During the Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District Board of Education’s annual re-organizational meeting, board members elected their board officers for the 2022-23 school year.
During the meeting, which took place July 11 in person and via livestream, board members elected Lorianne DeForest to serve as board president and Joseph Gross as vice president. The positions are each one-year terms, and DeForest and Gross served in their respective positions during the previous school year.
Also during the re-organizational meeting, Superintendent Peter Smith and Interim District Clerk Peter Mahunik both took their respective oath of office.
Voters elected board members Sharon Archer, Lorianne DeForest and Renee James Murad in May, and each member began serving her second three-year term on July 1. The board of education is the school district’s official policy-making body. It is composed of nine school district residents who voters elect during an annual election, which is held the same day as the school district budget vote.
Terms are staggered so that three members are elected each year. They are not compensated for their work as board members.
In May 2021, district residents approved a proposition for a Jamesville-DeWitt High School student to serve as a non-voting member of the board. The student may attend all public board meetings, participate in all public discussions and voice their opinions. The student does not attend executive or exempt sessions, which are portions of the meeting in which the law allows board members to privately discuss such matters as proposed, pending or current litigation.
In June, high school students elected rising-senior Malak Aljerari to the one-year position. Malak was unable to attend the meeting and will take the oath of office for the ex-officio position on July 25.
More information about the board of education may be found on the board section of the district website.