CANTON — Two candidates will compete Monday to fill a vacant seat on the nine-member St. Lawrence-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services board.

The seat will go to either Victor N. Rycroft, a Canton school board member, or James Young, a Parishville-Hopkinton school board member.

They were nominated to fill the unexpired term of Steven H. Wilson, Parishville, who died of a heart attack May 19 at age 58.

The winning candidate will serve until June 30, 2015, when Mr. Wilson’s three-year term was due to expire.

BOCES Superintendent Thomas R. Burns said school boards from the region’s 18 school districts are scheduled to meet Monday to choose Mr. Rycroft or Mr. Young.

“Both of the candidates are veteran school board members,” Mr. Burns said.

The seat will go to the candidate who receives a simple majority from the 18 school boards.

Mr. Burns said the BOCES board and BOCES staff will continue to assist school districts faced with dwindling state aid and decreasing student enrollment.

Staffing levels have stabilized at BOCES and even grown in some departments as districts rely more heavily on BOCES to provide services to students.

“Our main goal is to support the districts in this fiscal climate,” Mr. Burns said. “Our main challenge is keeping the districts afloat.”

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