North Country representative Sen. Joseph Griffo wants to change the way state Regents board members are appointed, following what he calls failures in implementing the Common Core curriculum.

Griffo who represents Potsdam, Massena and a significant portion of St. Lawrence County, says he believes Board of Regents appointments should be determined by the real stakeholders in the education system: voters.

“Regents board members control the state’s educational system, determine all its policies and appoint the commissioner of education,” Griffo said “Frankly, the process of selecting an appropriate Regents member is too important to be decided by a single vote of the entire legislature.”

As for the current method, Griffo said he believes appointments should be made by a majority from each chamber – not by a single vote, which effectively hands all power to downstate members.

“Each May, districts across the state ask eligible voters to approve their school budgets,” said Griffo. “I’d like voters to pick Regents members at the same time.”

Griffo has been at the forefront of identifying problems related to the roll out of the new curriculum.

Last fall, he hosted two education forums to receive feedback from parents, teachers and school officials about the new requirements.

In response to those concerns, Griffo sponsored several pieces of legislation that would address problems created by Common Core.

The senator has also called on the board to refrain from using Common Core results for teacher, principal and student evaluations for at least two years.

“This has been a botched job from the beginning,” said Griffo. “Many of the parents and school officials I’ve talked to have completely lost faith in the ability of this body to fix the problems it created. I believe it’s time to start with fresh faces, and I’ll be urging my colleagues to do the same.”

The combined vote of the Assembly and Senate is expected to occur March 11.