they begin the new school year, 40 percent of the respondents signaled mid-year state aid cuts, 37 percent said adequate state funding for next year, nearly 30 percent said state government dysfunction, and 19 percent cited pension costs.

While issues like swine flu and staff shortages may be making headlines, fewer than 10 percent of respondents cited those as their biggest concerns this fall.

PaySchools Update

Did you know that NYSSBA co-sponsored PaySchools is lowering its fee?  This should make it even easier for school communities to use PaySchools for additional categories, such as continuing education, onsite daycare and retiree health insurance premiums.

COLSBA/NYSSBA Joint Workshops

NYSSBA is partnering with local school board associations to co-sponsor three hour evening workshops on the topic of The School Board’s Role in the Superintendent Search Process an/or the Care and Feeding of Your Board/Superintendent Relationship.  Tentative dates are November 5 (Nassau-Suffolk), December 10 (Westchester-Putnam) and December 15 (Mid-Hudson School Study Council).  More details to follow soon.

NYSSBA Staff Update

The NYSSBA Leadership Development Department has a new addition - Debra McDermott. Debra will be our new Convention and Training Coordinator.  She brings many years of experience in the hospitality industry, most recently at the Albany Marriott.

NYSSBA Communications Deputy Director Barbara Bradley served as a judge for the New York School Public Relations Association’s 30^th Annual Communications Awards contest. The awards will be presented at the NYSPRA lunch on Friday, October 16 during NYSSBA’s Annual Convention.

Upcoming Events - 2009

New Member Academy
  September 11, Albany, Desmond Hotel

  October 2, Lake Placid, Crowne Plaza Resort and Golf Club

Fiscal Oversight Fundamentals Workshop
  September 12, Albany, Desmond Hotel

  September 21-22, Binghamton, Broome Tioga BOCES

  September 6, Olean, Old Library Restaurant
  October 3, Lake Placid, Crowne Plaza Resort and Golf Club

  October 15, New York City (to be held during the 90th Annual Convention)
  November 21, Rochester, Marriott Airport
  November 21, Latham, NYSSBA
  December 5, Islandia, Marriott

Board Officer’s Academy
  September 17, White Plains, Crowne Plaza
  September 25, Islandia, Islandia Marriott

Fiscal Oversight Online
  September 16-October 28 (registration dates:  August 5-September 9)

  October 7-November 18 (registration dates:  August 5-September 30)

33^rd Annual Education Law Conference

  September 17, Syracuse

NYS Council of School Superintendents Fall Conference
  October 4-6, Rochester

School Board Institute Courses
  October 15, NYC (during the 90th Annual Convention)

Pre-Convention School Law Seminar
  October 15, New York City

90th Annual Convention
  October 15-18, New York City 

K-12 School Foundation Training

  November 3, Buffalo

  November 4, Utica

  November 5, Westchester

COLSBA/NYSSBA Joint Conference

  November 5, Nassau-Suffolk SBA

  December 10, Westchester-Putnam SBA

  December 15, Mid-Hudson School Study Council

Leadership Toolbox Series

  November 10, Buffalo, Adams Mark Buffalo-Niagara

  November 14, Watertown, Jefferson Lewis BOCES

  November 17, Latham, NYSSBA

  November 19, Islandia

Winter School Law Conference
   December 9, Albany

ECB Bullying Conference

   December 10, Albany

Webinars

  September 9, Teacher Quality (Policies)

  September 23, Fresh Perspective

Upcoming Events - 2010

State Issues Conference

  March 14-15, Albany, Crowne Plaza

NSBA Annual Conference and Exposition

  April 10-13, Chicago, IL

10^th Annual School Attorneys Conference

  June 4-6

NYSCOSS Fall Conference

  September 26-28, Saratoga Springs

14^th Annual Pre-Convention School Law Seminar

  October 21, New York City

91^st Annual Convention

  October 21-24, New York City