Jan. 11, 2023

Dear neighbors,

As noted in our prior letter in November 2022, the Bronxville Non-Partisan Committee (“NPC”) – the volunteer organization that is charged with recruiting, vetting, and endorsing school board candidates – has formed an Advisory Review Committee (“ARC”) to gather input from the community as to how to improve the NPC.

Thank you to everyone who participated! Your voice is critically important to our process. As such, we are seeking a second round of comments so that we can hopefully hear from even more members of our community. What can the NPC do better? What would you like to see changed? How can the NPC operate differently to best support the identification and election of highly qualified members of the school board?

As before, there are two ways to provide your feedback:

1. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2. Complete the survey here

Please provide feedback by January 20, 2023.

All responses - whether via email or survey - will be shared only among the ARC members and will inform what specific topics or changes the committee ultimately addresses. The broad themes of the feedback we receive will be made publicly available.

To date, much of the feedback emphasizes transparency - how people come to serve on the NPC, the candidate selection criteria and process - and information sharing. While a number of respondents encouraged the NPC to work harder to support the endorsed candidates, others suggested that the NPC should limit itself to vetting candidates (perhaps more than one for each open seat) and refrain from direct endorsements and campaigning. Providing more information about the candidates is encouraged, such as a website populated with candidate information and more and different opportunities to meet the candidates. Another theme is that the NPC be more clear about its mission and goals.

At the conclusion of the ARC process, the committee will provide a report and recommendation(s) to the NPC. This output will be made publicly available on the NPC website. The adoption of the ARC's recommendation is then put to a vote of the NPC.

Please visit Home | Bronxville NPC to learn more about the ARC and the NPC.

Please note that the actual mechanics of the school board election are set forth in village bylaws and therefore beyond the purview of the NPC and therefore the scope of this review.

Please keep the comments coming!

With gratitude,

Michelle, Jane, Lindy, Will, Steve, Jane, and Aaron

Editor's note:  MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements in letters to the editor, and the opinions do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff. Its objective in publishing letters to the editor is to give air to diverse thoughts and opinions of residents in the community.