Higher Education Case Study Summary

Unfortunately we could not with Mr. Fitzpatrick as he was out for medical reasons. We did have the chance to speak with Ms. Margie Ranalli, his secretary. For the get-go Ms. Ranalli seemed a little weary of CTE programs and their purposes and expressed that Mr. Fitzpatrick was as well. Mrs. Martino made a point to explain that ESBOCES was not looking for more money or more funding, but merely a re-evaluation of a 25 year old fixed budget. She explained that it does accommodate the schools well enough, in other words it does not provide enough money to pay for programs. Ms. Ranalli asked about the costs, locations, and rate of enrollment in the last few years. With knowledge of all of these topics, Mrs. Martino explained that costs have gone up as well as the rate of enrollment.
Along the lines of locations, Mrs. Martino and Mr. Sperl explained that the buildings and classes are far superior to anything that a regular school district can supply. With that being said, both students explained their experiences with BOCES and the challenges they faced, whether that be at their home schools or with their field in general. Ms. Ranalli seemed to appreciate the fact that these students have earned an extensive education and that BOCES gave them the chance to be ahead of those of their age. To add to the experiences of the students and to solidify the idea of BOCES education for all students, Mrs. Martino pointed out the fact that these two students were of higher class rankings in their