Michael Donahue - Board President

Michael has been the President of the Board for the past five years and was Vice-President for one year previously.  This is his 11th year on the Board.  He has been a resident of Coxsackie for over 35 years. He holds a masters degree in social work and is a New York State Licensed Clinical Social Worker. In 2021, after 44 years of service, he retired as the Executive Program Director for Residential Services for Northern Rivers Family of Services. For his last 5 years at Northern Rivers, he oversaw the clinical and physical operations at their residential treatment program for adolescents in Schenectady, New York.  

He and his wife Mary's three children all graduated from Coxsackie Athens and his granddaughter is currently a student at Coxsackie Elementary.  He has spent his years on the Board advocating for adequate resources for those staff involved in the education of our children to positively impact all youth’s academic performances; improved mental health services; the free breakfast and lunch program for all youth; and he has worked to show appreciation to all staff.

He is proud of the work the Board has done collaboratively with all stakeholders. One goal is that everyone works together on continual improvement activities as we strive toward better educating our youth while helping to attain, and maintain, a superior standing in several areas of education that our small rural district has gained locally, statewide and even nationally.  The Board has worked with our community partners, staff, and families through some tough issues to seek the best possible consensus while being respectful and listening to everyone wishing to share their perspective with us.  Having a strong foundation of beliefs and values that include being respectful to others as we make decisions regarding the education, safety and well-being of our youth guides us in our work together.

Jamie Dorr - Vice President

Jamie is a Teaching Assistant for Ulster BOCES with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology.  She is Vice President of the Coxsackie-Athens Rotary Club, volunteers within the community and enjoys photography and gardening in her spare time.  Her focus has been to emphasize a culture of quality education for all students, partnering with parents, teachers and the administration.  She believes we need to find the correct balance in traditional learning between teacher and student with the added benefits of modern technology at a reasonable cost to the taxpayer. As a parent whose children have progressed through our schools; she sees the positive steps our district has taken to continuously improve. 

Tara Bachner

Tara Bachner is a proud graduate of Coxsackie Athens. She holds a masters degree in Childhood Education and Literacy, and spent 12 years as a substitute teacher within the school district. Tara is currently a stay at home mom which allows her to commit her time to her family and to pursue volunteer opportunities within the community. In addition to her work as a Board of Education member, she assists with coaching a Little League Softball team, is an officer for CE PTO, a member of the C.A.F.E., one of the directors of the VOC Summer Rec Program, the fundraising coordinator of Hope’s Mission, and coordinates the monthly dinners at the First Reformed Church of Coxsackie. 

Her love for the community extends to the school district where she strives to recognize  all of the staff and students on their successes, big and small. She would like to see the budget committee continue to grow and keep the district budgetarily aware.

Nicole Canning

Coxsackie resident, Nicole Canning holds a Masters degree in Education, and has 26 years experience as a special education teacher, with the past 18 years in the Bethlehem Central School District.  She also is an exercise instructor at the Greene County YMCA.  Nicole is a parent, teacher and graduate of Coxsackie-Athens Central School District.  She runs for school board to give voice for all students and all teachers.  She believes in a positive work environment which will ultimately benefit all students.

Kyle Garland

Kyle is a Coxsackie-Athens graduate, Class of 2007, who went on to attend SUNY Cortland and graduate with a degree in Sports Management. He recently became a business development associate at Central Hudson Gas and Electric, as well as a welder for Central Hudson for 8 years. Prior to that, he was a marketing assistant at Hunter Mountain. Kyle is also a member of the Earlton Fire Department, and has been for 15 years. The Coxsackie-Athens community has, and will always be, his home. He grew up in Athens, has been part of the Earlton community for years, and now resides in the Village of Coxsackie. His biggest motivation for joining the school board is service to the community, and it is his belief that the school system is the foundation for our community here at C-A. He is a proud father of 2, with his oldest starting school at C-A in the fall. Kyle believes the C-A district, faculty, staff, students, parents and community have done an outstanding job keeping our children safe while continuing to expand their education in this challenging time. His goal is to help continue that success as a member of the C-A school board. He hopes to bring his cooperative, level-headed approach to the board and try to resolve issues, while forging ahead to help our district achieve its vision and goals for the future. Kyle understands that there are several hot-button issues that the school board face on a regular basis. His intent is to listen to our community, students, parents, staff, and others to develop clear and decisive plans to move forward, while maintaining honest and transparent communication among all parties involve.

Ina Griffin-Guilzon

Raising a family in the Coxsackie-Athens School District has given Ina valuable insight about the challenges that families face in today’s global community.  As the proud mother of a 2006 C-A graduate as well as a recent class of 2022 graduate, she has experienced the rapidly changing effects that technology and cultural influences have made in the school environment.  Ina is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson who holds a BS in Childhood Education and a MS in Literacy Education. She has worked extensively in our school district as a teacher and tutor.  Ina has volunteered with local Historical Societies, school events and community sports and enjoys restoration work and gardening.  

Ina is proud of the work the Board has done with the administration and staff, as we work together to continually improve the education and opportunities provided to our students.  As we move forward and face the challenges that the pandemic continues to pose on communities it is important to maintain consistency.  The Board has worked through difficult issues with our community to arrive at the best possible solutions to the challenges presented.  It is important to hear all of the voices of the community, and carefully consider the outcomes before making difficult decisions.  Students are our first priority.  It is important not to lose sight of the roles and influence that each and every member of the community has in the way students are nurtured and protected.   Ina is committed to the community as a whole and looks forward to continuing to serve the Coxsackie-Athens School District .

David Taylor

David is a Coxsackie-Athens graduate, Class of 1995, who continued on to receive his BA in History from SUNY Albany, and a Masters in Art Teaching from SUNY New Paltz. He has been a Middle School teacher in Catskill since 2001.  He enjoys his role as an assistant soccer coach with the Varsity girls team here at C-A.  He is a member of the Greene County Historical Association, an avid sportsman and outdoor enthusiast. David’s goal is to continue moving the district forward, while preserving the small community school character and support programs that help all students to succeed. He also plans to continue to encourage fiscal responsibility and safe-guard the social-emotional wellbeing of the entire C-A community. David currently has 2 children who attend C-A.

Bart Wallace

Barton is a graduate of C-A and SUNY with a degree in Business Administration. Barton currently is a N.Y.S. licensed Real Estate Broker with Wallace Realtors, and is employed as a transfer station operator with the County of Greene. Barton is also a founding member of the Coxsackie Athens Foundation for Education. He also has been a past President, director and coach of Henry Hudson Youth Soccer, as well as a Little League Coach, and former director of the Coxsackie Area Chamber of Commerce. His experience as a team board member has included working on four building projects district wide. This has resulted in upgraded facilities that ensure our students and staff have the infrastructure to perform at the highest level in a safe environment. He has served on all board of education committees which include Audit, Liaison, Innovation (future visions) and Facilities. Through these committees, cost savings measures on a yearly level have been enacted. At the same time, increasing educational opportunities for our students, and professional development for staff. New technology spaces have been created, college and career courses expanded, pre-k introduced, and community/student partnerships broaden. Barton believes an effective Board of Education is a collaborative effort with community residents, parents, teachers, staff and administration. We all should have an equal voice to ensure positive results. He will continue to advocate to the State Education Dept. and Board of Regents of N.Y.S. on behalf of the C-A community. N.Y.S high cost mandated and partisan narratives need to be met with a strong voice. Local control of our education system is imperative. As a board member he will give oversight and make policy decisions that keep our district mission and vision strong. Empowering our students to create their own personalized learning pathways, to be critical thinkers and work collaboratively in our community and beyond.

Shelly West

Shelly is a Coxsackie-Athens graduate and Speech Pathologist at Catskill CSD.  Shelly would like to see the board focus on important issues like education and bring the community together for input.  She would like to see more collaboration between the board, school and community.  She believes the preschool program is a wonderful program and more classes should be opened if possible.  She would also like to see more clubs afterschool for special needs students and focus on social skills and problem solving.  She would like to see more of a focus on functional living skills such as financial management, literacy and money management.  Shelly is active in the community visiting many households providing speech services for early intervention and preschool.  She is a member of the American Speech and Hearing Association and The Autism Connection of Greene County.