Every spring, we host a retreat for our Board of Education, a half-day dedicated to learning, reflection, and collaboration. This retreat gives our board members the time and space to dive deeper into key initiatives and gain a clearer view of our work across the region. This year’s retreat focused on several critical areas:

• An overview of our Framework for Organizational Success
• A review of employee sentiment survey results and our ongoing efforts to improve the employee experience
• Updates on regional literacy and math programs led by our Professional Learning and Innovation Center (PLIC)
• A diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) update
• A tour of capital project sites to show progress on construction and renovation efforts

The decisions made by our Board of Education impact thousands of students in classrooms across our region, educators, and our staff. (REWORK)

They also affect BOCES programs, and community members and organizations who rely on the services we provide.

That’s why it’s essential that our board remains well-informed and engaged in our goals, challenges, and opportunities.

We are grateful to our board members for their time, insight, and dedication. Their leadership helps shape the future of education and support services across the Broome-Tioga region.

Thank you to all our employees and retirees who joined us for this year’s Employee Recognition Event. It was wonderful to see so many dedicated members of our BOCES community gathered to celebrate milestones, careers, and the contributions that help us fulfill our mission of Enriching Lives Through Education.

At Broome-Tioga BOCES, we are committed to improving the employee experience across all departments. Recognition events like this are one way we show appreciation for your service and dedication, but we know there’s always room to grow.

To help us improve future events and make them even more meaningful, we’re asking you to share your feedback. This year, we’re using ThoughtExchange, which allows you to share your thoughts and rate others anonymously. Your feedback will help us better understand what worked well and what we can improve moving forward.

Thank you again for being part of this special event and for everything you do each day to support our students, programs, and each other.

We are almost to the end of the school year and working on wrapping things up for our districts in preparation for the upcoming school year. On May 8, we held our last District Wide Safety Team meeting for the year. During the meeting, we allocated time for all our buildings to complete their annual updates to their building-level emergency plans, while also finalizing the updates to our District-Wide safety plan.

We will also be conducting emergency drills with all of our non-instructional buildings and performing drinking water testing at some of our component districts that have not yet completed their required lead testing.

We are proud to introduce our new Q-ware system for inputting work tickets.

This new system is designed to streamline our operations and improve efficiency.

You can access the Q-ware application on the BT BOCES My Apps dashboard.

To assist you in navigating this new system, we have also created a short instructional video on how to create a work ticket.

The video can be found on the BOCES Academy portal.

All staff have been enrolled in the course, but there is no requirement to take it.

The course should show as an optional course under their "my courses tab" called "BT: Operations and Maintenance"

Additionally, I have included the direct links below:

Q-ware software:

https://qware.app/#/login/BROOMETIOGABOCES

Work ticket tutorial:

https://btboces.brightspace.com/d2l/home/7256

As we transition from our old Schooldude system to the new Q-ware system, both systems will run concurrently until July 1, 2025.

This will provide ample time for everyone to familiarize themselves with the new Q-Ware system. After July 1, Schooldude will cease to function.

We believe that this new system will greatly enhance our productivity, and we appreciate your cooperation during this transition period.

Contractors are hard at work finishing the interior of the building, and we're on track to have everything, except the electrical work, completed by June 30.

Due to some scheduling conflicts, we’ve had to postpone the ribbon cutting ceremony, but we’re looking forward to rescheduling it for the fall. It will be a great way to celebrate the completed space.

As part of the final phases, work will begin on relocating the electric lines. We plan to temporarily shut off power to the entire campus for a few hours on June 19 to complete this work. We will keep you updated on when and what time the shutdown will occur.

The demolition of 409 Glenwood Road was completed on May 5, and preparations for the brand-new Operations & Maintenance (O&M) building are in full swing. Bids have been awarded, and site clearing has officially begun, an exciting step forward in this important project.

Once the new O&M building is complete, the current Animal Science building and existing O&M facility will be removed to make way for the highly anticipated CTE addition.

In the meantime, the Animal Science program will relocate to the newly repurposed storage barns in the upper parking lot of the Education Center. A great deal of thought and effort has gone into making this space not only functional but truly inspiring for our future Animal Science students. The goal is to have this new space ready and open for the start of the school year in September, and we can’t wait to see it come to life!

Thank you for your continued support of this project, and please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you to BBO team member Jesula Pierre Louis who was a panelist at the NYS Seal of Biliteracy event in April.

The business office is excited to announce that two of our BOCES purchasing agents recently attended the annual SAMPO (State Association of Municipal Purchasing Officials) conference. This event provided them with valuable insights into the latest trends and best practices in municipal purchasing. Their attendance underscores BOCES commitment to continuous improvement and professional development, ultimately benefiting our district by optimizing resources.

Employees wishing to CHANGE their payment election for the 25-26 fiscal year, must complete the appropriate form below. This form is required if moving to a balloon payment or off of a balloon payment. A balloon payment allows for smaller biweekly salary payments throughout the fiscal year, with the remaining salary balance paid out as a larger amount in June. Please call the payroll office at 607-766-3811 should you have any questions.

2025-2026 1st Year Aide 21.26 pay option

2025-2026 11 Month BSSA/BTA 23.26 pay option

2025-2026 AUP 21.26 pay option

2025-2026 BTA BSSA 22.26 pay option

The Payroll and HR Teams are busy preparing the WinCap System for the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year to make sure employees are all paid and able to take time off!

Below are dates that WinCap and WinCap ESS will not be available.

3 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, and Friday, May 16 for Fiscal Year Rollover activities

Friday, June 20, for Employee Fiscal Year Rollover activities.

Tuesday, July 8, for Leave Time Accrual Rollover and posting.

Users will be notified on each date when WinCap becomes available!

May marks the end of another annual budget cycle—culminating months of preparation, analysis, and collaboration between our team at the CBO and our component districts. A special thank-you to our budget and financial analyst team, whose expertise and hard work make this complex process possible.

As we wrap up the current fiscal year and prepare for the new one, departments across the CBO are gearing up for a busy season of closing the books and ensuring everything is ready for the year ahead. A special thank you to our Accounting, Purchasing, Payroll, and Accounts Payable departments for their hard work in ensuring that external audits, final reports, budgets, purchase orders, and payroll information is accurate and prepared for the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. It’s a demanding time, and we truly appreciate the dedication of these teams as they work to set our component districts up for success.

The Document Services team has been in high gear this month, working to ensure districts are prepared for the upcoming budget vote. From printing budget postcards and budget newsletters to even producing ballots for the May 20 vote, our team has handled a heavy volume of critical materials with precision and speed.

This work wouldn’t have been possible without close collaboration. We partnered with the Communications and Public Relations team and the Central Business Office to make sure every item was submitted accurately and efficiently on behalf of our component districts. A big thank you to everyone who helped streamline the process and keep things running smoothly.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to announce a major upgrade to our online ordering system. In July, we’ll be launching the newest version of WebCRD, which will bring a more customer-friendly interface and streamlined one-click ordering for commonly requested items. This upgrade is a significant undertaking, but it’s one that will greatly improve the ordering experience for users across the organization.

We’ll share more details and training opportunities as we approach the launch. For now, thank you for your continued support and for trusting us with your print and production needs.

We recently held our Evertech Academy Family Night, and we had a terrific time, welcoming nearly 200 family members and friends. The theme was “sugar beats festival,” and it set the stage for an interactive family night. We had food, community resources, and a whole lot of fun!

WBNG recently visited our PALS program, stopping into Emily Hockey's classroom. The purpose? Emily was selected by peers and WBNG viewers as the focus of the station's Teacher Appreciation Week. It's a really fun interview with Emily, and it gives insight into her career's evolution, before and here with BOCES, as well as the daily happenings in her PALS classroom. Click on the link below to view the feature.

Our Graphic Design and Digital Communication teacher Jason Moore recently was featured on the National Art Education Association website. A quick mention in the site’s member spotlight section gives some insight into Moore’s philosophy and approach to teaching.

As the current school year draws to a close, preparations are already underway for the 2025–2026 academic year. School districts are actively working on applications for the USDA Equipment Assistance Grant and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). These grants play a vital role in ensuring our kitchens remain equipped with essential tools and resources, while also providing K–5 students the opportunity to experience a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables—many of which they may not otherwise have access to at home.

In addition, we are preparing for another robust summer meals program across Broome and Tioga Counties. Last summer, more than 123,000 meals were served to children in our communities, and we are on pace to reach similar numbers this year. We extend our sincere gratitude to the dedicated district staff members who generously give their time—or adjust their summer schedules—to support this critical initiative. Their commitment helps ensure that no child goes hungry when school is not in session.

On March 24, the PLIC EdTechTeam traveled to the NYSCATE Southern Tier ConnectED Conference hosted at the Elmira School District. Our team of specialists presented 12 sessions for over 600 attendees. The rooms were packed with teachers and leaders learning from our team. We received great feedback on the work our team has been doing and the thoughtfulness that is put into making these topics accessible to teachers and leaders.

The topics included Embracing Generative AI in Education, UDL and Triple E Crosswalk, Accessibility by Design, and Empowering Diverse Learners: Leveraging AI for Differentiation. An overall great day, and great work by the team!

Just like in the gym, building strong cybersecurity practices requires consistent training, accountability, and the right workout partners. The South Central RIC Data Security & Privacy team recently highlighted some of the work they have been doing with Sherburne-Earlville Central School District at the annual RIC One Data Privacy and Security Service (DPSS) conference. The team presented how Sherburne-Earlville spots risks before they become breaches, develops a training regimen that keeps staff engaged, and flexes their security muscles with real-world exercises that strengthen data protection across schools.

Carrie Machalek on her retirement! Carrie's last day is June 30, 2025.

The Broome-Tioga BOCES Communications and Public Relations Team has had a high-impact month, traveling across the state, spotlighting student success, and launching a coordinated outreach campaign to support district funding.

Earlier this month, our team hit the road to Syracuse to cover the annual SkillsUSA competition, where students from our Career and Technical Education programs competed in a wide range of skilled trades. We captured powerful stories, behind-the-scenes moments, and student interviews, turning the trip into a multimedia social media campaign and a video highlight reel that shows exactly what our students are capable of when given the opportunity to shine.

Back home, we’ve been leading a region-wide campaign in partnership with School Nutrition Services called "Every Form Matters." This campaign is focused on one goal: increasing the submission of income eligibility forms. These forms aren’t just about meals, they help determine critical funding for schools and eligibility for state and federal grants. To support this effort, our team created a robust communications toolkit for districts that includes:

• A campaign video
• Prewritten social media posts
• Messaging guidance for newsletters, emails, and parent outreach

We’re working directly with every district to ensure they have what they need to communicate this message clearly and effectively to their families. When every form is submitted, our districts are in a stronger position to serve their students.

In addition to our regional work, we also produced a feature video for the Union-Endicott Central School District highlighting their incredible service dog program. These dogs are more than classroom companions, they are critical emotional supports for students. It’s a must-watch.

This month’s work reflects the best of what our team does, storytelling that celebrates students, campaigns that build capacity, and collaboration that strengthens every corner of our region.