3 Board of Education seats up for election in May; those interested in running should contact the Board Clerk

Three seats on the Fort Plain Board of Education will be up for election this May to fill vacancies for terms expiring on June 30, 2023. The new terms will run from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2026.

Regular elections for Board of Education seats are held each year on the third Tuesday in May, the same date residents vote on the coming year’s school budget. This year’s vote date is May 16. Petitions to run for the Board must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 17, 2023.

For information on how to be placed on the ballot, contact Becky Smith, District Clerk, at becky.smith@fortplain.org or (518) 993-4000, ext. 1000.

Any U.S. citizen who is a resident of Fort Plain Central School District for 30 days prior to the vote may run for a seat on the Board.

What does a Board of Education (school board) member do? Why volunteer to serve on the Board? Here’s some helpful information from the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA).

Responsibilities of a Board Member

With school children 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 the school district 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 the 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

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