Update: 2:30 p.m. -- with comments from Benedict
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Alice Ann Benedict was elected president of the Batavia City School District Board of Education on Wednesday morning, replacing longtime board member Patrick Burk.
The unanimous selection of the board took place at a reorganizational meeting at the district’s administration conference room.
Benedict, a lifelong Batavian and former BOE president, was appointed in May to fill the board seat vacated by Zachary Korzelius. She then was elected by district residents to a three-year term in voting announced on June 16.
On Wednesday, Benedict, along with board members Barbara Bowman and Tanni Bromley, were sworn in by Business Administrator Scott Rozanski. Bowman and Bromley were re-elected last month.
As she took the president’s seat at the conference table, Benedict said, “Thank you all for your support and please bear with me. It’s been a while since I’ve been president of the board.”
Her first order of business was to call for a nomination for vice president. The board promptly voted for Peter Cecere to fill that position.
Benedict, a BOE member from 1995-2006, is familiar with the leadership role, having served three terms as president.
She and her husband, Wayne, and their three children are Batavia High School graduates. She also is an alumna of Genesee Community College.
"I am excited to be back on the BOE and becoming president is an added honor," Benedict said. "I take the responsibility very seriously and I know my experience from being on the BOE previously, will serve me well."
She said the board is operating during "an unprecedented and challenging time" and is inundated with information concerning students' academics along with the health and safety of students, teachers, staff and the community.
"I urge the community to get involved, participate in meetings, and engage with our Board," she added. "I want all of us to work together to be stakeholders in the future education of all our students."
Burk, who nominated Benedict for president, called the change a “transitional move.” He said that he had planned to retire from the board at the end of this year.
His term expires on June 30, 2021.
“This was a planned thing to bring in new leadership,” said Burk, a board member for close to 30 years. “With the theater up and moving forward, I will be concentrating in that area, and it really wouldn’t make sense to be president and leave (a void).”
He was referring to the Batavia Players Theater 56, which is in the process of relocating from Harvester Avenue to the City Centre as part of the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Burk is president, executive and artistic director of Batavia Players.
Burk also serves as the executive director of the Genesee Valley School Boards Association, which represents 22 school boards in Western New York. He is the 2016 recipient of the GVSBA's Albert W. Hawk Award for Distinguished School Board Service for his contributions to public education and children in his community.
Batavia Superintendent Anibal Soler Jr. said he wasn’t surprised by the board’s action to elect Benedict, noting that Burk has been involved for quite some time and that this was a “logical step in the transition.”
“Mr. Burk still is a valuable resource – he’s an active member and has a vote – and brings a ton of historical and institutional knowledge (to the board),” Soler said.
