(a) Any person shall be eligible to apply for appointment by the commissioner as a public member who:

1. (1) is eligible to vote in a general election;
2. (2) is a resident of a component school district of the supervisory district in which the special act school district is located, of a contiguous supervisory district or of a school district that is not a component school district of any supervisory district but is contiguous to a component school district of the supervisory district in which the special act school district is located;
3. (3) submits a letter of intent to the department, in the manner and by the date prescribed by the commissioner, that specifies the boards of education to which he or she is seeking appointment, with a resume and an application in a form and containing such information as the commissioner may prescribe; and
4. (4) is not disqualified from serving as a public member under subdivision (b) of this section.

(b) A person shall be disqualified from serving as a public member of a special act school district if he or she:

1. (1) is an officer or employee of the child care agency that appoints members to the board of education of the special act school district;
2. (2) serves as an officer or employee of the special act school district other than as a public member;
3. (3) has a prohibited interest in a contract with the special act school district within the meaning of article 18 of the General Municipal Law;
4. (4) is an officer or employee of a school district, or a board of cooperative educational services, or a public agency as defined in subdivision 6 of section 4001 of the Education Law that contracts with the special act school district; or
5. (5) is an officer or employee of an employee organization that represents employees of the special act school district pursuant to article 14 of the Civil Service Law or its parent employee organization.

(c) In appointing public members, preference shall be given to eligible persons with one or more of the following characteristics:

1. (1) a background and experience in corporate or school finance;
2. (2) experience as a member of the governing board of an education corporation, another not-for-profit corporation or a school district; and/or
3. (3) a background in the education or treatment of troubled youth.