By Forum Staff
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. is now accepting applications from individuals interested in serving on one of the borough’s Community Education Councils.
CECs are a critical part of Gotham’s school governance structure, with each CEC overseeing the elementary and middle schools within its respective community school district. There are seven community school districts in Queens (Districts 24 through 30), with each district having a CEC of 12 members. CECs are responsible for advising and commenting on educational policies and providing guidance to the City Schools Chancellor and to the citywide Panel for Educational Policy.
Richards will be appointing two voting members to each of the borough’s seven CECs. The 10 other members on each CEC are currently being chosen through a separate, ongoing district election process.
Courtesy of NYC DOE
There are seven community school districts in Queens.
The deadline to apply for a Queens CEC is Friday, May 9. The application form can be found at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScw0Vz10Ht7949bMyEfz2bpBzAJdB80-rfyHV1R4USaXM5tkQ/viewform.
The term for each CEC member will be from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027. All CEC appointees, who serve without pay, must either reside in the district in which they’re serving or otherwise maintain a significant business interest in the district. Appointees are not required to be parents.
The duties of CEC members include attending monthly public meetings and visiting schools to see what educational needs those schools have. CECs also review their district’s educational programs and assess their effect on student achievement, approve zoning lines, provide input to the Chancellor and the Panel for Educational Policy on district concerns, and submit a capital plan to the Chancellor after holding public hearings on the district’s capital needs.
