N.Y. Education Law § 1906: District meetings; vote upon school taxes

§ 1906. District meetings; vote upon school taxes. 1. 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.