2023 New York Laws › EDN - Education › Title 2 - School District Organization › Article 52 - City School Districts of Cities With One Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Inhabitants or More › 2553 - Board of Education; Eligibility; How Chosen; Term of Office; Vacancies.

§ 2553. Board  of  education; eligibility; how chosen; term of office;
vacancies. 1. No person shall be eligible to the office of member  of  a
board of education who is not a citizen of the United States, who is not
qualified  to register for or vote at an election in accordance with the
provisions of section 5-106 of the election law, and who, in the case of
the city school district of the city of Yonkers, has not been a resident
of the city school district for which he is chosen for a  period  of  at
least  three  years  immediately  preceding  the date of his election or
appointment and who, in the case of the city school district of the city
of Buffalo, in the case of a member to be elected  at  large  is  not  a
qualified  voter  of  such  city  school district and who has not been a
resident of  such  district  for  a  period  of  at  least  three  years
immediately  preceding  the  date  of  his election and in the case of a
member elected from a city school subdistrict is not a  qualified  voter
of  such city school subdistrict and has not been a resident of the city
school district for three years  and  a  resident  of  the  city  school
subdistrict  which  he  represents or seeks to represent for a period of
one year immediately preceding the date of his election, and who, in the
case of the city school district of the city  of  Rochester,  is  not  a
qualified  voter  under  section  5-102 of the election law of such city
school district; and who in the case of the city school district of  the
city  of  Syracuse has not been a qualified voter under section 5-102 of
the election law of such city school district for at least  ninety  days
immediately preceding the date of his election or appointment.
2.  In  the  city  school  districts  of  the  cities of Rochester and
Syracuse the members of such board of education shall be chosen  by  the
voters  at  large at either a general or municipal election, or at both.
In the city school district of the city of Buffalo the members  of  such
board  of  education  shall  be  chosen  pursuant  to  the provisions of
subdivision ten of this section.
* 2-a. Upon the certification of election results and  the  completion
of the voter history file after each election, each school district that
holds  school  board  elections  pursuant to this article shall transmit
copies of the records required to be  transmitted  pursuant  to  section
3-112  of  the  election  law  in a manner and time provided for in such
section.
* NB Effective April 1, 2026
3. In the city school district of the city of Yonkers members  of  the
board  of  education  shall  be  appointed from the city at large by the
mayor and shall be for terms of five years each, to begin on  the  first
Tuesday in May.
4.  In the city school districts of the following cities, the terms of
such members shall be as follows:
a. Rochester: Four Years;
b. Syracuse: Four Years;
c. Yonkers: Five Years.
5. The terms of one-fifth of all the members of a board of  education,
or of a fraction as close to one-fifth thereof as possible, shall expire
annually  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  May,  except  in  the city school
districts of the cities of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.
6. If a vacancy occurs other than by expiration of term in the  office
of  a member of a board of education in a district in which such members
are elected at a general or municipal election, such  vacancy  shall  be
filled  by  appointment by the mayor until the next general or municipal
election is held, and such vacancy shall then be filled at such election
for the unexpired portion of such term, except that in the  city  school
district  of  the  city  of  Rochester  any such vacancy shall be filled
pursuant to the provisions of  subdivision  nine  of  this  section  and

except  further  that  any such vacancy on the board of education of the
city school district of the city of Buffalo shall be filled pursuant  to
the provisions of subdivision ten of this section.
7.  If  such  vacancy occurs in such office in a district in which the
members of the board of education  are  appointed  by  the  mayor,  such
vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the mayor of such city for the
unexpired portion of such term, but in Buffalo such appointment shall be
subject to confirmation by the council.
8. A member of a board of education who publicly declares that he will
not  accept or serve in the office of member of such board of education,
or refuses or neglects to  attend  three  successive  meetings  of  such
board,  of which he is duly notified, without rendering a good and valid
excuse therefor to the other members of such board of education, vacates
his office by refusal to serve.
9. (a) The members of the  board  of  education  of  the  city  school
district  of  the  city  of  Rochester shall be elected by the qualified
voters of such city as provided herein.
(b) The members of the board of education shall be  elected  at  large
throughout the city by the qualified voters at a general election.
(c)  Such  elections  for  such  officers  shall  be  governed  by the
provisions of the election law in the  same  manner  as  candidates  for
office  generally  to be elected by the voters of the city of Rochester;
provided, however, that each such candidate shall be  required  to  file
petitions containing at least one thousand signatures.
(d)  No  person  shall  be  eligible for the office of members of such
board of education who is not a qualified voter under section  5-102  of
the  election  law of such city school district. No person shall hold at
the same time the office of member of the board  of  education  and  any
other elective office nor shall he be a candidate for any other elective
office  at  the  same time he is a candidate for the office of member of
such board of education.
(e) The term of office of each member of  such  board  shall  be  four
years,  commencing  on  the first day of January following his election.
The candidates receiving a plurality of the votes cast respectively  for
the  several  offices  shall  be  declared  elected. Where more than one
office is to be filled by such election and there is a variance  in  the
length of the terms, the candidate receiving the largest number of votes
shall  be  entitled to the longest term and the candidates receiving the
next highest number of votes shall be entitled, in decreasing  order  of
the  respective  number  of  votes to the several offices, in decreasing
order of the length of  such  terms  or  unexpired  portions  of  terms.
Whenever  a  vacancy shall occur or exist in the office of member of the
board of education except by reason of expiration of term, such  vacancy
shall  be  filled  by  the  president  of  the  board  of  education  by
appointment of a nominee of the members of the board of education of the
same political affiliation as the person who vacated the office and such
nominee shall be elected by the majority vote of the board of education;
if the board shall not have filled the vacancy within thirty  days  from
the  date  the  vacancy  occurred, then the president of the board shall
fill the vacancy from the same political party as that of the person who
vacated the office. However, if the vacancy shall occur in the office of
member of the board of education filled by an  incumbent  elected  on  a
non-partisan  or  an  independent  basis,  such vacancy shall be filled,
after nomination by the president of the board of education, by majority
vote of the remaining members  of  the  board  of  education.  A  person
appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy  shall  hold office to and including the
thirty-first day of December next succeeding the first general  election

following  such  vacancy,  at  which a successor must be elected for the
remainder of the unexpired term, if any.
(f)  The members so elected to the board of education shall convene on
the first business day in January of  each  year  at  the  time  of  the
commencement  of  their  term  of office and select from their members a
president who shall serve for a term of one year or such other term, not
exceeding the term of his office, as may  be  fixed  by  the  rules  and
regulations of the board.
(g)  The  election  of members of the board of education of the school
district of Rochester shall take place at a general election to be  held
in  such  city  when an incumbent's term expires, and the first election
hereinunder shall take place in November of nineteen hundred eighty-one.
Such election shall be conducted by the board of elections of the county
of Monroe in the same manner as general elections are conducted  by  it.
The  results of such elections, after canvassing, shall be certified and
reported by the board of elections to the board  of  education  of  such
city.  The  clerk or other appropriate officer of the board of education
shall within twenty-four hours after the receipt of  such  certification
by the board of elections serve a written notice either personally or by
mail upon each person declared to be elected as a member of the board of
education informing him of his election and the length of his term.
(h)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  any  other law, the present
members of said board of education shall serve the full terms for  which
they  were  elected.  Vacancies  which  may  occur in the board shall be
filled as provided herein, except, that the  vacancies  created  by  the
expansion  of  the  board  of  education  from five to seven members, as
provided herein, shall be filled at the next general election.
10. a. The members of the  board  of  education  of  the  city  school
district of the city of Buffalo shall be elected by the qualified voters
of such city as provided herein.
b. The common council of the city of Buffalo shall within three months
of  the  operative  date  of  this paragraph of this section of this act
define and publish by local law boundaries of each of  six  city  school
subdistricts  which  said  subdistricts  shall be contiguous and each of
which  shall  contain  as  nearly  as  possible  the  same   number   of
inhabitants.  The  boundaries  of  the said city school subdistricts may
thereafter be redefined by the board of education  of  the  city  school
district  of  the  city of Buffalo by resolution, after a public hearing
thereon, at intervals of not less than five years  and  such  resolution
must  be  passed  at  least  eight months prior to the next election for
school board member or members.
c. The members of the board of education of the city  school  district
of the city of Buffalo shall be elected as follows: one member from each
of  such  six city school subdistricts within such city by the qualified
voters therein and three members of such board  of  education  shall  be
chosen by the qualified voters at large within such city.
d.  (1)  Such  election  for  such  office  shall  be  governed by the
provisions of the election law in the  same  manner  as  candidates  for
office  generally  to  be  elected by the voters of the city of Buffalo.
Notwithstanding section 6-142 of the election law, each  such  candidate
for  election  as  a member of the board of education from a city school
subdistrict shall be required to file a petition  containing  signatures
of   at  least  two  hundred  registered  voters  of  such  city  school
subdistrict in which he is a candidate and each candidate  for  election
to  the  board  of education by the voters at large shall be required to
file a petition containing the  signatures  of  at  least  four  hundred
registered voters of the city of Buffalo.
(2)  No petition shall contain any political party or independent body
name or label.  Each  petition  shall  contain  the  name  of  only  one
candidate  and  such petition shall be filed with the board of elections
of the county of Erie not earlier than twenty-four weeks before, and not
later  than  twenty-three  weeks preceding the date on which an election
shall be held.  A  certificate  of  acceptance  or  declination  of  any
individual  so  nominated  shall  be  filed not later than the third day
after the twenty-third Tuesday preceding the election.
e. No person shall hold at the same time the office of member  of  the
board  of education of the city of Buffalo and any other elective office
nor shall he be a candidate for any other elective office  at  the  same
time  he  is  a  candidate  for  the  office  of member of such board of
education.
f. Petitions for the nomination of members of such school board  shall
be on white paper containing the required signatures of qualified voters
of  the  city  of Buffalo. The sheets of such petition shall be numbered
consecutively, beginning with number one, at the  foot  of  each  sheet.
Such  a  petition  must  set forth in every instance the correct date of
signing, the full name of the signer and his or her residence. A  signer
need  only  place  his  or her signature upon the petition, and need not
himself or herself fill in the other required information.
g. Each sheet of such a petition shall be signed in ink and  shall  be
substantially in the following form:
I,  the  undersigned, do hereby state that I am a duly qualified voter
of the city of Buffalo, that my  place  of  residence  is  truly  stated
opposite  my  signature  hereto,  and I do hereby nominate the following
named person as a candidate for nomination (for  the  public  office  of
member   of   the   board  of  education  of  the  city  of  Buffalo  at
large..............day of...................., 20.....,) (for  the  city
school subdistrict.............day of........, 20.....)
I  do hereby appoint........................(here insert the names and
addresses of at least three persons, all of  whom  shall  be  registered
voters  within the city of Buffalo), as a committee to fill vacancies in
accordance with the provisions of the election law.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set  my  hand  the  day  and  year
placed opposite my signature.
Date             Name of Signer           Present Residence
 ..............    ..................        ....................
 ..............    ..................        ....................
 ..............    ..................        ....................
The petition shall be authenticated by witnesses. Such statement shall
be  accepted  for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit, and if
false shall subject the witness to the same penalties as if  he  or  she
had  been  duly sworn. The form of such statement shall be substantially
as follows:
STATEMENT OF WITNESS
I,....................,  (name  of  witness),  state:  I  am  a   duly
qualified  voter  of  the state of New York, and now reside in the city,
town   or    village    of...............,    in    such    state,    at
.......................(fill in street and house number and post office)
therein.  I  know  each of the voters whose names are subscribed to this
petition sheet containing (fill  in  number).............signatures  and
each  of them subscribed the same in my presence and upon so subscribing

declared to me that the foregoing statement, made and subscribed by him,
was true.
.....................
Signature of witness
Date...........
h. The board of elections shall refuse to accept such petitions signed
by  an  insufficient  number of qualified voters, or petitions which are
not timely or petitions bearing a political party or  independent  body,
name or emblem or which contain the name of more than one candidate.
i. Except as it may be modified by the provisions of paragraph (d) and
paragraph  (n)  of  this subdivision, the provisions of the election law
with respect to  acceptances  by  candidates  nominated  by  independent
nominating  petitions  shall  apply to candidates nominated by petitions
for members of such board of education.
j. Objections to petitions for the nomination of members of such board
of education, procedures and  remedies  applicable  to  such  objections
shall be made pursuant to section 6-154 of the election law.
k.  The  board of elections shall cause to be printed official ballots
containing the names of all candidates as above  provided,  except  that
the  board  may refuse to have the names of ineligible candidates placed
on such ballots. The names of the candidates shall be arranged according
to lot, and shall not bear the designation of  any  political  party  or
independent body, name or emblem. Blank spaces shall be provided so that
voters  may  vote  for  candidates  who  have not been nominated for the
offices to be filled at such elections. The form of such  ballots  shall
conform  substantially  to the form of ballots used at general elections
as prescribed in the election law.
l. Voting for the election of members of such board of education shall
be by voting machine and shall be governed by the applicable  provisions
of the election law with respect to voting machines.
m. If a candidate, after a petition in his behalf shall have been duly
filed  with  the  board  of  elections,  and  prior  to  the date of the
election, shall decline to accept the nomination, die, remove  from  the
school district, accept another office, or become otherwise disqualified
for  such  city  school district office, such vacancy shall be filled by
the committee on vacancies pursuant to the election law.
n. The term of office of each member of such board from a city  school
subdistrict  shall  be  three years, and the term of office of each such
member of the board elected at large shall be for  five  years.  Of  the
candidates to be elected for membership on the board of education of the
city  school  district of the city of Buffalo by the voters at large the
three candidates receiving the largest number of votes cast in the city,
shall  be  declared  elected  as  at-large  members  of  such  board  of
education.  In  each  city school subdistrict the candidates seeking the
election as the member of such board of education for such  city  school
subdistrict   receiving  a  plurality  of  votes  in  such  city  school
subdistrict shall be declared elected to that position.
Whenever a vacancy shall occur or exist in the office of member of the
board of education except by reason of expiration of term or increase in
the number of members of such board, such vacancy shall be filled  by  a
majority  vote of the remaining members of the board of education within
thirty days of the date when such vacancy shall have  occurred.  If  the
remaining  members  of  the  board  of education shall fail to fill such
vacancy within such thirty day period, then the mayor  of  the  city  of
Buffalo shall within thirty days thereafter fill such vacancy subject to
the  confirmation  of such appointment by the common council of the city

of Buffalo. No one shall be appointed to fill a vacancy of a subdistrict
member of  the  board  of  education  unless  he  fulfills  all  of  the
qualifications  in  this subdivision to enable him to be a candidate for
the  office  of  a member of the board of education from the subdistrict
involved.
o. The members so elected to the board of education shall  convene  on
the  first  business  day  in  January  of each year, at the time of the
commencement of their term of office and select  from  their  members  a
president who shall serve for a term of one year or such other term, not
exceeding  the  term  of  his  office,  as may be fixed by the rules and
regulations of the board.
p. The election of members of the board of  education  of  the  school
district  of  the  city of Buffalo shall take place on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in November in each year in which an  incumbent's
term expires. Such election shall be conducted by the board of elections
of  the  county  of  Erie  in  the  same  manner  as other elections are
conducted by it. The results of such elections, after canvassing,  shall
be  certified  and  reported  by  the board of elections to the board of
education of such city. The clerk or other appropriate  officer  of  the
board  of education shall within twenty-four hours after receipt of such
certification by the board of elections serve a  written  notice  either
personally  or  by  mail  upon  each  person declared to be elected as a
member of the board of education informing him of his election  and  the
length of his term.