Three Districts to Have Contested Board of Education Races
This article has been updated to reflect that a candidate for the Bedford Board of Education has withdrawn from the race and will not appear on the ballot.
Voters in the Chappaqua, Pleasantville and Mount Pleasant school districts will have the chance to decide who will serve on their local Board of Education.
The elections and budget votes were postponed statewide from the traditional third Tuesday of May to June 9 this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The deadline for petition submissions was Monday afternoon at 5 p.m.
Chappaqua will see five candidates on the ballot for two seats, the largest field of the local districts. Incumbents Victoria Tipp and President Jane Shepardson will run for re-election and be joined in the race by longtime former trustee Jeffrey Mester, Joshua Shapiro and Deborah Smith.
Pleasantville has four candidates running for two available seats this year. Current President Angela Vella seeks re-election and will be vying with Jill Grossman, Carmel Promisel and John Vamossy. Vice President Louis Conte has chosen against running again.
In Mount Pleasant, incumbents Sara Beaty and Vice President Laura Michalec Olszewski will run for re-election and will be challenged by former trustee Thomas McCabe. Beaty was appointed to her seat earlier this year to complete the term of Maria Jost, who resigned in January.
In Bedford, Vice President Edward Reder will run for re-election and be joined on the ballot by Alexandra White. A third candidate, Elizabeth Baum, had submitted a petition but has since withdrawn from the race and will not be on the ballot, said District Clerk Carole LaColla. The other incumbent, William Canavan, has opted not to run again.
The Byram Hills School District will have an uncontested race. Current trustees Lori Kanner, who is completing her first term on the board, and Ira Schulman are the only candidates. Schulman is completing his 21st year serving on the district’s Board of Education.
This year the elections and the budget vote will be held by paper ballot only, following a recent executive order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Each district will mail a ballot to every qualified voter in their jurisdiction.
The ballots must be returned to the district clerk’s office by Tuesday, June 9 at 5 p.m.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
