The upcoming school district election will fill four open seats on the Riverhead Board of Education: three positions that will be vacant at the end of the school year as a result of the expiration of terms of office and a fourth seat that became vacant when board member Laurie Downs resigned this week.
Board members whose terms of office expire on June 30 this year are Christopher Dorr, Therese Zuhoski and Virginia Healy. Each is a three-year term, running from July 1 through June 30, 2026. The fourth seat has a term of roughly two years, from May 17 through June 30, 2025.
School board positions are unpaid, volunteer positions.
The school board election is an at-large election, meaning candidates do not run for specific seats. The top three vote-getters will be elected to three-year terms. The candidate who receives the fourth highest number of votes will be elected to the term expiring June 30, 2025 and will be sworn into office as soon as the vote is certified. Residents interested in running for a board seat have until 5 p.m. on April 17 to file a nominating petition with the school district clerk at the district office, 814 Harrison Avenue, Riverhead.
Candidate nominating petitions must contain a minimum of 53 signatures — the number equal to 2% of the people who voted in the 2022 school district election and budget vote.
The petition must contain the names and addresses of the candidate and the people who sign the petition.
Blank petition forms may be obtained from the district clerk at the district office, 814 Harrison Avenue, Riverhead. They may also be downloaded online here.
Nominating petitions must be returned to the district clerk at the district office by 5 p.m. on Monday, April 17. To be eligible for election to the Board of Education, a candidate must be a U.S. citizen at least 18 years of age, and be a resident of the Riverhead Central School District continuously for at least one year. The candidate must be able to read and write and cannot be an employee of the school district or a family member of a member of the Board of Education residing in the same household.
Candidates are required to file campaign disclosure affidavits on April 17, May 11 and June 5, detailing total expenses during the reporting period and contribution amounts over $500, together with the the names and addresses of those contributors. Disclosure affidavits may be downloaded here.
For more information about running for and serving on a school board in New York State see “Running for the School Board,” a publication of the New York State School Boards Association.
A public information meeting/budget hearing on this vote will be held on May 9 at 7 p.m. at Riverhead High School.
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