Provides for the appointment of members of the board of education in the city of Buffalo

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to providing for the appointment of members of the board of education in the city of Buffalo; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

Purpose

The purpose of this legislation is to allow the Mayor of the City of Buffalo to nominate two members to the Board of Education in the City of Buffalo, in addition to the nine sitting members who are elected to the Board. These two appointments would be confirmed by the Buffalo Common Council.

Summary of provisions

Section 2552 and various subdivisions of Section 2553 of the education law are being amended to provide for the appointment of two board members which would be in addition to the election of nine members currently provided therein. The amendments ensure that the provisions of the education law apply to the appointed members as well as the elected members. They also provide that a vacancy of an appointed member be filled by the mayor within thirty days of the vacancy and that the initial terms of the office of the appointed members terminate at the same time as the at-large elected members in office at the time of the appointment.

Justification

The Board of Education in the City of Buffalo currently consists of nine members, each of whom is elected to the Board. Six members are elected from six school sub-districts within the city and three are elected from the population of the city at-large. The Board previously was comprised of seven at-large appointments made by the Mayor, In 1973, the education law was amended to provide the current configuration.

This legislation allows for greater mayoral and community input into the direction of the Buffalo Board of Education. The addition of two mayoral appointments that would be confirmed by the Buffalo Common Council would create greater accountability for the performance of the Board and of the schools.

The appointments would have to be residents of the City of Buffalo and would have three year terms that would correspond with the current length of term for the district members. This legislation also sunsets three years from being signed into law, which allows for enough time to see whether mayoral input can improve educational outcomes.

Fiscal implementation

No cost to the state.

Legislative history

2016: Referred to Education 2015: Referred to Education

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed three years after the bill is signed into law.