For the first time, New Haven voters will be electing Board of Education members this fall. The Board of Education oversees the
New Haven public school system and its 22,000 students in 46 different schools. New Haven Public Schools accounts for almost half of the city's annual budget. For years New Haven has been the only municipality in the State of Connecticut with a fully appointed Board of Education -- but a voter-approved
change to the city's charter in 2013 put an end to that. Now two of seven seats on the Board of Ed will be elected, with the rest of the seats reserved for the mayor and his/her appointees. (Beginning next year the Board of Ed will also include two non-voting student members.)
Do most New Haveners know this is happening? Probably not.
A local civic group, the
New Haven Votes Coalition, has come up with a useful
primer on everything you need to know about the first-ever Board of Ed elections, including how to become a candidate.
There's also a companion
survey to determine voters' priorities for education issues and candidate qualifications.
