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Ulster BOCES outlines CTE hub, IPARK timeline and regionalization plans to Rondout board
Summary
Ulster BOCES CEO Joan Schaffer told the Rondout board that the county’s shared services model has produced roughly $1.7 million in refunds on $5 million of purchased services and described a plan to open a redesigned Career and Technical Center by September while pursuing regionalization and supports for special education students.
Joan Schaffer, introduced during the Feb. 11 board meeting as the Ulster BOCES CEO, gave an overview of BOCES services and regional collaborations, saying shared services returned approximately $1.7 million on about $5 million in purchased services and explaining how BOCES aid works.
Schaffer described changes to the IPARK/CTE facility layout that move the center to a two‑floor linear footprint, improve safety and create a dedicated bus loop. She said the changes let the county centralize career and technical education, industry partnerships and workforce development under one roof and could free a campus building that will be used to advance the district’s capital project and special‑education programming.
"We're in a better place from a school safety, from a program design standpoint," Schaffer said, framing the reconfiguration as both a safety enhancement and an efficiency measure that can reduce duplication among districts. She outlined a September target for opening the redesigned space and said a year of construction and HVAC work is planned to prepare another facility to house capital‑project activity.
Schaffer also discussed the statewide "Blue Ribbon Commission" recommendations and the New York Inspires roadmap, which propose multiple pathways to graduation and a staged five‑year implementation. She said regionalization conversations are intended to let districts collaborate on offerings—such as specialized machinery and internships—so smaller districts can provide programs that would otherwise be unavailable.
Student speakers who attend BOCES programs described the hands‑on benefits of the experience; one student said participation helped them gain confidence and real‑world skills they plan to use after graduation.
The board asked for follow‑up site visits and additional program‑level enrollment breakdowns. Schaffer said a superintendents' site visit was planned for March and that the final regionalization plan would be due in October 2025.
