Two New York state lawmakers who represent parts of Rockland County have introduced legislation to allow ward systems for school districts.
The bill from state Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski would allow any school district in Rockland County to create wards for the purposes of school board elections, subject to voter approval. The legislation would allow districts to create ward systems of between 3-to-9 wards, ensuring that all or a majority of members of a school board are not elected from the same neighborhood of a district. State Senator James Skoufis is a co-sponsor. Last year, the Senate passed his bill to permit school boards of education in Orange County to opt-into a ward system for school board elections. The East Ramapo Central School District in Rockland County is preparing to conduct its first election under a new court-ordered ward system, following litigation by the NAACP.
