Lafazan Resigns After Being Elected As Legislator

SYOSSET, NY - After five years on the Syosset school board, Joshua Lafazan announced his resignation as a trustee.

Lafazan was elected to the board in 2012 as an 18-year-old high school senior, the youngest to ever served on the Syosset board. He won with 82 percent of the vote.

Most recently, the now 23-year-old was elected as Nassau County's youngest-ever legislator. He will be sworn in at a ceremony on Tuesday night at the Jericho High School auditorium.

According to a message on Lafazan's Facebook page, he was forced to resign from the Syosset school board due to a clause in the Nassau County Charter which prohibits legislators from serving in any other public office.

However, Lafazan disagrees with this rule, stating he believes he should be allowed to serve both positions.

"I remain steadfast in my belief that my service as a county legislator should not preclude me from serving in the office of school board member- an unpaid, volunteer position, most often held by mothers and fathers with no political backgrounds or affiliations whatsoever," he wrote on Facebook.

According to him, the main tasks performed by a school board trustee, which includes choosing a superintendent, passing a school district budget and codifying district policies, do not conflict with the county legislator's office.

"From a practical standpoint, it also makes most sense to allow seasoned elected officials to continue to serve on school boards should they choose," he wrote. "Given the ramifications of a school district's budget encompassing a majority of a homeowner's tax bill, we should want our most experienced public servants on our school boards."

Lafazan began his new position as of Jan. 1, 2018. In a statement from the board of trustees, Lafazan ended his position on the school board on Dec. 31, 2017.

"We thank Mr. Lafazan for his years of service to the Board and wish him well in his future endeavors," the board wrote in the statement.

However, Lafazan wrote that he plans to continue to remain active in the community by promising to continue to attend Syosset school board meetings, holding the board accountable to be as transparent as possible and continuing to be accessible to all residents.

"I plan on pursuing various courses of action to fight to stay on the board," he wrote. "The voters should have the final say, not Nassau County."

Image: Facebook.com/Legislator Josh Lafazan