Board of Education members debated the length of a term on the Board at its latest meeting. The current term length for a Board of Education member at the Fredonia Central School District is five years. The board discussed a potential proposition on the ballot later this year at the time of the budget vote that would reduce the term a member is elected to from five years to three years.

“We feel very strongly that when we discuss things that the public understands what the board is thinking,” Board of Education President Brian Aldrich said.

Aldrich said that a concern he had was that the board could more easily lose expertise and experience, as well as increase turnover, if the term length was reduced. Aldrich later expressed his support of keeping a five-year term, citing consistency as a main factor.

“I’m not going to apologize for my opinion,” Aldrich said.

Fredonia Board of Education member Tom Hawk favors a five-year term on the Board.

Superintendent Dr. Brad Zilliox said that of 25 local school districts, roughly 15 districts had three-year terms, only one had a four-year term, and nine had five-year terms, including Fredonia. According to data on the statewide level, 74% of districts have three-year terms and 22% of districts have five-year terms.

Zilliox said that the New York State School Boards Association did not have a “right or wrong answer” on the matter.

“It’s just a matter of what the district feels works best for them,” Zilliox said.

Lisa Powell Fortna spoke to potential benefits of a shorter term.

“It allows for more fresh perspectives to come in potentially throughout the rotation. It allows the public more frequent opportunity to say, ‘Is this board member representing my views?’ more often than once every five years. Those are positives, as well,” she said.

Fortna said a five-year term might serve as a barrier to keep some from running for a seat, while it could also make fulfilling a term to its completion less likely.

Fortna highlighted the turnover the Board has seen in recent years from members who have not completed their entire term, which has led to appointments to fill the seats until the next election. She stated that the public should be able to weigh in on the matter. Currently, the public only has a say when members are up for reelection or at the election following an appointment.

“I’m not convinced that we’ll eliminate the appointment of new members. Life happens, and people are going to resign from the board just because of things going on in their life. We can’t predict that,” Aldrich said.

Fortna responded, “I agree that we can’t predict it, but the longer the term, the more chances of ‘life happening.'”

Board member Tom Hawk, the longest-tenured member of the board, consistently favored a five-year term throughout the discussion.

“I didn’t have any problem with a five-year commitment,” Hawk said.

He stated that the reasons he has been given for a member resigning from their seat prior to fulfilling the entire term never included term length.

Hawk said he feels a member “really gets their momentum at the three-year point.” He highlighted budget preparation and superintendent evaluation are two of the most crucial roles of a board member, and he feels that a member is not fully prepared for those duties early in their term.

Two of the newer members of the board, Sheila Hahn and Aaron Marshall, consistently favored a shorter term with their comments.

Hahn is currently in her first five-year term after first serving out the final year of a previous member’s term. At the conclusion of her term, she will have served six years, equivalent to two three-year terms.

“That was a big decision to run for a five-year term, because I don’t like to step down to something I’m elected to before my term is up,” Hahn said. “So I’m wondering, are there community members who would be interested in serving, but five years is prohibitive to them. There may be some excellent people in the community, who would run for a three-year term, who are going untapped.”

Marshall agreed with Hahn’s assessment of the longer term length serving as a prohibitor.

“Five years is a daunting task,” Marshall said. He added that he does not plan to run for a seat on the Board again, regardless of term length.

Board member Courtney Gullo noted while she does not have strong feelings on the matter, she favors a three-year term because it avoids appointments “as much as possible.” Gullo added, “It really should be elected by the public.”

Hahn noted that two three-year terms would surpass one five-year term, making it so an election after three years would be the only disruption to the continuity Hawk favors. Hahn noted that if a candidate is defeated in an election after three years, “maybe the community has spoken.”

Marshall said, “Having a three-year term doesn’t necessarily do anything for the consistency of the board. You just keep running more frequently. It’s not an either/or.”

Aldrich responded, “I guess I don’t see it that way.”

Hawk related the topic back to a view he has of society as a whole, that turnover has become more frequent in society than it once was.

“A five-year commitment is a more serious person,” Hawk said.

Hahn particularly took exception to Hawk’s statement.

“I have to disagree with what Tom said that it’s a less serious person who runs for a three-year term,” Hahn said. “… To me, that’s not correct.”

The board expressed a desire to come to a decision at its next meeting. If the term length is reduced from its current length of five years, it will appear on the ballot for voters to ultimately decide. The topic is relevant this year, as Hawk and Fortna will each see their current term expire this year.

The next Fredonia Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9, at 6 p.m. in the High School Library.