Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos on Wednesday urged New York City parents to run for seats on their local and citywide education councils at a moment of reckoning for the school boards, which became a focus of bitter education battles last school year. Starting early next week, parents can apply for a seat on one of the 36 local and citywide education panels. Elected by fellow public school families for two-year terms, members approve school zoning lines, advise local district superintendents and hold public meetings. “If you’ve never held a parent leadership role before, now is always a great time to start,” Aviles-Ramos said at a launch event for the upcoming elections in lower Manhattan. It’s not unusual for education debates to get heated. But as parents clashed last school year over the Israel-Hamas War and transgender girls in school sports, former Chancellor David Banks ousted two parents from their councils, saying they were “unfit to serve in these roles.” Manhattan board member Maud Maron sued in federal court and was reinstated to Community Education Council 2. Both she and Tajh Sutton, who did not get her seat back on Community Education Council 14 in Brooklyn, are eligible to run again, the chancellor’s deputy tasked with overseeing the elections confirmed Wednesday. Sutton declined to share her plans for the coming election. Maron, who is running for Manhattan district attorney, did not return a request for comment. At the event, Aviles-Ramos advised parents not to let the events of last year deter them from getting involved. “We know that we need to very much support our families who are volunteering their time and being a part of these organizations,” the chancellor said at Education Department headquarters. Her message to applicants was, “It’s OK to disagree, but then how do we disagree and still move an agenda forward?” The launch of the process follows growing criticism from parents and local politicians over the handling of the elections, which are often low turnout and have been growing increasingly contentious. The families of just 28,000 public school students voted during last election cycle. In November, Comptroller Brad Lander released an audit of the last cycle that called on the public schools to strengthen a real-time complaint process during election season and develop clear guardrails to keep outside forces from influencing the results. Aviles-Ramos would not comment on the audit and whether she would adopt any of its recommendations, with her spokesman referring the Daily News back to a statement from the fall that the report’s findings were under review. Parents who want to run can submit applications online through Feb. 16 and will have a little more than a month for candidate forums and to continue campaigning. In addition to 32 geographic education councils, there are four citywide councils on high schools, English Language Learners, special education and District 75 for students with intensive needs. Voting is open from April 25 to May 13, with election results announced in June for the next school year.