Students in the Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES region who are serving as ex-officio members on school boards recently participated in a hybrid training that provided both state-level and local support.
Local students gathered at the Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center in Herkimer to join students from across the state for the virtual training on Wednesday, Sept. 30, including remarks from New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa.
Herkimer BOCES District Superintendent D.J. Shepardson, Herkimer BOCES component district superintendents, a principal and other BOCES staff participated in the local portion of the training.
The event included presentations and discussions led by experienced student board members who shared insight from their own roles.
Since July 2025, all BOCES and school districts with a high school in New York state are required to have at least one ex officio, non-voting, student board of education member. Some school districts in the Herkimer BOCES region already had student members, but starting in the 2025-26 school year, all 10 districts and Herkimer BOCES have student board members.
The following is a list of all the student board members in the Herkimer BOCES region for the 2026-27 school year from each school district:
Central Valley: Paisley Francisco.
Dolgeville: Emma Hall and Aaminah Jenkins.
Frankfort-Schuyler: Victoria Cavaretta, Katherine Figueroa and Bella Goodhines.
Herkimer: Richard Braysen, Cambrin Kozma and Kaitlyn Tutty.
Little Falls: Adrian Luczynski-Perch and Alyssa Bladek.
Mount Markham: Jillian Maine, London Sirko, Katie Assisi, Grace Assisi, Natalee Griffiths, Chloe Risley, Joe Brutsky and Abigail Schoonover.
Owen D. Young: Bianca Teleki.
Poland: Connor Cowan.
Richfield Springs: Dylan Amaro, Aubrey Beach, Dylan Burditt, Natalie Dumond and Jason Marriott.
West Canada Valley: Teegan Harvey and Agafya Karyagina.
Ex officio student school board members in the Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES region pose for a photo during a hybrid state and local training on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center in Herkimer. View more photos on the Herkimer BOCES Facebook page at www.facebook.com/herkimerboces
Ex officio student school board members in the Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES region participate in a hybrid state and local training on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the Herkimer BOCES Gateway Center in Herkimer. View more photos on the Herkimer BOCES Facebook page at www.facebook.com/herkimerboces.