Joseph Bond elected VC board president, Messing named VP

Posted 7/15/20

During the reorganizational portion of the Valley Central Board of Education meeting on July 6, Joseph Bond was elected unanimously as president and Sarah Messing was elected unanimously as vice …

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Joseph Bond elected VC board president, Messing named VP

Posted

During the reorganizational portion of the Valley Central Board of Education meeting on July 6, Joseph Bond was elected unanimously as president and Sarah Messing was elected unanimously as vice president.

Liaison assignments were also selected by board of education members. As president, Bond is a liaison to all committees. Messing is a liaison to the policy committee and Orange County School Boards Association. Trustee Arthur Fitzgerald is the board’s liaison to the audit committee, health, safety and wellness committee and Orange County School Boards Association. Trustee Sonia Lewis is the liaison for the Parent-Teacher Association and the Racial Equity and Education Committee. Newly elected Trustee Katie McKnight is a liaison for the Audit Committee, Guidance Committee and Racial Equity and Education Committee. Trustee Diana Revoir will serve as liaison to the Policy, Curriculum Council and Technology Committees, while Melvin Wesenberg will be the liaison for the New York State School Boards Association.

At the close of the regular meeting, Bond underscored the importance of the Racial Equity Committee.

“The board of education recognizes racial injustice and certainly knows that our community is not immune to this. The board of education is aware of the concerns of members of the community. The board of education has the desire to support change and make sure that Valley Central is a fair and equitable environment for all students. But the board of education also acknowledges that change will take time, some changes will be quick but other things will take more time,” he said. “The board of education will use feedback from the Racial Equity and Education Committee to help us identify opportunities to change and we will use our resources to help us support the implementation of those changes. Change is a process. The first two steps of change are awareness and desire and this board has both of them. And the next step is knowledge. Right now, we are in the gathering stage of knowledge. We are committed to change and we will do what we need to do to support that change.”