Board of Education springs into Connections and Conversations

Washingtonville Central School District Board of Education President Sharon Williams, along with Secretary William Hewlett Jr. and trustee Kristie Johnson, spoke to middle school parents on Wednesday evening during their Connections and Conversations night. The high school session will be held on Thursday, April 23 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

The last two sessions for the spring edition of Connections and Conversations will be held at Round Hill on May 4 from 6-7 p.m., and from 7-8 p.m. on May 6 at Taft Elementary. This initiative began last spring, and occurs at each school twice a year. The goal of these events is for the Board of Education to further engage with families throughout the District.

Connections and Conversation events provide community members with an opportunity to better understand the role of the Board of Education and learn more about what is going on throughout the District. Additionally, it provides the opportunity for participants to ask questions, provide feedback and voice their thoughts on priorities for the District.

“One of the things that we always said we wanted to do as a Board of Education was to connect ourselves back into the community,” said President Williams. “A lot of people don’t know who we are and what we do.”

With budget season in full swing, Board of Education members highlighted the importance of voting on May 19 in the 2026-27 school budget vote, as well as electing two members to join the Board. To learn more about the school budget, click here. 

“Another reason that we’re here is to remind everybody about how important it is to vote,” Ms. Johnson said, who has been on the board since 2022 and was recently re-elected. “We all take our responsibility to you very seriously… You voted for us, we work for your kids, but your input is very important because you’re the ones that are hearing from these kids on a daily basis about what is going on.”

The session at the middle school started with introductions before discussing roles and responsibilities. These include hiring and evaluating the superintendent, as well as creating and enforcing policies, ensuring the District follows New York state laws, overseeing finances, approving budgets and advocating for student achievement and school improvement. 

Board members also discussed what their role doesn’t entail, including day to day operation of schools and personnel matters such as hiring staff. The group also discussed how information gets shared to families in the District, emphasizing students' right to privacy through the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Dignity Act for All Students Act. 

The session concluded with a deeper dive on how the budget is created each year. The Board of Education discussed how developing and implementing the budget is a year-long process, with faculty leaders and administrators working diligently together to create an effective budget.