Who Are We?

Champlain Valley Educational Services (CVES) is the Clinton–Essex–Warren–Washington Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). We partner with our component school districts to expand educational opportunities, strengthen instructional quality, and deliver shared services that are more efficient when provided regionally than district-by-district.

CVES supports learners of all ages — students, educators, and the wider community — through career preparation, specialized education services, instructional support, professional learning, and administrative/cooperative services that help districts operate effectively and responsibly.

What We Do

CVES exists to help districts do more — together. Our services are designed to:

• Broaden access to high-quality programs and pathways

• Strengthen teaching and learning through professional development and instructional support

• Provide specialized and student-centered services aligned with regional needs

• Deliver shared business and operational services that help districts maximize resources

As a regional service agency, CVES helps component districts keep pace with technology, changing workforce demands, and evolving educational requirements — while maintaining a strong commitment to student success and community partnership.

Our Divisions

CVES is organized to serve both students and districts through key divisions (with dedicated landing pages on this site):

• CV-TEC (Career & Technical Education) – Career pathways, technical training, and workforce readiness

• Rise Center for Success – Specialized programs and supports designed around learner needs

• Management Services – Shared administrative, operational, and cooperative services

• School Support Services (S3) – Instructional services, professional learning, and district support

Governance & Accountability

BOCES are public organizations that collaborate with local districts and operate under New York State Education Law. CVES is one of 37 BOCES statewide, created to help districts share programs and services efficiently.

BOCES in New York State: Timeline

1948 — BOCES created statewide
New York State established BOCES to enable districts to collaborate on programs and services while reducing costs and expanding offerings.

1949 — CVES established
CVES (CEWW BOCES) was established in 1949 to support regional collaboration among local school districts.

1995 — CVES name adopted
Historical coverage notes that the organization began using the name Champlain Valley Educational Services in 1995.

2024–2025 — 75th Anniversary milestone
CVES commemorated 75 years of service with anniversary events and public communications.

When was CVES founded?

CVES (Clinton–Essex–Warren–Washington BOCES) was established in 1949. For a quick overview and additional background, viewers can learn more via the CVES Fact Sheet.

So, What is a BOCES?

A BOCES, or Board of Cooperative Educational Services, is a public educational organization created under New York State Education Law to allow school districts to share programs, services, staffing, expertise, and costs that may be too expensive, inefficient, or unavailable for individual districts to provide alone.

In plain language:

A BOCES is New York’s regional shared-services structure for school districts.

It is not a private company, not a charter school, and not a replacement for local school districts. It is a public cooperative entity that exists to help component districts provide educational and operational services more efficiently.

Legal foundation

Under New York Education Law §1950, boards of education and school trustees in a supervisory district may petition the Commissioner of Education to establish a BOCES “for the purpose of carrying out a program of shared educational services” and for providing instruction in approved special subjects. The law also identifies the District Superintendent as the executive officer of the BOCES.

Education Law §1951 addresses the BOCES budget structure, including the administrative, capital, and program budget framework. Importantly, component districts are not charged program costs for a specific educational service they do not elect to use.

NYSED description

The New York State Education Department describes BOCES as a public organization created by the Legislature in 1948 to provide shared educational programs and services to school districts. NYSED explains that BOCES began as a way for smaller and rural districts to combine resources for services that otherwise would have been “uneconomical, inefficient, or unavailable.”

NYSED also notes that BOCES evolved from a temporary/intermediate-district concept into a formally recognized middle or intermediate unit in New York’s public education system.

NYSSBA / School Law framing

The New York State School Boards Association’s BOCES fact sheet gives the practical school-board explanation: BOCES are public organizations created to provide shared programs and services to school districts, especially where districts have common needs that can be met more efficiently through cooperation.

NYSSBA’s 2025 governance article, citing the 40th edition of School Law, states that 684 of 693 operating school districts in New York State are part of a BOCES, and that membership is not available to the “Big Five” city school districts: Buffalo, New York City, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers, with a limited exception allowing Rochester to purchase BOCES health services.

Governance

A BOCES is governed by a BOCES Board of Education. Its board members are elected by the boards of education of the component school districts, not by the general public in a direct election. Education Law §1950 sets out the structure for electing BOCES board members and approving the tentative administrative budget.

The District Superintendent serves two roles:

1. Chief executive officer of the BOCES
2. Regional representative of the Commissioner of Education / State Education Department

BOCES of New York State also describes the District Superintendent as the chief executive officer of an individual BOCES.

What BOCES Actually Does

A BOCES provides services that districts choose to purchase or participate in. Common examples include:

• Career and technical education
• Special education programs
• Alternative education
• Professional development
• Instructional technology
• Curriculum support
• Communications/public relations
• Cooperative purchasing
• Transportation coordination
• Data, testing, and administrative services
• Regional planning and shared operational support

The key concept is shared service. A district does not surrender its identity or local board authority simply because it participates in BOCES. Rather, it uses BOCES to access services it may not be able to provide alone at the same level of quality or cost.

Superintendent-level definition

As a District Superintendent, I would summarize it this way:

A BOCES is a legally established regional public education agency through which component school districts cooperatively obtain educational and operational services, under the governance of a BOCES Board of Education and the executive leadership of a District Superintendent, in order to improve access, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and program quality across a region.

Or even more simply:

BOCES is the mechanism New York State uses to help school districts do together what many could not afford, staff, or sustain alone.