Cooperative Board

Orange-Ulster BOCES Cooperative Board

Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) are created and established by the Commissioner of Education at the request of component school boards and are governed by a board of 5 to 15 members, elected for three-year terms by those school boards. 

The Orange-Ulster BOCES Cooperative Board is made up of seven members who have served or are serving on local boards of education. The Cooperative Board appoints the district superintendent, subject to the NYS Education Commissioner's approval, to serve as its chief executive officer. Funding for BOCES primarily comes from contracts with component districts for specific services, or through the state or federal government or other specified agencies. 

Since the mid-1900s, BOCES have played an important role in the development and consolidation of a comprehensive, statewide system of education, providing needed services to students in rural areas. BOCES became the vehicle for providing an increasing number of specialized services, particularly career and technical education (CTE) programs, as well as services to pupils with disabilities mandated under federal and state legislation during the 1960s and 1970s. 

During that time, BOCES also began to offer administrative services, professional development for teachers, administrators, and school boards, adult education and extracurricular and enrichment programs for students in component school districts. Today, BOCES play an integral role in the education of thousands of students of all ages in New York State.