|
| |
|
|
|
|
Out of Many... |
|
Before MCSBA The
seeds of the Monroe County School Boards Association were sown in the
1960s with the formation of the group known as the Monroe County Chief
School Officers and School Board Presidents.
Under the guidance of Dr. William Fullager, Dean of the
University of Rochester College of Education, the group met to discuss
educational issues. During the
chairmanship of the group by Brighton Board President William Harper in
1968-69, the group decided to consider a more formal organization to
effect legislation, deal with common labor issues, and exchange ideas
among all board members in the county.
Labor issues were coming into focus as a direct result of the
Taylor Law which had been enacted in 1967.
While most members agreed that a more formal
organization would help the county’s school leaders, they wanted to
preserve the existing informality and rapport between board presidents
and superintendents. Some
suggested that BOCES assume responsibility for a school boards
association without the additional burdens on time and financial
resources that a formal association would require.
|
|
Creating MCSBA At their May 1969 meeting,
the board presidents and superintendents decided that the primary reason
for formalizing the group was to provide staff assistance and direction,
so they decided to employ a ¼-time executive secretary during the
1969-70 school year to be paid $4,000-5,000.
On October 2, 1969 Fred Painter became Executive Secretary.
His salary was paid equally by the two BOCES and the Rochester
City School District. Soon
thereafter he recommended that the Executive Secretary position be given
organizational backing through membership dues.
During the 1969-70 school year, a number of
decisions were made that led to the formation of MCSBA. Members of
the existing group decided to affiliate their new group with the New
York State School Boards Association and decided that school board
presidents and superintendents would comprise the Executive Committee of
the new group they were forming. A committee was formed to draft a
constitution for consideration by school boards in Monroe County.
On December 1, 1969 the proposed constitution and
by-laws were presented to the group's Agenda Committee for review.
It was noted that the constitution was intended to be as
non-limiting as possible, and that the only challenging process was that
for amending the document. The
constitution was then submitted to the school boards of Monroe County
for their approval.
|
|
Birth of MCSBA The proposed constitution
specified that:
|
|
|
Adoption of this Constitution shall be by
official action by Boards of Education of individual
School Districts and Boards of Cooperative
Educational Services. An
affirmative vote of a majority of eligible member units shall be
required for adoption. The
constitution shall
become effective immediately upon adoption.”
(Article XII. ADOPTION) |
|
|
| On January 8,
1970 the President of the existing group, James Green, reported that
eight boards had approved the proposed constitution.
On January 13 he reported that eleven districts had voted
affirmatively. Thus, the
Constitution of the Monroe County School Boards Association became
effective between January 8 and 13, 1970, and MCSBA was born.
The Executive Committee of the new Monroe County
School Boards Association met for the first time on February 5, 1970.
At that meeting President Green reported that fifteen districts
had approved the constitution, three had disapproved, and two had not
yet reached a decision. Although
the group was now committed to a more formal organization, members
expressed concerns regarding: |
|
|
· Possible
undesirable competition with the Genesee Valley School
Boards Institute;
· Possible
threat to local board autonomy of MCSBA decisions;
· Possible
domination of the new organization by NYSSBA.
|
|
|
|
|
|
