ONEONTA _ More than 200 people attended a public hearing at Foothills Performing Arts Center to discuss a study about the future of the ONC BOCES.
There were 11 speakers, all in favor of maintaining the Otsego-Northern Catskills Board of Cooperative Educational Services as it is configured.
The nearly hourlong meeting was part of a state-required process after former ONC BOCES Superintendent Marie Wiles left to take a position in another district. A survey found that the educational process might be improved by changes. But a study by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government that looked at possibilities, including a merger with neighboring BOCES, recommended that the process be unchanged. The institute's website describes the organization as the public policy research arm of the State University of New York.
A decision on ONC will be made by state Education Department Commissioner Richard Mills after he receives a transcript of the meeting and meets with Regent James Tallon, who conducted the session. If Mills approves the study, the district will be able to look for a permanent replacement for Wiles.
The interim superintendent is Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES Superintendent Geoffrey Davis, who introduced Tallon.
While Tallon said it was his job to remain impartial, he will accurately convey the attitudes that were expressed in the room.
He will say that "a couple of hundred people got together and agreement broke out" about the value of the services and programs that BOCES provides.
Most of speakers represented their colleagues in area schools.
This included Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School Superintendent Nicholas Savin, who praised the study's findings. A change would unfairly burden the taxpayers of the 19 component school districts, he said.
Edmeston Central Principal Martha Winsor spoke of the value of BOCES in designing career and technical education programs that meet the needs of students. This includes innovative agricultural programs and training for medical or veterinary careers.
Bonnie Leonard, a committee on special education chairwoman from CV-S, talked about the job training that BOCES provides for special-education students.
Kevin Price, executive director of the Chenango-Delaware-Otsego Workforce Investment Board, talked of the importance of ONC as a workforce development partner. It has helped fill the gaps in career education services, he said.
"This was a wonderful evening," Savin said. "It was good to see the support" from the number in attendance and the variety of speakers.
Oneonta City School District board member Paul Patterson said he was glad so many people showed up to support the future of ONC BOCES.
"It's important to a lot of people," he said.
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