Bill Text: NY S05884 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes school election wards in the Chester Union Free School District.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S05884 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S05884-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5884--A Cal. No. 1169 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 16, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged and said bill committed to the Committee on Rules -- ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the establishment of school election wards in the Chester Union Free School District The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1702 of the education law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 4 to read as follows: 3 4. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the 4 board of education of the Chester Union Free School District may, by 5 resolution and subject to a mandatory referendum, establish school 6 election wards for purposes of electing individual trustees. There shall 7 be at least three, but no more than nine, school election wards within 8 the school district. One trustee shall be chosen from each ward by the 9 qualified voters therein. Within such resolution, the board of educa- 10 tion may require that a trustee elected to represent a ward shall be a 11 resident of such ward. Such resolution shall also provide for the signa- 12 ture requirements for nominating petitions consistent with the applica- 13 ble provisions of this chapter. 14 b. (i) A resolution by the board of education, which shall be passed 15 no less than one hundred eighty days prior to a related referendum being 16 placed before the qualified voters of the school district during the 17 annual meeting and election, shall include an assessment and finding, 18 which shall take into account any historic disenfranchisement or 19 discrimination against any group of individuals within the school 20 district based upon race, gender, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic 21 status, or sexual orientation, including that no disenfranchisement or 22 discrimination would result from the adoption of the proposed resol- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11782-02-9S. 5884--A 2 1 ution. The board of education shall conduct no fewer than three public 2 hearings on such resolution. 3 (ii) Such public hearings shall be conducted not less than thirty nor 4 more than ninety days prior to a vote on the resolution by a majority of 5 the qualified voters of the district. The district clerk shall give 6 notice of the public hearing by publishing a notice five times within 7 fifteen days preceding the hearing, on the district's website and in two 8 newspapers if there shall be two, or in one newspaper if there shall be 9 but one, having general circulation within such district. But if no 10 newspaper shall then have general circulation therein, said notice shall 11 be posted in at least twenty of the most public places in said district 12 fifteen days before the time of the first hearing. 13 (iii) Following such public hearings, a proposition for approval of 14 such resolution and the boundaries of proposed school election wards by 15 a majority of the qualified voters of such district shall be submitted 16 at the next succeeding annual meeting and election. The district clerk 17 shall give notice of such proposition by publishing notice prior to the 18 election, in the same manner and publication as the public hearings, set 19 forth in this section, specifying the time when and place or places 20 where such election will be held, the hours during which the polls will 21 remain open for the purpose of receiving ballots, and setting forth in 22 full the language of the proposition to be approved at such election. 23 In any event, there shall be at least one polling location for every 24 fifteen thousand eligible voters in the district and the hours of the 25 election shall commence no later than six o'clock in the morning and 26 shall end no earlier than nine o'clock in the evening. 27 (iv) At least fifteen days prior to conducting public hearings, the 28 board of education shall define and publish, by resolution, boundaries 29 of each of the proposed school election wards. Should such map be 30 altered as a result of the public hearings, the amended map shall be 31 published pursuant to this paragraph no later than fifteen days before 32 the election. Such wards shall be contiguous and each ward shall 33 contain as nearly as possible the same number of inhabitants. Each ward 34 shall also conform as closely as possible with the attendance zone of 35 the school district, conform as closely as possible with geographic and 36 other physical boundaries, and retain contiguous communities of inter- 37 est. 38 (v) A map of each ward and the boundaries thereof shall be created 39 with the original filed with the district clerk within ten days of the 40 resolution and copies thereof filed in the board of elections of the 41 county. Upon each issuance of a federal decennial census, the board of 42 education shall either: (1) make a written finding that, upon examina- 43 tion of the decennial census, the current school election wards contain 44 nearly as possible the same number of inhabitants and that no discrimi- 45 nation or disenfranchisement would result if the wards remained as 46 established; or (2) the school election wards shall be redefined by 47 resolution of the board of education, after a public hearing thereon, 48 and approval by the qualified voters of the school district. If the 49 qualified voters of the school district shall not approve of the resol- 50 ution, the board of education shall submit a second resolution for 51 approval by the qualified voters of the school district, after a public 52 hearing thereon, within ninety days. If the qualified voters of the 53 school district shall not approve of such resolution for a second time, 54 the board of education shall continue the membership and terms of the 55 current board until the next annual meeting and election at which time 56 the terms of all current trustees shall terminate. At the next annualS. 5884--A 3 1 meeting and election, trustees shall be elected by a vote of the quali- 2 fied voters of the school district pursuant to article forty-three of 3 this chapter. 4 (vi) After a school election ward system shall have been established, 5 the term of every existing trustee shall terminate on the thirtieth day 6 of June next succeeding the first annual meeting and election following 7 voter approval of the referendum, at which time the terms for each 8 elected school ward trustee shall commence. 9 c. The term of office of each trustee from a school election ward 10 shall be three, four, or five years, to be determined at the discretion 11 of the board of education by resolution prior to the referendum; 12 provided however that the resolution shall also designate that in the 13 first annual meeting and election after the adoption of a school 14 election ward system, the initial terms shall be divided into terms of 15 three, four, or five years so that as nearly as possible an equal number 16 of trustees shall be elected each year. In each election cycle thereaft- 17 er, the terms of office shall be uniform. In each school election ward, 18 the candidate receiving a plurality of votes in each school election 19 ward shall be declared elected to that position. 20 d. Whenever a vacancy shall occur or exist in the office of a ward 21 trustee of a board of education, such vacancy shall be filled pursuant 22 to this article and part one of article forty-three of this chapter. 23 e. Except as provided in this subdivision, all provisions of this 24 article, article forty-one, and article forty-three of this chapter or 25 of any other general law relating to or affecting the election of trus- 26 tees in a union free school district shall apply to school election 27 wards organized pursuant to this subdivision and to the election of 28 trustees by the qualified voters of a school district as established 29 pursuant to paragraph f and subparagraph (iv) of paragraph b of this 30 subdivision. 31 f. A board of education of a union free school district which has 32 established school election wards pursuant to this subdivision may, by 33 resolution and subject to a mandatory referendum, abolish the school 34 election ward system and return to election of trustees by a vote of the 35 qualified voters of the school district. Adoption, assessment, public 36 hearing and notice, and voting requirements of such resolution and 37 referendum shall comply with the provisions of subparagraphs (i), (ii), 38 and (iii) of paragraph b of this subdivision. 39 g. For the purpose of this subdivision, "contiguous community of 40 interest" means a contiguous population which shares common social and 41 economic interests that should be included within a single district for 42 purposes of its effective and fair representation. 43 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
