Interested in becoming a G.C.S. Board Member?
Three seats on the Greene Central School District Board of Education will be up for election on May 17, 2022. These seats are three-year terms beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2025, and are currently occupied by Seth Barrows, Andrew Bringuel, and John Fish.
Commitment to Public Education
A school board member takes on one of the most important citizen responsibilities: overseeing the education of the community’s youth. In these challenging times for public education, G.C.S. is seeking men and women who find excitement and satisfaction in confronting tough challenges and working collegially to rise above them and help students in their communities succeed. The Greene Central School Board of Education has seven Board Members. Again, each Board Member elected holds a three-year term.
Responsibilities of a Board Member
With schoolchildren always their ultimate focus, school board members act officially at the board table, working with other board members to serve students and accomplish the following:
- Create a shared vision for the future of education
- Set the direction of G.C.S. to achieve the highest student performance
- Provide rigorous accountability for student achievement results
- Develop a budget and present it to the community, aligning district resources to improve achievement
- Support a healthy school district culture for work and learning
- Create strategic partnerships with G.C.S. community stakeholders
- Build the district’s progress through continuous improvement
- Adopt and maintain current policies
- Hire and evaluate the superintendent
- Ratify collective bargaining agreements
- Maintain strong ethical standards
- Sit on Board of Education Committees, such as Building and Grounds, Transportation, Policy, Budget, Audit, Curriculum/Technology, Sick Bank, Health Insurance, and Workers Compensation.
- Optional trainings
Characteristics of a Board Member
Below are attributes that all effective board members should possess.
- Effective Communicator: Can describe what he or she wants and describe what others want; a good listener
- Consensus Builder: Capable of working toward decisions that all can support and willing to compromise to achieve goals
- Community Participant: Enjoys meeting a variety of people, can identify the community’s key communicators and reaches out to the community
- Decision Maker: Is comfortable making decisions and can support group decision-making
- Information Processor: Can organize priorities and schedules to handle large amounts of verbal and written information
- Leader: Willing to take risks, be supportive of board colleagues, district staff and community
- Team Player: Helps promote the board’s vision and goals
Running for the G.C.S. School Board
Once you have made the commitment to run for the G.C.S. School Board there are requirements, deadlines, and processes that must be adhered to.
Eligibility Requirements
School board candidates must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, a qualified voter in the Greene Central School District and able to read and write. Candidates must be a resident of the Greene Central School District continuously for one year before the election. At the time when the board member takes office, they cannot be employed by the board on which they serve or live in the same household with a family member who is also a member of the same school board.
Nominating Petitions
Candidates must submit a nominating petition to the Greene Central School District Clerk, Shiela Walker. The petition must be signed by at least 25 qualified district voters and must be filed at the GCS District Office no later than Monday, April 18, 2022 by 5:00 p.m.
Mandatory Training
Once elected, you will be required by New York State law to fulfill mandatory training within your first year of service. This includes fiscal oversight training and governance skills training. New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) provides convenient online courses and regional academies to fulfill these requirements and to further your knowledge of public education and your responsibilities as a board member.
Blank petitions are available to all interested candidates by contacting Greene Central Board Clerk, Shiela Walker, at [email protected] or by calling (607) 656-4161 ext. 247.