BOCES Teachers Association

February 23, 2026 bulletin – BTA Certified Staff Benefits Trust changes

All plan changes take effect March 1, 2026

Certified Staff Benefits Trust Changes

As mentioned in the February 6 BTA bulletin, changes are coming to the Certified Staff benefits. Please join us at the end of the Rep Council meeting on Wednesday, February 25th for a brief presentation about your new benefits as well as an opportunity to ask and answer questions.

Changes to Orthodontics

Orthodontics will now increase from $1750/dependent to $2500/dependent over the course of their lifetime. This increase will begin on March 1st only for new dependents who receive orthodontics. If your child currently is wearing braces or wore braces in the past, you unfortunately do not get the additional $750 increase.

Change to Vision Plan

The plan will now be an annual plan instead of a biannual plan for both adults and children. You will be able to receive a yearly eye exam and either a year’s supply of contacts or a pair of glasses. Benefits for glasses still include:

scratch-resistant coating
polycarbonate lenses for children and adults
ultra violet coating
intermediate lenses
blended segment lenses
photochromic glass lenses
standard progressive addition lenses
premium progressives
blue light

You can find a list of vision providers within a 10 mile distance of Valhalla here

Stacy Braun Financial Planning

We are offering a brand new benefit: 6 free sessions of financial planning with Stacey Braun Associates. To schedule an appointment, call the number below or scan the QR code and fill out an online form. See the flyers below for more information.

Health and Wellness Reimbursement

All Certified Staff are entitled to up to a $400 monetary reimbursement by the Trust for specific items/services that relate to health and wellness. These items were voted on by the Trustees in their January meeting. The following items will be reimbursed:

Gym/Fitness
Gym memberships
Sporting equipment (no apparel/sneakers)
Fitness class fees
Stretch Lab
Yoga
Pilates
Spa Treatments
Massage
Facial
Sauna
Steam Room
Body scrubs
Nutrition
Diet Program
Weight watchers
Jenny Craig
Meal Kits (these are examples)
- Hello Fresh
- Blue Apron
Acupuncture
Reflexology

Purchases must be made between 1/1/26 – 12/31/26. Whether this benefit will be continued will be determined on a yearly basis by the Trustees.

In order to be reimbursed, members must submit an original receipt (please make a copy for yourself), which clearly lists the items or services purchased as well as proof that this item was paid for in full.
Receipts can be submitted in 1 of 3 ways:

PONY to Mairead Schuelein at Transfiguration
Mail to Stacey DiPaola at treasurer

Acknowledgement of the receipt will be made to the member in an email.
Reimbursement will be in the form of a check written to the member and mailed to the member’s home (please make sure you have your correct address on file with the BTA)

Please reach out to the Benefits Trust Trustees if you have any questions.

Tyree Morris – Chairperson

Stacey DiPaola – Treasurer

Jane Shields – Secretary

Peter Schwartzgott – Trustee

Mairead Schuelein – Trustee/President of the BTA

Executive Board and Reps

Mairead Schuelein, President

Jason Poniatowski, Executive Vice President

Stacey DiPaola, Treasurer

Derrick Green, 1st Vice President of Aides

Keith Mattos, 2nd Vice President of ALC

Mike Piccolo, Grievance Chair

Rosalie Consani, Corresponding Secretary

Liz Lopez, Recording Secretary

Julie Crosier, Teacher Rep

Theresa Saive, Teacher Rep

Pierre Fils, CTE Rep

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

by SWBOCES BTA February 25, 2026February 25, 2026

February 6, 2026 bulletin – NYSUT United, Certified Staff Benefits, Know Your Contract, Fix Tier 6 Rally

NYSUT United January/February edition

The BTA is featured twice in the January/February edition of NYSUT United, a magazine that gets delivered via mail from NYSUT to your home on a bi-monthly basis. A picture of our members recognizing SRPS is in the SRP Day article (see above), as well as a separate article about the NYSUT visit to our legislative event in late October, which features a quote from our President, Mairead Schuelein (on the left). You can find the digital version here

Certified Staff Benefits Additions

As mentioned at the January Rep Council meeting, the Benefits Trust Trustees met in January and have decided to add additional benefits for all Certified Staff. It is anticipated that the new benefits will start March 1st, 2026. A brief presentation of the new benefits will be presented at the conclusion of the February 25th Rep Council meeting. Please consider joining that Zoom to hear about the new benefits and ask questions. More print information will be forthcoming. Additional benefits will include:

Increase in coverage of orthodontics for kids
Yearly vision exam with glasses or contact coverage
Addition of the Stacey Braun financial counseling
Monetary reimbursement by the Trust for up to $400 of specific items/services that relate to health and wellness as determined by the Trustees

BTA Website Update

The BTA website has undergone a major transfiguration. Special thank you to Karen Canino for all the work she did. We believe the new website is easier to navigate, with this BTA bulletin posted as the landing page each month. Use the tabs on top to find your Reps, contracts, benefits and learn more about unions. The link to our website is here

LAP Mid year Drawing

The BTA has been tracking attendance at all of our events/meetings this year as part of one of our LAP campaigns. Congratulations to the following winners of the mid year drawing:

Jane Shields
Kevin Doherty
Patrice Cookes
Derrick Green
Mike Piccolo
Mike Novick
Pierre Fils
Tarik Curry
Tiffany Kitrell
Michele Hamilton
Tyree Morris
Armeata Williams-Diaz

Congratulations David Biviano!

Congratulations to BTA member David Biviano for being featured in LoHud last month in an article highlighting our barbering program. You can find the article here

Know Your Contract campaign

As one of our LAP initiatives, we are running a Know Your Contract campaign. Congratulations to the following winners this month – ask them how they won their prize!

Karen Canino, RLC/Irvington
Darlene Brice, CTE
Demetria Thomas, St. Matt’s
Sabrina Ereditario, Irvington
Jane Shields, Irvington/St. Matt’s
Tiziana DeMasi, RLC
Cristina Piccolo, RLC

Know Your Rights

Thank you to all of you who completed the Know Your Rights survey that was sent throughout August and September. Each month I will highlight a different question that was on the survey, how our members responded and the State Education law that explains the answer to the survey.

Question #4: Under New York State Education Law and Commissioner’s Regulations, a probationary teacher has the right to a hearing or appeal before dismissal. 61.5% of members answered it was true. The correct answer is false.

As per NYS Ed Law 3031, the Board of Education does not need to provide a probationary teacher with a hearing or appeal before dismissal. They must provide them with at least 30 days notice prior to the board meeting at which the recommendation for termination will be presented, with

Fix Tier 6 Rally on March 8th, 2026

Did you know that 49.9% of NYSUT members are now Tier 5 or Tier 6? Less than 500 tickets are left so get yours now. Come support thousands of other union members in the rally to Fix Tier 6!

New Member Benefit from NYSUT

NYSUT Member Benefits now has a new hearing care program provided by TruHearing® that can save NYSUT members thousands on out-of-pocket costs. TruHearing offers hearing devices as low as $499 with a network of over 8,850 providers nationwide. Schedule an appointment with an approved TruHearing provider today by calling toll-free 833-723-5727.

Summer Teacher Ambassador Program

The Summer Teacher Ambassador Program is a paid summer intensive training program that prepares teachers, certified work-based learning (WBL) coordinators, school counselors and school librarians to develop, implement, and deliver career-readiness strategies for students in grades six through twelve across New York State. The New York State Department of Labor (DOL) is seeking candidates for Project Coordinators who will take part in a four-week Career Development Ambassador Program over the summer from July 6, 2026 through July 31, 2026, while working with Employment Services Staff from the DOL. The purpose of the program is to assist students in exploring potential career pathways.

Selected candidates will:

Do a deep dive into their regional labor markets and learn about what resources and employment opportunities exist.

Engage with local business leaders to gain an understanding of business and community needs whole learning about hiring trends, upskilling, job retention and industry forecasting.

Engage in lesson planning to document learning and take back new critical knowledge to their school district. Training will conclude with debriefing sessions and a lesson demonstration.

Positions are available in the White Plains, Yonkers and Nyack offices. If you are interested, please apply here

Welcome New Members!

Jaime Larmon, CTE

Elizabeth Naughton, Transfiguration

Aisha Williams, Transfiguration

Damon Gaynair, RLC

Shaliiq Frederick, RLC

Jennifer Sanjurjo, itinerant TVI

Save the Date

NYSUT Tarrytown Office is holding free virtual and online seminars for Spring 2026 in conjunction with the ELT. These are free CTLE hours for NYSUT members. You must first register through ELT here. Then use this link to register for the seminars.

Reminders

Next Rep Council meeting: The next Rep Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 25th at 4pm via Zoom. Zoom link to follow.

BTA text list: If you wish to receive texts from the BTA, please fill out this form. The BTA does not give out your cell phone number to outside parties. We use it to send reminders about meetings and upcoming events.

If you receive an email from your supervisor saying you can bring a union rep to a scheduled meeting, reach out to one of the Reps or Exec Board members listed at the bottom of this bulletin ASAP.

Executive Board and Reps

Mairead Schuelein, President

Jason Poniatowski, Executive Vice President

Stacey DiPaola, Treasurer

Derrick Green, 1st Vice President of Aides

Keith Mattos, 2nd Vice President of ALC

Mike Piccolo, Grievance Chair

Rosalie Consani, Corresponding Secretary

Liz Lopez, Recording Secretary

Julie Crosier, Teacher Rep

Theresa Saive, Teacher Rep

Pierre Fils, CTE Rep

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

by SWBOCES BTA February 6, 2026February 6, 2026

January 9, 2026 bulletin – Retirement reminders, Food Drive success, Certified Staff contract distribution

BTA Holiday Food Drive

Thank you to all who donated to the BTA Holiday Food Drive. In total, the BTA collected $200 and 1,190 pounds of food to Feeding Westchester. The food was delivered to Feeding Westchester on Friday, December 19th with the help of ALC Vice President Keith Mattos. That money and food helped to provide hundreds of meals to families throughout Westchester during the holiday season.

January 15th Deadline for BOCES Bucks

A reminder to all Certified Staff that under the new contract, Certified Staff must submit their letter of retirement to HR by January 15th if they would like to retire between the last workday in June and August 31st and would like to use their sick time as Boces Bucks. The form for retirement to submit to HR can be found here.

Certified Staff contract update/MOAs

The Board of Education President and Dr. Coles signed the Certified Staff contract at the December 18th BOE meeting and the new contract has been printed. It is anticipated that contracts will be distributed to all Certified Staff early next week at each site. They are green in color and labeled with your name. We strongly encourage you to read your contract!

An MOA subcommittee has been created to negotiate an MOA that will address Back to School night, TA certification stipends and prep/lunch time for programs that are housed in district settings. Thank you to Stacey DiPaola, Tyree Morris and Jane Shields for agreeing to be a part of that subcommittee. The first committee meeting with administration took place early in January. Proposals were exchanged and we meet again next week.

NYSUT United January/February edition

The BTA is featured twice in the January/February edition of NYSUT United, a magazine that gets delivered via mail from NYSUT to your home on a bi-monthly basis. A picture of our members recognizing SRPS is in the SRP Day article, as well as a separate article about the NYSUT visit to our legislative event in late October, which features a quote from our President, Mairead Schuelein. More to come next month when the digital version is out!

Know Your Rights

Question #3: Under New York State Education Law and Commissioner’s Regulations, if a teacher is dismissed, the Board must provide reasons. 79.5% of members answered it was true. The correct answer is false.

As per NYS Ed Law 3031, the Board of Education does not need to provide a reason or reasons. The teacher may request in writing, no later than 21 days after the recommendation to be dismissed, the reasons for the dismissal, which must be provided within 7 days of the request.

NYSUT Member Benefits

Fix Tier 6 Rally on March 8th, 2026

Welcome New Members!

Moises Robles, CTE

Andreas Kiss, CTE

Congratulations Retirees

Samonie Cameron, 26 years

Billie Dolan, 22 years

Save the Date

The dates for ESY will be 7/6/26 – 8/14/26. Posting will be up from January 12th through January 23rd. Check your SWBOCES email in the next few days for the posting from HR.

Changes are coming to the BTA website! More information to come in the next few weeks.

NYSUT Tarrytown Office is holding free virtual and online seminars for Spring 2026 in conjunction with the ELT. These are free CTLE hours for NYSUT members. You must first register through ELT here. Then use this link to register for the seminars.

Reminders

Next Rep Council meeting: The next Rep Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 21st at 4pm via Zoom. Zoom link to follow. BTA text list: If you wish to receive texts from the BTA, please fill out this form. The BTA does not give out your cell phone number to outside parties. We use it to send reminders about meetings and upcoming events. If you receive an email from your supervisor saying you can bring a union rep to a scheduled meeting, reach out to one of the Reps or Exec Board members listed at the bottom of this bulletin ASAP.

Executive Board and Reps

Mairead Schuelein, President

Jason Poniatowski, Executive Vice President

Stacey DiPaola, Treasurer

Derrick Green, 1st Vice President of Aides

Keith Mattos, 2nd Vice President of ALC

Mike Piccolo, Grievance Chair

Rosalie Consani, Corresponding Secretary

Liz Lopez, Recording Secretary

Julie Crosier, Teacher Rep

Theresa Saive, Teacher Rep

Pierre Fils, CTE Rep

by SWBOCES BTA January 9, 2026February 3, 2026

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.