Stephen Hampe

Guess I was ahead of the times when I got this done for the RCSD!
(The only piece of my board legacy still intact!)
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Governor signs bill requiring student board members
From: NY State School Board Association https://www.nyssba.org/news/2024/09/23/on-board-online-september-23-2024/governor-signs-bill-requiring-student-board-members/

On Board Online • September 23, 2024
By Eric D. Randall - Editor-in-Chief

On Sept. 12, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill that will require every school district and BOCES board in the state to have at least one ex-officio student representative.

The law will take effect on July 1, 2025.
Under the new law, student school board members would not be empowered to vote or attend executive sessions. Nor would they be able to attend any meeting or hearing that is not open to the public (e.g., appeals to the board of education related to contests over student suspensions and district special education classifications and placement determinations).

Currently, about a third of school districts and BOCES have non-voting student board members, according to a NYSSBA poll of district clerks conducted earlier this year in March. Voters approved the creation of each of those student positions in accordance with current law, which requires a public referendum to create a student board position. The new law repeals the voter approval requirement.

"Our governmental relations department staff interacted with the sponsors over a period of months to share our views about whether this legislation was necessary," said NYSSBA Executive Director Robert Schneider. "We shared survey data and anecdotal stories that showed the majority of school districts already use a variety of methods to include students in their governance and decision-making processes. After numerous amendments were made that addressed specific concerns that NYSSBA raised, the association took 'no position' on the final version of the legislation."

"In the months to come, we will provide our members with detailed information to help them understand the law and its requirement, and provide guidance on how to best implement it," said Sandra Ruffo, president of the NYSSBA Board of Directors.

For more information please visit the following link.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S9018/amendment/A

NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9018A Allows for the designation of students as ex officio members of school boards; clarifies what such ex officio members are permitted to do.

A return to NYSSBA convention, perhaps my last.

REMEMBER TO VOTE TOMORROW (9:00 AM - 8:00 PM)!

Balloting for FOUR BoE candidates and next year's budget is tomorrow.

I will be voting FOR the budget and

Kelly Carinci
Cassie Knutti
Danielle Lubecki
Jon Maggiolino

(I was impressed by their responses in the NAACP Q&A and had extended conversations with Kelly and Danielle.)

The budget newsletter with voting locations is available here:
https://www.romecsd.org/district/business___finance/budget/r_c_s_d_2022-23_budget_newsletter/

UPDATE: At the 04/07 board meeting, it was announced that Ms. Davis has agreed "to be trained."

Who in their right mind needs "training" they aren't supposed to yell at students ... or staff (twice!)

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Sadly, NYS does education law does not provide any provision for recall or removal of a BoE member, except for revealing confidential information or three consecutive unexcused absences from board meetings.

Additionally, as censure is little more than a formal statement of condemnation with no practical consequences, the fact that there is no legal provision for it is immaterial.

HOWEVER, as the board elects its officers and the president appoints committee chairs, they ABSOLUTELY can strip those from her.

If the board fails to take even those minimal actions in response, they are complict in condoning her inappropriate actions, essentially saying board members are exempt from the expectations for ALL other community members.

Davis feels no pressure as she registered her candidacy for re-election.

​​​​​​​Investigation concludes Rome School Board VP violated district codes of conduct ROME — An investigation by the Rome City School District’s legal firm has found that Board of Education Vice President Tanya Davis, violated the district’s codes of conduct during an incident at a varsity boys basketball game. However, the district cannot remove Davis for the incident at the R...