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Bickford and Jones begin terms on Cal-Mum School Board In the May 2008 school board election, incumbent John Bickford and newcomer Jackie Jones, both ran unopposed for the Caledonia-Mumford School Board of Education. On July 8, 2008, they took the oath of office, Bickford to begin his sixteenth year and Jones to start her first. The first item on the agenda in the district’s annual business meeting was to elect officers. The board unanimously returned Jay Jones to the office of president and also unanimously elected John Bickford to be vice-president. The board also appointed Bickford to the Middle School Compact and the negotiating committee and Jones to be the board reviewer of the general fund warrant. A complete listing of board appointments will be posted on the school and community websites. For the first time in nine years, former Vice-President Barbara Burns was not in attendance at the annual meeting. The board recognized Burns for her years of volunteer service with a reception prior to the start of the June 24 meeting, marking her final board meeting. Burns says she will miss collaborating with her colleagues on the board and the administrative team but adds, she will most miss attending graduation to hand out the diplomas. "When you celebrate their accomplishments with them and see their big smiles coming at you to receive their diploma, I'll miss that the most," Burns commented. Bickford says he originally ran for a school board seat because like many other first time school board members, he thought a school district could be run with much less money than was being spent. "I was wrong as most new board members find out. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of surrounding yourself with topnotch people. Cal-Mum is also blessed with awesome, enthusiastic teachers that go above and beyond for our students. Cal-Mum is far from the average school district and I’m proud to say I’ve been part of the development of a super school now known as Cal-Mum," Bickford remarked. He wants to continue on the school board to see the district through the upcoming administration changes and says it’s important to select good leaders. "Everything else falls in to place when you have good people in administration," says Bickford. After 15 years of board meetings and his daughter graduating in June, Bickford gave a lot of thought to his decision to continue on the school board. Any reservations he may have had fell by the wayside when the board recognized Senior Nathan Schiedel, state wrestling champion, at a school board meeting last spring. "I looked at the faces of his parents, the board, administrators and community members as we gave him a standing ovation. I was never so proud to be a board member as I was that night." Bickford is a graduate of both Cal-Mum High School and SUNY Geneseo. He and his wife Lori have three children, all graduates of CMCS. Katie, of the Class of 2008, begins studying nursing at SUNY Brockport in September and wants to become a pediatric nurse practitioner. Jackie Jones started her first term on the CM School Board. She’s been an interested and involved community member in school issues for many years and is an active volunteer with the Cal-Mum Soccer Club. Jones wants to be a school board member for the students. "I want to contribute to ensuring the best education for each and every student," she commented. She believes there is always room for improvement when it comes to providing a quality education. "We can improve on the involvement of everyone involved in the educational system," Jones said. She and her husband Bill have two grown children, a son in college and their daughter, Jessica, also of the CM Class of 2008 this year, will attend Nazareth College in the fall to study physical therapy.
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