Charter schools to remain guests, not family, at NYSSBA trainings

On Board Online • November 5, 2012

Annual Business Meeting

By Barbara Bradley
Staff Writer

Delegates to NYSSBA’s Annual Business Meeting overwhelmingly voted down a resolution that would have created a committee to study whether charter schools should become members of the Association.

While acknowledging charter schools’ status as public schools, delegates argued there are important distinctions.

Public schools exist to educate all children, regardless of their abilities, unlike charter schools, which are able to choose their students, delegates said. They added that charter schools are not subject to the same mandates as public schools, which contributes to different political priorities.

While charter school personnel and board members might benefit from attending NYSSBA training events, delegates pointed out they can do so by taking advantage of NYSSBA’s nonmember attendance rates (typically twice the amount charged to member districts). 

“This Association is an advocate for public schools, schools that provide for the brightest of our students and for those that need and require the most,” said Pat Burk, a board member from Batavia. “At this crucial time it is even more imperative that we advocate and represent public, all inclusive schools and not recognize charter schools that can discriminate with regards to a student’s ability and remove resources from our budgets.”

Delegates reinforced their charter schools stance by passing a resolution that directs NYSSBA to oppose a potential parent trigger law for converting a failing public school into a charter school. Delegates also voted to have NYSSBA and its governmental relations department oppose legislation to include virtual charter schools in the state’s charter school law.

In other action, they passed resolutions directing NYSSBA to seek legislative help in revamping the delivery of education. Among those were resolutions to have the state give local boards of education incentives to create regional high schools and give local school boards authority to determine how much “seat time” is required for students to earn course credit or meet graduation requirements. Another resolution seeks more digital learning opportunities for students.

Finances were also top of mind at the Annual Business Meeting. Delegates passed resolutions directing NYSSBA to seek legislation to eliminate the state aid spending cap based on personal income growth, allow contingency budgets under the property tax cap to be adjusted for local tax base growth, prevent state education aid from being directed for performance grants, and seek school tax stabilization if gas exploration (fracking) is legalized in the state.

In all, the 228 delegates passed 20 resolutions Oct. 27 in Rochester. These resolutions will become part of NYSSBA’s 2013 advocacy agenda. The resolutions were presented by Resolutions Committee Chair Roseanne Sullivan of Pine Bush.

Other resolutions passed by the delegates will direct NYSSBA to:

• Facilitate efforts to allow BOCES and their component districts to create a common calendar and bell times that would enable them to coordinate distance learning, shared programing and regional transportation.
• Ask the State Education Department to hold university schools of education accountable for the quality of teacher graduates.
• Strengthen the state process for revoking teacher certification.
• Ensure a secure system for handling student and staff data.
• Reduce testing by eliminating requirements that districts participate in exam field tests.
• Seek support for holding a statewide referendum by 2017 to hold a state constitutional convention.

Delegates agreed to extend four resolutions that were slated to sunset at the end of the year. Those involve state funding of mandatory grade 3-8 state tests, reform of the teacher discipline process under a set of principles, modification of testing requirements for students with disabilities, and repeal of salary increments under the Triborough Amendment.

“Despite our best efforts, we have not yet achieved the aims of these 2007 resolutions,” said Timothy G. Kremer, NYSSBA executive director.

Delegates also elected NYSSBA officers for 2013. Thomas Nespeca of Webster was elected president for a second one-year term. Lynne Lenhardt of Bethlehem, Capital Region BOCES and Tech Valley High School was elected first vice president while Susan Bergtraum of Nassau BOCES was elected second vice president, both for second one-year terms. Michael Masse of Fayetteville-Manlius was elected for a seventh one-year term as treasurer.