GHENT—Voters in all six school districts in Columbia County have approved annual budgets by comfortable margins. The handful of ballot propositions also were also endorsed.
All voters voted by absentee ballots this year because of the Covid-19 epidemic. There were concerns at the outset that this might lower voter participation but a school official in Hudson said that the total number of voters was higher this election and attributed the participation increase to universal absentee paper ballots making it easier for people to vote. Each ballot included a stamped return envelope for the ballot.
Incumbents were returned to school board seats in several districts but notably not in the Ichabod Crane Central school district, where Board of Education members Tammy Crawford and Susan Ramos were defeated in Tuesday’s election. Newcomers Elaine Berlin and Kelly Firmbach received the most votes, with Ms. Berlin, at 1,879 votes, filling an open seat on the board immediately. Ms. Firmbach (1,854 votes) and John Chandler (1646 votes) will start their terms on July 1. Mr. Chandler has served on the board before, starting in 2010, and was board vice president until he resigned in 2016.
Ms. Ramos received 1,166 and Ms. Crawford received 1,635 in the all-absentee-ballot voting that was supposed to end June 9 but was extended to June 16. Ms. Crawford was elected to the board in 2017 and Ms. Ramos has been on the board for nine years.
All the local budgets met the state tax levy cap, But Governor Cuomo has been given the authority by the legislature year to review and adjust state spending later in the fiscal year. The governor has said that if the state does not receive federal funds to offset losses caused by the Covid-19 lockdown, there could be 20% cuts in state aid to education.
2020 School election, budget vote results:
Chatham
Proposed budget
Yes 1,205*
No 565
Prop. 2: Reduce board seats from 9 to 7
Yes 1,278*
No 453
Board seats (3)
Matthew Fisch 1,181*
Destiny Hallenbeck 1,310*
Patricia Wilson 1,223*
Germantown
Proposed budget
Yes 779*
No 448
Board seats (2)
Ralph DelPozzo 670*
Lester Olsson 588
Allison Meek 619*
Ira Sher 439
Hudson
Proposed budget
Yes 1,267*
No 748
Prop. 2: Create capital reserve
Yes 1,338*
No 676
Board seats (2)
Sage Carter 1,574*
Carrie Otty 1,623*
Ichabod Crane
Proposed budget
Yes 2,015*
No 1,246
Prop. 2: School bus purchase
Yes 1,862*
No 1.399
Board seats (3)
Elaine Berlin 1,879*
John Chandler 1,646*
Tammy Crawford 1,635
Kelly Firmbach 1,854*
Susan Ramos 1,166
New Lebanon
Proposed budget
Yes 286*
No 77
Taconic Hills
Proposed budget
Yes 1,589
No 660
Prop. 2: School bus purchase
Yes 1,439*
No 606
Board seat (1)
Heidi Beneke (Beneke Main)* N/A
Sheryl Boris-Schacter N/A
Lynn Brandt N/A
