Daniel Tomaszewski, Chairperson
Matthew Gropper, Representative
PHILOSOPHY:
The Legislative Committee carries out the Board of Education’s (BOE) lobbying effort with all branches of government at the local, state, and federal levels. Through diligent review of proposed new legislation and careful monitoring of existing laws, the committee endeavors to keep the Board and the community informed about the impact on the Longwood Central School District. In addition to this review process, contacts with elected officials allow the committee to make the needs of the school district known, and to promulgate the school board’s official position on matters of public policy.
The Board has the sole power to dissolve this committee and shall reserve the right to exercise this power at any time during the life of this committee.
ROLE: Advisory
The Board will give consideration to all recommendations, although final action and responsibility shall remain with the Board.
FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE:
- To examine and monitor current, pending and proposed legislation to determine its positive or negative impact on the school district.
- To lobby for passage or defeat of specific bills based on the official position of the BOE.
- To cultivate and maintain contacts and relationships with legislators.
- To educate legislators on issues of importance to the Longwood CSD.
- To initiate legislation at the request of the BOE.
- To identify specific meeting dates for the 2018-19 school year at the first meeting in the fall and provide a schedule to the BOE.
- To make the minutes of each meeting available to the public at official BOE meetings.
- To provide monthly reports to the BOE on legislative alerts, proposed new laws or modifications, affecting education, together with recommendations, if any, about whether the BOE should take any steps, or modify or create any policies.
MEMBERSHIP:
The committee membership will be comprised of those individuals appointed prior to the second meeting and open-ended with no restrictions on the number of participants. The composition of the committee shall be broadly representative and shall take into consideration the specific functions assigned to the committee. The committee shall include a cross section of community, employee bargaining units, parent-teacher organizations, and high school government representation in order to present a variety of viewpoints. All members, except bargaining unit representatives, must be residents of the district. In filling committee positions, the following points should be considered:
- Knowledge of and interest in public education.
- Particular skills or talents which may be useful.
- Previous experience or background for such work.
- Community participation.
- Ability to encompass sentiments or ideas held by the community.
Length of Service: The committee members will serve from the time of their appointment until the end of the school year.
Appointment: Committee members will be appointed by the BOE at a public meeting. The appointments will be made on an annual basis.
Central Office Resource: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, a central office administrator will serve as a resource person to the committee and assist in obtaining information.
Attendance: Committee member attendance will be taken at every meeting and recorded in the minutes. All members will receive a letter of appreciation from the BOE at the end of the school year. Those members who have attended more than 50% of the meetings during the year will also be awarded a certificate of recognition at a public meeting of the Longwood BOE.
Committee Chair: The Board Representative shall serve as Chair for any meeting where the Board appointed Committee Chair is unavailable. Should there be a scheduled meeting when neither the Board Chair nor Board Representative are available, the Board Chair shall contact the Board President to determine availability to act as Committee Chairperson for that session.
