Board of Education

Board Members

Board Member	Email Address	End of Term
Amanda McDonnell President	amcdonnell@bolivarrichburg.org	June 30, 2028
Aaron Duell Vice President	ADuell2@bolivarrichburg.org	June 30, 2026
Erin Baldwin	erinbaldwin@bolivarrichburg.org	June 30, 2027
Jarrod Bell	jarrodbell@bolivarrichburg.org	June 30, 2026
Michelle Clark	mclark@bolivarrichburg.org	June 30, 2027
Stephanie Blankenship	sblankenship@bolivarrichburg.org	June 30, 2028
Norene Ferris	nferris@bolivarrichburg.org	June 30, 2027

Meeting Agendas and Minutes

View Meeting Agendas and Minutes (April 2023-present)

See below for Archived Minutes (prior to April 2023)

Board Information

The Board members, although elected by the voting public of the District, are, by law, officers of the State of New York and as such are responsible to the State Commissioner of Education for carrying out the duties and obligations imposed upon them by State Law.

Board of Education members are your elected representatives. As such, they have a responsibility for providing a comprehensive program of quality education for the community. Basically, the Board represents you by:

Establishing a sound philosophy for all educational programs and related activities.
Adopting policies for the operation of the public school system.
Providing leadership for educational progress through the setting of goals and objectives.
Developing sound financial plans consistent with education needs and community resources.

The Board formulates policy for the attainment of these objectives and employs professional educators for administration of its programs. The policies, broadly speaking, are guidelines for discretionary actions on the part of the Superintendent.

Board Goals

Student Achievement and Academic Programming

The Board of Education will receive quarterly updates from the Building Principals and other instructional leaders regarding Academic Progress/AIS Programming and State Assessment Data as it becomes available.
The Board of Education will support the establishment of a Districtwide STEAM and Agricultural Instruction Committee. This committee, made up of two or three teachers from each building, as well as our building principals and Superintendent, will meet at least three times in the 2023-24 school year. The purpose of these meetings will be to clearly define what the STEAM and Ag programming will be for students in grades K-12.

Operations and Budget

The Board of Education will engage in periodic trainings/workshops in cooperation with the superintendent and business official related to the Board’s duty of financial oversight.
The Board of Education will identify the financial items they would like to see included for their review in each Board Meeting.

School Culture

The Board of Education will support the work of our School Safety Advisors as they review our emergency plans, procedures and protocols.
The Board of Education will ask the Safety Advisors to work collaboratively with local law enforcement and first responders to update districtwide safety plans.
The Board of Education will ask building level administrators to coordinate drills with the Safety Advisors that better prepare our faculty, staff and students for potential emergency situations.
Through professional development opportunities, the Board of Education will provide ongoing training for faculty and staff to support their response to the social and emotional needs of our student body. In doing so, the Board of Education recognizes and emphasizes the significant role that mental health plays in sustaining a safe and healthy school environment.
The Board of Education values input from the District’s administrative team. As such, the School Board will receive a report from both building principals in each regularly scheduled school board meeting. Other District administrators will report at the request of the board in cooperation with the Superintendent.
The Board of Education will utilize the District’s public relations assets to consistently communicate important information and to promote district events to community residents.
The Board of Education will hold community forums as needed to focus on important topics such as capital project updates, school budget development, and other topics of interest to the entire school population.
The Board of Education will use the monthly school board meeting as a forum to support and highlight outstanding student and staff accomplishments. Members of our student body and/or members of our staff will be invited to board meetings as a way for the school board to recognize their excellence.

Chain of Communication

When questions arise, please contact the appropriate Administrator. We find that asking the person closest to the area of concern usually gets the quickest and most accurate response.

For questions about your child’s program, it is best to start with the teacher. If the teacher cannot satisfy your concern, please call the Principal of that building.

If there is a sports related problem, please contact the coach first. If the issue is not resolved, contact the Athletic Director. If it is not resolved at that level, please contact the building Principal next.

In those few cases when the Principal cannot provide an answer, or provide the recourse you seek, please call the Superintendent. Whenever the Superintendent’s decision fails to meet your needs, please contact the District Clerk, and ask the Superintendent to have your concern placed on the agenda for the next Board Meeting.

Please remember that the Board must act as a whole unit. Individual Board members cannot make decisions independent of the other members.

Public Participation at Board Meetings

The Board of Education of the Bolivar-Richburg Central School District encourages and welcomes public participation at Board meetings. The agenda for the meeting is available to all visitors.

Should you care to address the Board concerning an agenda item, an opportunity is provided on the agenda under “Public Participation”. Each resident will be allowed to speak for a period of 5 minutes. Public participation will not exceed 30 minutes.

Any special request to address the Board concerning items not included in the Board agenda should be made in writing at least three school days prior to the regularly scheduled Board meeting. This request should be made to the Superintendent of Schools and should include the particular subject item(s) for presentation to the Board.

All questions presented by any person to either the Board or any member of the staff shall be answered in the manner determined by the presiding officer.

Anyone wishing to address the Board on a matter involving an individual by name shall do so only in a written statement filed with the Board or in executive session.

PLEASE REMEMBER: A board of education meeting is a meeting held in public, not a public meeting.

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In This Section

Board of Education

Board Members

Meeting Agendas and Minutes

Board Information

Board Meetings

Board Responsibility

Board Goals

Chain of Communication

Public Participation at Board Meetings

Archived Minutes

2022-23

2021-22

2020-21

2019-20

2018-19

2017-18

2016-17

2015-16

2014-15

2013-14

2012-13

2011-12

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