Spring Message from Executive Director Kevin Casey

Spring is in the Air

Springtime is typically a busy time for school administrators. Preparing for testing and graduations among sports tournaments, school budget votes, proms, plays, concerts… seemingly leaves little extra time. Despite a full schedule of activities at districts and buildings, I have noticed that profession-related events are also common in the spring. It is a credit to the time management skills of school administrators.

Across the state several regions have celebrations to mark the current school year approaching its end. These celebrations often include acknowledgements of student recipients of SAANYS regional scholarships, and some include the recognition of the winners of regional award programs. They are events which are generally affirming and positive. Similarly, the SAANYS statewide awards program likewise runs in May, and is typically one of the most uplifting events of the year.

Also in May, the SAANYS Government Relations Committee (GRC) has one of its three annual in-person meetings. The GRC is a committee of approximately thirty members from around the state which focuses upon regulatory and legislative issues. It meets with the Commissioner and her senior staff and directly lobbies the legislature. With that broad portfolio, the GRC has a lot on its plate in addition to the GRC members’ professional responsibilities.

The SAANYS Board of Directors (BOD) holds four meetings a year, three of which are in person, including the meeting in May. The BOD is made up of thirty-three members from across the state. Its May meeting is purposefully scheduled to align with the statewide awards program so that BOD members may participate in that event without further burden on their schedule.

At the BOD meeting this May, perhaps buoyed by this surge of positive regional activity this spring, the BOD voted to increase the amount of the annual regional scholarship money from $1,500 to $2,500, an amount that may be supplemented by fundraising efforts on the regional level. The BOD also increased the regional refund amount from $3.00/member to $4.50/member.

Those monies returned to the regions are designed to pay for or subsidize regional events like those described earlier herein, or other social or professional programming to support our association’s efforts to provide a meaningful experience. We urge members to participate in regional activities as a means of building a positive professional network.

These regional funding increases passed by the BOD, with no increase to the dues cap (which has not increased in almost twenty years), is an investment in our internal structure. It is designed to continue to make sure you have a busy spring, but one which is not all work.

– Kevin Casey