Board of Education Vacancies to be filled with Appointments
The Brewster Board of Education has decided it will fill two existing vacancies by appointing individuals instead of holding a special election.
The current five-member board held a special meeting on June 30 to discuss how to proceed with filling the seats recently left empty by the resignations of Krista Berardi and Daniel Hentz and reached a consensus to do a community search for two new members.
“These are not circumstances we created,” said board Vice President Kerry Cunningham. “I think we are fully capable of filling these roles with qualified people.”
Berardi submitted her resignation on June 12 amidst a backlash over social media posts she made endorsing the idea that George Floyd’s murder was staged and a separate racially charged Facebook message where she said protestors should be “hosed.”
Heintz stepped down on June 28, citing a demanding work schedule. The board offered Trustee Glenn Niles, who finished third in the June 16 election to Cunningham and newcomer Francine Santos, the opportunity to replace Berardi, but he declined.
During the June 30 work session, Niles stressed the board should strive to better reflect the community by having more minorities.
“We are a divided community right now. If we don’t approach this in the right way, we open ourselves up to greater pressure,” Niles remarked during his last meeting. “This community is very diverse. We need more involvement of that aspect. Right now, the community is watching us.”
Trustee Scott Seaman was the lone board member who favored holding a special election to fill the two seats, saying, “I don’t feel like I have the right to appoint anyone to an elected spot. The people have to be the ones to make that decision.”
President Sonia Mesika was among those who opposed spending an estimated $30,000 to hold a special election in September for trustees whose terms would only be for 10 months.
“It’s a lot of money in a time when we’re tight,” Mesika said. “I’m really concerned about finances.”
Any individual who is interested in submitting a Statement of Interest for consideration by the board must be a United States citizen, at least 18 years old and a resident of the district for a continuous and uninterrupted period of at least one year.
The Statement of Interest by interested candidates must state the reasons why they are interested in serving as a trustee and the qualities or experiences they believe are relevant to the unpaid position.
The deadline for submissions from candidates is July 15. During a July 21 executive session, the Board of Education will review the submissions and select approximately five candidates to be interviewed.
On July 28, interviews of candidates will take place during a work session open for public viewing. Community members will have until August 5 to submit comments related to the candidates to the board.
On August 11, the board will hold an executive session to decided on appointments, and on August 18 the appointed trustees will be announced and sworn-in at a regularly scheduled meeting.
Interested candidates are being asked to use a form that can be found at www.brewsterschools.org/trustee-search.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/