NY A05048

Allows boards of education in union free and central school districts located entirely or partially within Orange County to establish school election wards for electing individual trustees or board members through a mandatory voter referendum

Union free school districts may create 3-9 wards, while central school districts may create 5, 7, or 9 wards, with one trustee or board member elected from each ward by voters in that ward

Requires boards to pass a resolution at least 180 days before the referendum, including an assessment of potential discrimination or disenfranchisement based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, or sexual orientation, and to hold at least three public hearings

Wards must be contiguous, contain approximately equal populations, conform to school attendance zones and geographic boundaries, and retain contiguous communities of interest, with mandatory review and potential redrawing after each federal decennial census

Establishes trustee terms of 3, 4, or 5 years as determined by the board, with staggered initial terms to ensure roughly equal numbers are elected each year, and provides a process for abolishing the ward system through another mandatory referendum