Some 2,500 school board members, superintendents and educators from throughout New York State are expected to arrive in New York City next week for the New York State School Boards Association’s 99th Annual Convention and Education Expo.

NYSSBA’s three-day conference will take place Oct. 25-27 at the Sheraton New York Times Square and the New York Hilton Midtown. The event will feature more than 100 educational sessions, workshops and speakers, including State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia.

While this year’s transition to new two-day math and English language arts assessments makes it impossible to compare overall results with past years, we are pleased to see that revisions to this year’s exams have resulted in students spending less time on each test.

In addition, we are encouraged that the exams are being prepared with greater involvement by New York educators, who are writing and reviewing the questions and established the revised grade-level performance standards.

John Rieger, the president of the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex (WSWHE) BOCES, has been named the winner of the New York State School Boards Association’s (NYSSBA) top award for school board service. He will receive the 2018 Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service at the Association’s Annual Convention in New York City.

As the new school year begins, school boards are taking very seriously their responsibilities for ensuring students a safe and productive learning environment by improving school safety, implementing a new mental health curriculum, and optimizing resource equity across all buildings in the school district.

"In a world that is too often unfair, school board members are determined to protect the rights of every student," said New York State School Boards Association Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer.

The U. S. Supreme Court ruling that it is a violation of constitutionally protected free speech to compel non-union members to pay ‘agency fees’ is a matter to be addressed by an employee and his or her union. NYSSBA members will continue to negotiate agreements with unions that are fiscally sound and serve to benefit the school communities our members represent.

To borrow from the words of famous poet T.S. Eliot, the 2018 legislative session ended "not with a bang but a whimper." 

There was no deal on major issues such as teacher evaluations, school safety, or stop arm cameras for school buses.

The practice of removing children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border, traumatizing the children and their parents, must end.

We are encouraged to hear that President Trump has signed an executive order intended to stop this horrible practice, and we hope that a more lasting, humane solution can be reached.

Voter turnout for last week’s school budget votes plummeted by more than 50,000 from a year ago – the lowest total since the inception of the tax cap in 2012, according to a New York State School Boards Association analysis of State Education Department data.

The total number of votes cast statewide in 2018 school budget votes was 505,075, compared to 557,642 in 2017 – a drop of 52,567.

Photo, video and interview opportunities

What:  A series of summits focused on what education will look like in 2030. Guest speakers and stakeholders will discuss how education needs to evolve in order to prepare students for success in the year 2030. The summits are geared toward school board members, administrators, educators, parents, students and community members.

Who:

• Tim Kremer, Executive Director, New York State School Boards Association
• MaryEllen Elia, New York State Education Commissioner
• Bill Daggett, Ed.D., Founder and Chairman, International Center for Leadership in Education
• A presenter from IBM will demonstrate the Teacher Advisor with Watson program.
• A ‘Digital Skills’ program will be presented with a representative from Microsoft about empowering students to be future-ready.

New York State voters approved 97.6 percent of school district budgets on Tuesday, May 15, according to an analysis by the New York State School Boards Association. That's down slightly from 99.3 percent in 2017.

"School boards and their leadership teams put together budgets that were fiscally restrained yet responsive to the needs of their communities," said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. "For example, in response to community concerns about school safety, many school boards allocated funding for school resources officers..."