FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2012

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Jim Kaden, president of the South Huntington Board of Education, has been named the New York State School Boards Association’s Advocate of the Year for his dedication to public education and tireless work on behalf of students. The award will be presented during the Association’s annual State Issues Conference at the Hotel Albany, in downtown Albany on Sunday, March 11.

Kaden has served on the South Huntington board for nearly 20 years and has been unanimously elected board president every year since 1997. He is also the former president of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2012

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

New York State Senate Education Committee Chair John Flanagan (R-Smithtown) has been named the 2011-2012 State Leader of the Year by the New York State School Boards Association. The award is being presented during the Association’s annual State Issues Conference at the Hotel Albany, in downtown Albany on Sunday, March 11.

NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer said Senator Flanagan has continued to distinguish himself above all state leaders in responding to and promoting the Association’s legislative agenda.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2012

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Anita Feldman, president of the Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES school board, has been honored with the Lifetime Advocacy Achievement Award from the New York State School Boards Association. The award is being presented during the Association’s annual State Issues Conference at the Hotel Albany, in downtown Albany on Sunday, March 11.

Feldman has served 20 years on the Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES board. She previously served 24 years on the Mahopac school board. She has also been on the board of the Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association since 1982.

FOR RELEASE:  February 14, 2012

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Providing future employees with the option of a 401 (k)-type retirement package was overwhelmingly supported by school board members in a recent poll from the New York State School Boards Association.

Of the 550 respondents to the online poll, 85 percent of board members said new school employees should be given the choice of a 401 (k)-type defined-contribution pension plan.

“The creation of a new pension tier, which provides a defined contribution and the option to enroll in a 401 (k) plan, is the best way to ensure future employees receive the benefits they deserve while also ensuring our students receive the education they deserve,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer.

FOR RELEASE:  February 13, 2012

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

We applaud the Board of Regents for seeking a waiver from the unrealistic goals imposed by No Child Left Behind.

The fact is, school districts can still be held accountable without having to face quixotic expectations such as requiring 100 percent student proficiency in math and English/language arts by 2014.

By gaining more flexibility from Washington, New York will be able to focus its attention and resources on its lowest performing schools while also rewarding its highest performing schools. Furthermore, by streamlining the use of federal funds, the state will be able to better assist those students most in need of help.

FOR RELEASE: Febuary 6, 2012

CONTACT: Barbara Bradley
(518) 783-3719
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

The New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) has garnered two awards for its “Be the Change for Kids” campaign.

The National School Boards Association awarded NYSSBA with the 2012 Thomas A. Shannon Award for Excellence, a national award for leadership in public education.

The award, established in 1997 in honor of former NSBA Executive Director Thomas A. Shannon, is given annually to recognize extraordinary efforts performed on behalf of NSBA, local school board constituencies and school communities.

The Empire State Society of Association Executives also honored NYSSBA’s “Be the Change for Kids” campaign with its 2011 Association Excellence Award in Marketing/Public Relations.

FOR RELEASE: January 23, 2012

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Lawmakers should scrap the governor’s plan for $250 million in competitive grants and instead distribute those funds to high needs school districts, the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) said today in testimony to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

“Shifting the governor’s proposed $250 million grant program toward further reduction in the Gap Elimination Adjustment would do a great deal in rescuing many of our school districts from the brink of educational insolvency,” said David Little, NYSSBA’s director of governmental relations, who pointed out that districts are now operating under a property tax cap for the first time and facing the loss of $353 million in federal education funds after the 2011-12 school year.

FOR RELEASE:  January 19, 2012

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

School board members don’t see a quick resolution to the teacher evaluation process even though state and federal aid are at stake, according to a recent online poll from the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA).

Nearly two-thirds of the 526 respondents to the poll said they did not believe linking state aid to the completion of a teacher and principal evaluation system would expedite a fair agreement.

“School boards do not want to be put in a position to accept a watered-down evaluation system,” said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. “The threat of funding losses will not resonate as strongly with employees as it does with school officials who must manage the budget and make ends meet.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Award-winning journalist Cathy Woodruff has joined the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) as senior writer.

Woodruff worked as a staff writer and columnist for the Albany Times Union since 1998. Prior to that, she was a reporter for the Daily Gazette in Schenectady for 15 years and The Recorder of Amsterdam.

Woodruff replaces Marc Humbert, the former chief political writer for the Associated Press in Albany, who retired after four years at NYSSBA.

FOR RELEASE:  January 17, 2012

CONTACT: David Albert
(518) 783-3716 or (518) 320-2221 cell
On Twitter: @nyschoolboards

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s commitment to a 4 percent education funding increase is crucial to school districts, some of which face the possibility of financial ruin under the state’s property tax levy cap. Let’s devote more of the aid increase to basic operating aid.