Section 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.
    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
  except, as the case may be, as to the date of the election; and, further
  provided, however, that 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  five  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 one thousand 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 clerk of the board
  of elections of the county of Erie not earlier than  the  fifth  Tuesday
  and  not  later  than  the fourth Tuesday 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 fourth Tuesday preceding the election.
    (3)  For the election held in May, nineteen hundred seventy-four, such
  petition shall be deemed to be timely filed for such election  if  filed
  with  the  clerk  of  the board of elections of Erie county on or before
  April ninth, nineteen hundred seventy-four. A petition sent by  mail  in
  an  envelope  postmarked  prior  to  midnight  on  April ninth, nineteen
  hundred seventy-four, shall be deemed to be timely filed when  received.
  Written  objection to such petition shall be filed within two days after
  the date this act shall have become a  law  and  specifications  of  the
  grounds  of  the objections shall be filed with the board within one day
  after the filing of the objection and institution of  court  proceedings
  relating  thereto shall be commenced not later than May second, nineteen
  hundred seventy-four.
    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,  his  present  residence,  the
  residence from which he was registered at the time of the last preceding
  general  election,  if  he  was registered at that time, the city school
  subdistrict of such residence at such time  and  the  election  district
  thereof  at  such  time.  A  signer  need  not himself fill in the date,
  residence or residences, city school subdistrict or  election  district.
  The election district of the signer to be filed in the petition shall be
  the  election  district  in  effect  at  the  time of the last preceding
  general election. If the residence from which the signer was  registered
  at  the  time  of the last preceding general election is the same as his
  present residence, the word "same" may be written, instead of  repeating
  the  place of residence. If the signer was not registered at the time of
  the last general election, he shall write "not registered at that time."
    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 present place of residence and my  place
  of residence at the time of the last preceding general election if I was
  registered at such time are truly stated opposite my signature hereto, I
  intend  to  support at the ensuing election 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...................., 19.....,) (for  the  city
  school subdistrict.............day of........, 19.......)
 
    In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set my hand the day and year
  placed opposite my signature.
 
      Date             Name of Signer           Present Residence
   ..............    ..................        ....................
   ..............    ..................        ....................
   ..............    ..................        ....................
 
  At the Time of the Last Preceding General Election.

     Residence        City School Subdistrict        Election District
   ...............   .........................      ..................
   ...............   .........................      ..................
   ...............   .........................      ..................
 
    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 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  the  same  as  those  applicable  to  independent  nominating
  petitions  under  the  election law, except as it may be modified by the
  provisions of paragraph (d) and paragraph (n) of this subdivision.
    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 clerk of 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  or  be  a candidate for another elective

  office, or become otherwise disqualified for such city  school  district
  office,  a  further  petition  may  be filed with such clerk, nominating
  another candidate in his place and stead. Such further petition shall in
  all respects comply with the provisions of paragraphs d, f and h of this
  subdivision, except that it may be filed at any time up to and including
  the  fifteenth  day  preceding  the date of the election pursuant to the
  provisions of this subdivision and the time within which  to  accept  or
  object  to  such  further  petition  shall  be computed from the date of
  filing or said fifteenth day, whichever is earlier.
    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  July  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  May  seventh,
  nineteen hundred seventy-four and on the first Tuesday in May thereafter
  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. Polls shall be  open  for
  voting for the hours prescribed by section 8-100 of the election law for
  primary  elections.  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.