Board adopts policy creating ex officio student member; petition and eligibility rules set for first year

The Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education adopted policy 2245 on May 7 to establish an ex officio student member of the board and approved the initial procedures for the first year’s election and petition process.

Board members moved to adopt policy 2245 after a third reading. Christine (district staff) summarized the proposed application process, saying the policy will allow students in kindergarten through 11th grade to sign petitions supporting candidates (12th graders were excluded because they would not be on the board next year). The draft requires a minimum of 50 signatures for a student to submit an application; Christine said a cover sheet and petition draft would be circulated to eligible students and that staff planned to distribute the draft communication for board review before it is sent.

Why it matters: The new policy creates a formal mechanism for a student representative to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the board and sets the process and eligibility in place for this first-year rollout.

Details and timing: Board staff acknowledged the timing is compressed in the first year and said the timeline would be adjusted in future years to align with students’ schedules. The board accepted that the first implementation may be imperfect and that procedures could be revised after the initial experience.

Vote and next steps: The board approved the policy by voice vote during the May 7 meeting (the transcript records members responding "Aye" to the adoption motion). Staff said they will circulate the drafted communication for board review and aim to send petition materials to high school students as soon as possible.