Current through 2024 NY Law Chapter 432
Section 1906 - District meetings; vote upon school taxes1. The annual meeting and election of a central high school district shall be held on the third Tuesday in May, provided, however, that such annual meeting and election shall be held on the second Tuesday in May if the commissioner at the request of a local school board certifies no later than March first that such election would conflict with religious observances, and any school budget revote shall be held on the date specified in subdivision three of section two thousand seven of this title. The board of education of every central high school district shall hold a budget hearing prior to each annual meeting and election or special district meeting at which a school budget vote will occur, and shall prepare and present to the voters at such budget hearing a proposed school district budget for the ensuing school year. Special meetings may be called in the same manner and for the same purposes as special meetings in union free school districts. Such meetings shall be held for the same purposes and in the same manner, and be subject to the same provisions of law, except as may be provided otherwise in subdivision two of this section, as like meetings in union free school districts, and all persons who are qualified electors of the school districts included in such central high school district may vote at such meetings.2. For any annual or special meeting the board of education may on its own motion divide the central high school district into such number of election districts as there shall be union free school districts within the central high school district. The boundaries of such election districts shall be coterminous with the boundaries of such union free school districts. Such meetings shall be held so far as possible in the public schoolhouse within each such election district designated by the board of education. The schoolhouse or other place so designated for each election district shall be stated in the notice of the meeting. The legal voters present in each election district shall elect a chairman and secretary and the chairman so elected shall appoint at least three inspectors of election who shall canvass the result of the election in such election district and prepare and sign a statement showing the results of the voting. Each such statement shall be forthwith delivered to the district clerk. The district clerk shall forthwith examine and tabulate the statements and prepare a certificate of the combined results of the voting, announce the result thereof and record the certificate with the records of the meeting. The proceedings, in the event of such division, in all other respects shall be the same as if the school meeting were held in one place.3. The board of education of such district shall present at the annual meeting a detailed statement in writing of the estimated expenditures required for the support and maintenance of the central high school therein for the ensuing year. The said meeting shall vote the necessary taxes to meet such expenditures, in the same manner as taxes are voted at a district meeting in a union free school district. The provisions of sections seventeen hundred twenty-five and seventeen hundred sixteen to seventeen hundred nineteen, inclusive, of this chapter, and all other provisions relative to the making of appropriations, the voting of taxes, and the expenditure of moneys for the support, maintenance and expenses of public schools in union free school districts, shall apply to the support, maintenance, and expenses of a central high school district.4.a. Whenever the board of education of a central high school district in the county of Nassau shall have provided for the personal registration of voters at school meetings or elections in such district, such board of education shall fix the day or days for registration by resolution adopted not later than the fortieth day preceding each annual or special meeting or election in such district. The last day for such registration shall not be more than eleven nor less than three days preceding each annual or special meeting or election. Such board shall forthwith notify the clerk of each component union free school district providing for personal registration, of such registration day or days for each annual meeting. Such board shall also notify each such clerk of every special meeting or election in such central high school district at least ten days prior thereto. The board of registration of the central high school district shall meet on the day or days fixed by such board of education for the purpose of preparing a register, complementary to the register or registers of any component union free school district providing for personal registration, for the personal registration of qualified voters within any component union free school district providing for personal registration, which voters have not registered for the annual or any subsequent special meeting or election in such union free school district, and for the personal registration of qualified voters of any component union free school district not providing for personal registration.b. Whenever personal registration of voters shall have been provided for in any such central high school district, any qualified voter of a component union free school district who is duly registered in such union free school district for the annual meeting or a subsequent special meeting or election therein, shall be deemed duly registered for and entitled to vote at the annual meeting or any special meeting or election in such central high school district occurring between the date of such registration and the next ensuing annual meeting.c. Whenever the board of education of such central high school district shall have so provided for registration of voters, the board of education of any component union free school district in such central high school district, which board of education shall have provided or shall provide for personal registration of voters at school meetings or elections of such union free school district, shall designate the day or days for registration so that the last day for such registration shall not be more than eleven nor less than five days preceding each such school meeting. In designating the day or days of registration for the annual meeting such board shall include the day or days which shall have been theretofore designated by the board of education of the central high school district as the registration day or days for the annual meeting of the central high school district. The register prepared in such union free school district, in addition to complying with the requirements of subdivision two of section two thousand fourteen of this chapter, shall include columns or space to make the proper entries relating to any annual or special central high school district meeting or election. Such register shall be delivered by the clerk of such union free school district to the custody of the clerk of the central high school district on the day preceding the meeting or election of the central high school district at which it is to be used. It shall be returned to the clerk of the union free school district on the day following such meeting or election. Such register shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by any qualified voter of the central high school district, even though in the possession of the clerk of such union free school district.d. The provisions of sections two thousand four, two thousand fourteen and two thousand fifteen of this chapter shall be applicable in any central high school district providing for personal registration, except as otherwise provided in this subdivision.e. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be deemed to require the board of education of any component union free school district to provide for personal registration of voters for meetings or elections in such union free school district.5.a. The board of education of a central high school district in the county of Nassau, which has provided for the personal registration of voters at school meetings and elections in such central high school district, may, by resolution duly adopted and entered upon its minutes, on its own motion divide the central high school district into election districts. The boundaries of such election districts shall be coterminous with the boundaries of the union free school districts within the central high school district, except that where a component union free school district, in turn, shall have been or hereafter is divided into school election districts pursuant to section two thousand seventeen of this chapter, such school election districts of such union free school districts shall in such case, without further action of the board of education of the central high school district, become and be election districts of the central high school district.b. Where the board of education shall have so divided the central high school district into election districts pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision, notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one and three of this section, the vote upon the appropriation of the necessary funds to meet the estimated expenditures of the central high school district and upon any propositions involving the expenditure of money by the central high school district or upon any other matter which may properly be brought before the annual meeting or election of the central high school district, shall be held at the same time as the annual meetings or elections of the component union free school districts. The clerk of the central high school district shall give the notices required by subdivision one of section two thousand four of this chapter, in relation to such annual meeting.c. Where the procedure of this subdivision is used, the board of education of the central high school district shall notify the clerk of each component union free school district of such determination, not later than thirty days preceding the date of such annual meeting. In such case, also, the board of education of the central high school district shall complete the statement required by section seventeen hundred sixteen of this chapter and shall forward a sufficient number of copies thereof to the clerk of each component union free school district therein, not later than ten days preceding such annual meeting or election, and such copies shall thereupon be made available by the clerk of each such component union free school district, together with the copies of the statement relating to such component union free school district, provided, however, that an additional supply of copies of such statement shall also be made available to the annual meeting of the central high school district by the clerk of such district.d. Each clerk of a component union free school district shall thereupon include in the notices required by section two thousand four of this chapter, relating to the annual meeting or election in such component union free school district, a statement to the effect that the meeting or election will also vote on the appropriation of the necessary funds to meet the estimated expenditures of the central high school district and upon any propositions involving the expenditure of moneys by the central high school district or upon any other matter which may be properly brought before the annual meeting or election of the central high school district. Such appropriation and propositions, if any, shall then appear separately upon the ballot or voting machines used at such meetings or elections in such component union free school districts. The canvass of the result of the vote on each such appropriation and proposition relating to the central high school district shall forthwith be certified to the clerk of each such component union free school district, who in turn shall forthwith certify such canvass to the clerk of the central high school district. Such clerk shall forthwith examine and tabulate such statements and prepare a certificate of the combined results of the vote, announce the result thereof to the board of education of the central high school district and record the certificate with the records of the meeting or election.e. Where the board of education of a central high school district proceeds under the provisions of this subdivision, the registration of a qualified voter of a component union free school district upon the register of such union free school district shall be a sufficient registration for the purpose of the vote of such voter on the appropriation and propositions of the central high school district.f. When the board of education of such central high school district calls a special meeting or election of such central high school district, the respective boards of registration of the component union free school districts shall meet on such day or days as shall be fixed by the board of education of the central high school district and the provisions of section two thousand fourteen of this chapter shall be applicable to the registration for special meetings or elections of the central high school district, except as otherwise provided in this subdivision. The canvass of the result of the voting at such special meeting or election shall forthwith be certified to the clerk of the central high school district who shall forthwith proceed in the same manner as hereinbefore provided in the case of an annual meeting or election.g. If voting machines are used in any component union free school district of such central high school district, the rules printed and distributed pursuant to section two thousand thirty-five of this chapter in such union free school district shall also contain the rules similarly adopted or to be adopted by the board of education of the central high school district with respect to any propositions relating to such central high school district.h. All the provisions of articles thirty-nine and forty-one of this chapter shall be applicable to any annual or special meeting or election held pursuant to this subdivision, except as otherwise provided in this subdivision either expressly or by necessary implication.i. Upon an appeal to the commissioner of education, substantial compliance with the procedures herein required shall be sufficient to meet the intent of this subdivision.6. The provisions of this section shall not apply with respect to any person registered to vote pursuant to the provisions of section three hundred fifty-two of the election law.