West Genesee school board member resigns because his house is over the ...

Camillus, NY -- For the last two years, Michael Alberts served on the West Genesee school board while living in the Marcellus school district.

His 3823 Gray Ledge Terrace property in the town of Onondaga sits on the line dividing the two school districts so no one realized he should not have been on the West Genesee school board. His home itself is on the Marcellus school district side of the line.

Education law allows a resident in such a situation to choose which school district to send children, but it doesn’t make that person a resident of the district of his choice, said West Genesee School Superintendent Christopher R. Brown. Alberts’ four children graduated from or attend West Genesee schools, according to The Post-Standard archives.

Because Alberts’ house is in the Marcellus school district, state law states he is not eligible to serve on the West Genesee school board, Brown said. Alberts resigned once he found out he shouldn’t be on the board, the superintendent said.

“It’s no fault of his,” Brown said. “He did not know and the district has never run into this question before.”

West Genesee school board members accepted Alberts’ resignation at the July 6 board meeting. The board is now seeking applications from residents interested in filling the vacant seat.

This was the first year the West Genesee school district used a voter registration process to register voters for the school budget vote in May, Brown said. At that time, it came to the district’s attention that a small number of properties that border other school districts were either on West Genesee’s voter registration rolls and some were not.

District officials sought a legal opinion. That’s when they learned about the Education law concerning the school board.

Alberts was elected to the school board in 2009; the term ends June 30, 2012. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

Anyone seeking the post should submit a letter of interest or resume to the West Genesee Central School District, Attention: District Clerk, 300 Sanderson Drive, Camillus, NY 13031.

Applicants can also contact Paul Pelton, district clerk and assistant superintendent for management services for the West Genesee school district, at ppelton@westgenesee.org or 487-4563.

The deadline to apply is Aug. 12. Applicants likely will be interviewed at the Aug. 17 board meeting, and one person likely will be chosen to fill the board seat by early September, Brown said.

West Genesee school board member resigns because his house is over ...

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