1000
SUBJECT:
ORGANIZATION
AND AUTHORITY
The Board of Cooperative Educational Services of
the Sole Supervisory District of
Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton and Essex Counties,
New York shall be known and referred to as the
Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES,
hereinafter referred to as the
BOCES.
The BOCES is a corporate body created by statute
and vested with complete authority over the educational
and fiscal affairs of the BOCES of the Supervisory
District. In
the exercise of such authority the BOCES shall only employ
such powers as are expressly granted to it by law
All authority rests with the Board as a whole and
not with any individual member or any group of members in
any committee. Committee
members may act on an individual basis only when
specifically delegated with the authority by the Board. All final policy decisions are placed in the hands
of the Board.
Limitation
of Responsibilities as Individuals
The authority and responsibilities of individual
Board members do not extend to execution of the policies
which they adopt as a body.
The role of the Board, as with any legislative
body, is to act collectively, not individually.
Individual members have no status as, and shall not
attempt to act as, administrators in the district.
Rather, the District Superintendent, all
administrators, as well as all other personnel of the
district, are responsible to the Board as an entity. Board members, however, as with all legislators,
are entitled to full information and all data necessary,
in their judgment, to the proper casting of their votes on
any matter which can come before the Board for action.
Administrative duties will be delegated to the
District Superintendent and his/her staff; governing
powers will be rigorously retained for action by the Board
itself.
Individual Board members being recipient of
citizens' comments, petitions, or complaints serious
enough to warrant, or by their nature such as to warrant
action by the Board as a whole, should normally request
the same to be reduced to writing and transmitted to the
District Office for revision and inclusion on a Board
meeting agenda, if deemed appropriate.
Individual Board members, speaking in their own
behalf outside of regular Board meetings, should make it
clear that their personal views are not necessarily the
same as the full Board acting collectively.
Each member of the
Board shall read his/her agenda and necessary documents
accompanying the same, prior to the Board meeting, and
mark portions which need clarification; and otherwise be
prepared for maximum participation necessary in the
shortest time possible on each question coming before the
Board. Board
members are expected to contact the District
Superintendent prior to the meeting, to clarify any items
on the agenda.
Board members, if they are to retain effective
control of the District without becoming involved in the
administration thereof, should avail themselves of every
opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills as
members of the governing body of this District.
Education Law Section 1950
Adopted:
January 9, 2002
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1010
SUBJECT: NUMBER
OF MEMBERS AND TERM OF OFFICE
The Board shall
consist of fifteen (15) members elected to represent the
component districts within the BOCES area.
Members of the BOCES shall serve on the Board for a
term of three (3) years, commencing July 1 following
election.
Education Law Section 1950(2)
Adopted: January 9, 2002
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1020
SUBJECT: QUALIFICATIONS
OF BOARD MEMBERS
Any eligible voter
who resides within the boundaries of a component school
district may be elected to the Board. A candidate need not be a member of a board of
education of a component district.
A candidate must be eligible to hold office in a
component district. An
employee of one of the component school districts of the
BOCES, or of the BOCES staff, is not eligible for election
to the Board.
Education Law Section 1950(9), (9a)
Adopted:
January 9, 2002
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1030
SUBJECT: NOMINATION
AND ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS
Board members are
nominated by component districts and the names transmitted
to the Clerk of the BOCES in writing by the date
designated by the President of the BOCES, which must be at
least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the election.
Election of the Board members will occur between
April sixteenth and April thirtieth on a date selected by
the BOCES Board President.
No component district may have more than one member
on the BOCES Board. It
shall be the duty of the BOCES to encourage candidates
from components not currently represented on the Board. The ballot will be prepared by the BOCES Board
Clerk and mailed to each component district no later than
fourteen (14) days prior to the date designated as the day
of the election by the President of the Board.
The candidate receiving a plurality of the votes
cast is elected, with the candidate receiving the highest
vote total elected to the position with the longest term
and the candidate with the second highest vote total
elected to the position with the next longest term in
descending order. Any
tie vote will be broken by a runoff election within twenty
(20) days of the initial vote. Specific voting procedures will be in accordance with
education law.
Each component Board of Education shall have one
vote for each vacancy to be filled at either a special or
regular election of members to the BOCES Board.
Education Law Sections
1950(2), (4), (9) and (11)
Adopted:
January 9, 2002
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1040
SUBJECT: VACANCIES
ON THE BOARD
If a member of the BOCES resigns, refuses to serve,
is removed from office, or no longer is a resident of the
Supervisory District, his or her position shall be termed
vacant. A
vacancy may be filled in two ways:
a) If the
vacancy occurs on or after January 1 and prior to the
fifth day preceding the date designated for submission of
candidate nominations, the BOCES may fill the vacancy by
appointment and the person so appointed shall hold office
until the next annual election.
b) If the
vacancy occurs prior to January 1 or during the period
commencing five days prior to the date designated for
submission of nominations and ending on the last day of
the school year, a special election shall be held.
Removal from Office
A member of the BOCES who refuses or neglects to
attend three successive meetings of the BOCES of which
he/she is duly notified, without rendering a good and
valid excuse therefore to the other members of the BOCES,
vacates his/her office by refusal to serve.
Education Law Section 1950(1)
Adopted: January 9, 2002
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1100
SUBJECT: POWERS
AND DUTIES OF BOARD MEMBERS
The powers and
duties of the Board include the following:
a) Appoint a
District Superintendent of Schools and, at its discretion,
provide for payment of supplementary salary to the
District Superintendent of Schools by the BOCES.
b) Prepare and
adopt a budget for the Board programs for the ensuing year
no later than May 15 of each year.
c) Upon the
recommendation of the District Superintendent employ
faculty, staff and
other personnel necessary to carry out the program.
d) Provide and
maintain suitable classrooms, office and other facilities
necessary to carry out the program.
e) Establish
policies which provide the framework for the day-to-day
operations.
f) Such other
powers and duties as prescribed by law.
Education Law Sections 1701 and 1950(4)
Adopted: January 9, 2002
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1110
SUBJECT:
DUTIES
OF THE BOARD PRESIDENT
The President shall be a member of the BOCES
elected at the annual organization meeting in July, and
shall perform the following duties:
a. Preside at
all public Board meetings and all meetings held in
executive session
b. Appoint
membership on committees established by the Board,
including committee chairpersons
c. Execute all documents as required
d. Discharge duties imposed by law
e. Vote upon
all questions before the Board, and at his/her own
discretion, take part in the debate on any questions under
consideration
f. He/she
shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, and upon
his/her request, he/she shall be notified of all committee
meetings
g. Perform
such other duties as may be specified by the Board
Education Law Section 1950(4)(j)
Adopted: January
9, 2002
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1120
SUBJECT:
DUTIES
OF THE BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT
The Vice-President shall be elected by the BOCES at
the annual organization meeting in July to exercise the
duties of the President when the President is absent or
disabled.
If the office of President is vacated by reason of
resignation or death, the Vice-President of the BOCES
shall automatically become President until the next
organizational meeting of the Board.
If the office of Vice President is vacated for any
reason, the most senior Board member automatically becomes
Vice President until the next organizational meeting of
the Board.
Adopted: January
9, 2002
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1130
SUBJECT:
DUTIES
OF THE DISTRICT CLERK
The District Clerk shall be appointed by the BOCES
at the organizational meeting in July, and shall perform
the following duties:
a. Take and
record accurate minutes of each public Board meeting, and
furnish copies of such minutes to Board members before the
next regularly scheduled meeting
b. Sign
documents and papers, as required by law or Board order
c. Post public
notices, as required by law or Board order
d. Other
duties as assigned by the Board
Education Law Sections 1950(7)(j) and 2130
Adopted: January 9, 2002
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1140
SUBJECT: DUTIES
OF THE TREASURER
The Treasurer
shall be appointed by the BOCES at the annual
organizational meeting in July and shall perform the
following duties:
a. Assume
responsibility for custody of BOCES funds. Such responsibility shall include receipt of BOCES
money and deposit of same in banks designated by the
Board.
b. Maintain
custody and safekeeping of the check-signing machine. The Treasurer or Deputy Treasurer is authorized to sign
checks for the BOCES.
c. Prepare
accounts and reports as required by law, Commissioner's
Regulations or the Board.
d. Pay bills
for the BOCES as they become due.
e. Assume
other duties as assigned by the Board.
Before entering
upon the duties of the office, the Treasurer shall file
with the BOCES a bond in such amount as the Board shall
annually designate.
Education Law
Sections 1950(7)(j) and 2130
Adopted: January
9, 2002
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1150
SUBJECT: DUTIES
OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR
The Board shall appoint an independent certified
public accountant or an independent public accountant who
shall complete a certified audit in a form prescribed by
the Commissioner. Such
report shall be accepted by the Board and furnished
annually to the State Education Department.
Commissioner's
Regulations Section 170.3
Adopted: January
9, 2002
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1151
SUBJECT:
DUTIES OF THE INTERNAL AUDITOR
The Internal Auditor reports
directly to the Board of Education.
BOCES may participate in an
inter-municipal cooperative agreement, or hire
independent contractors as the person/entity
serving as Internal Auditor. The person or
entity serving as Internal Auditor must follow
generally accepted auditing standards, be
independent of BOCES business operations, and
have the requisite knowledge and skills to
complete the work.
The Internal Auditor is
responsible for performing the internal audit
function for the Board of Education which
includes at a minimum:
a. Development of a
risk assessment of BOCES operations, including
but not
limited to, a review of
financial policies, procedures and practices;
b. An annual review
and update of such risk assessment;
c. Annual testing and
evaluation of one or more areas of the BOCES
internal
controls, taking into
account risk, control weakness, size and
complexity of operations;
d. Preparation of
reports, at least annually or more frequently as
the Board may direct, which:
1. Analyze
significant risk assessment findings;
2. Recommend
changes for strengthening controls and reducing
identified risks; and
3. Specify
timeframes for implementation of such
recommendations.
Education Law Sections 1950, 2116-b and 2116-c
8 New York Code of Rules and Regulations (NYCRR)
Section 170.12(d)
NOTE:
Refer also to Policy 4110 –
Internal Audit Function
Adopted:
June 14, 2006
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1160
SUBJECT:
DUTIES
OF RECORDING SECRETARY
The District Superintendent will make available to
the Board a recording secretary. The duties of the recording secretary shall include, but not
be limited to:
a. Taking
notes at each regular and special meeting of the Board
b. Preparing
the official minutes for each Board meeting for
presentation to the District Clerk and Board
c. Notifying
individual Board members of Board meetings and other
activities as necessary
d. Maintain a
calendar of Board conferences, conventions and workshops,
and arrange for attendance at such
Adopted: January 9, 2002
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1170
SUBJECT: DUTIES
OF THE SCHOOL ATTORNEY
The Board shall
employ an attorney. Said
attorney shall give legal advice to the Board and to the
District Superintendent on all matters pertaining to the
BOCES.
Adopted: January 9, 2002
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1200
SUBJECT: METHOD
OF OPERATION
The BOCES operates
at the policy-making level, leaving the administration of
that policy to its executive office administrators and
supervisors, thus freeing itself for major considerations
and decisions.
Board policies are statements, which set forth the
purposes and prescribe in general terms the organization
and program of the BOCES. They create a framework within which the District
Superintendent and other staff can discharge their
assigned duties with positive direction. Essentially, they tell what is desired and they may
also indicate reasons why and how much.
Specific directions giving precise details of how,
by whom, where, and when things are to be done, are rules
and regulations.
This distinction between policy, rules and
regulations does not imply that policy should deal only
with abstract expressions of theory and philosophy.
On the contrary, statements of policy should spell
out clearly what the Board intends. The clearer the statement of the policy the clearer
the directions to be taken by the administration.
Education Law Section 1709
Adopted:
January 9, 2002
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1210
SUBJECT: PRINCIPLES
FOR BOARD MEMBERS
The success of every school system depends on an
effective working relationship between the Board and the
Chief Executive Officer. This code emphasizes the most important goals and
obligations of that relationship.
a. Assure the
opportunity for high quality education for every student
and make the well being of students the fundamental
principle in all decisions and actions.
b. Obey all
national, state, and local laws and regulations pertaining
to education and public agencies.
c. Represent
the entire community without fear or favor, while not
using these positions for personal gain and accepting all
responsibilities as a means of unselfish service.
d. Adhere to
the principle that the Board shall confine its role to
policy-making, planning, and appraisal while the District
Superintendent (Chief Executive Officer) shall implement
the Board's policies.
e. Act as part
of an educational team with mutual respect and regard for
each other's respective responsibilities and duties,
recognizing that the strength of a Board is in acting as a
Board, not as individuals; and that the strength of the
District Superintendent is in being the educational
leader.
f. Maintain
high standards and the effectiveness of education through
research and continuing professional development.
g. Preserve
the obligation of having all issues considered fairly and
without bias.
h. Instill
respect for individuals,
community, state,
and nation.
Adopted: January
9, 2002
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