Submitted Photo Zachary Nobles is shown as he is sworn in as the new Vice President of the Gowanda Board of Education.

GOWANDA — Despite missing the reorganizational meeting, Max Graham did not duck the responsibility of serving as Board President moving forward. Graham was re-elected as Board of Education President for the Gowanda Central School District. He received all but one vote from the remaining members of the Board

Mark Nephew nominated Zachary Nobles for the role of President, while the rest of the Board picked Graham. Shortly after Graham was re-elected, the position of Vice President was up for grabs. Both Nephew and Nobles nominated each other for the role. Graham was absent for the vote, and the other six members of the Board split evenly at three votes for each candidate.

Nephew, the Board’s longest standing member, recently took over as Mayor of Gowanda. He mentioned that he has a lot on his plate since taking on the new role. Upon a re-vote, all voting members changed their vote from Nephew to Nobles, except for Nobles, who held firm in voting for Nephew. Nobles was elected as Vice President with five votes in his corner.

Without Graham in attendance, Nobles immediately assumed the duties of President for the remainder of the organizational meeting and the regular meeting of the Board that followed.

The Board also welcomed newly elected Board member Brittney Olszewski for her first meeting on the Board. Kathy Ferneza was re-appointed as District Clerk, with Business Administrator Barb Smith serving as Deputy Clerk.

The district accepted a donation of $10,000 from an anonymous partner through the Gowanda Kiwanis Club to be used to implement a vending machine for books at the middle school. A similar machine is located at Gowanda Elementary School. A reward system to allow students to obtain books will be implemented at Gowanda Middle School to encourage positive behavior and spark an interest in reading. Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson said, “I’m really excited that we can do that, and very appreciative of the generosity.”

The Gowanda Lady Panthers travel softball team also donated $215 to the Gowanda softball program, and the Gowanda Student Council received $209 from parents for Every Child Matters t-shirts. The district also established the Pepper Shields Memorial Scholarship to support students studying animal science.

The Board also accepted a policy pertaining to the use of internet-enabled devices during the school day.

A bid for athletic supplies was also approved by the Board.

A public hearing was also held for the district’s updated Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct includes policies regarding internet enabled technology decides and the use of artificial intelligence. The updated Code of Conduct will be evaluated by the Board in August.

The Board will also soon make a decision on bids for the pool renovation. The project will likely begin construction this fall. Further improvements to the Elementary School playground are targeted in the near future, as well.

The next meeting of the Gowanda Board of Education is Wednesday, July 23.