Final Vote Count

The final vote count was released by the Onteora School District on June 3. Turns out there were quite a few additional votes for our candidates, giving them an even larger percentage of the vote than initially reported. A pdf file with the full breakdown of votes, including affidavits and absentee ballots, town by town, for every candidate and every proposition, is available at the district web site under the header “Statement of chair.”

The summary of final vote counts for the eight candidates is as follows:

Adam Pollack 749
Donna Flayhan 2390
Laurie Osmond 2359
Ralph Legnini 2475
Ann McGilllicuddy 2407
Mary Jane Berholz 1391
Cindy O’Connor 1453
Rita Vanacore 1307

Woodstock Times on property tax cap

This week's Woodstock Times editorial addresses the Commission on Property Tax Relief's recommendation that local school taxes could be capped at either 4 percent or 120 percent of inflation, whichever is less. Brian Hollander writes:

Cap the property tax increases for school districts at 4 percent? No more votes for it? Those are among the centerpieces of a plan to deal with education funding that Governor David Paterson and Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi brought forth this week.

The plan received a big rollout and came complete with pros and cons from many sides of the story.

Attempts at easing the property tax crunch for paying for education have been feeble in the past. Governor Pataki's much vaunted STAR program simply lowered the taxes for some, without addressing how that funding would be made up.

The new plan is more multi-faceted than that, but still deals with juggling formulae for property owners to pay, still depends on property taxes. A 4 percent tax increase is higher than what was projected in budgets passed at Onteora, Highland, Ellenville and Rondout Valley. The city of Kingston's school district budget failed despite a 3.1 percent hike. Saugerties passed with a 4.92 percent increase, New Paltz approved a 4.88 percent hike. Marlboro's proposed 6.6 percent tax hike failed, as did Wallkill's 8.9 percent.

Under the plan, districts could still hike taxes up to 5 percent if 55 percent approve it in a vote, higher if 60 percent approve.

Teacher unions don't approve. They like to see the property tax, a stable tax base, they believe, be a source of funding that can make districts grow. What they especially won't like is a provision to freeze teacher step increases while new contracts are negotiated, putting a considerable crimp in their ability to wait out a recalcitrant administration.

There are things to like in these proposals, such as mandate accountability - having an understanding of what requirements actually cost, though not actually requiring the state to pay for them - and a circuit breaker to immediately help those least able to pay.

But for us, the problem still is with property taxes funding education. It's basic. We would favor ideas like one put forth by Kevin Cahill, who wants the state to do all the funding of education, collecting the money through a graduated income tax. This would far better reflect individual abilities to pay and would not endanger people's homes in a direct way, would not allow for property values (a subjective measurement, in any case) to outstrip income. Even shifting a portion of the property tax - c'mon guys, give us 20 percent, at least - to the graduated income approach would ease the burdens.

We still have to pay. Yes, your income tax would rise considerably. Yes, we'd have to deal with issues of local control versus the control that would come from those who are dispensing the money (as if we don't now...). But neglect education and our very mission as a free and open society fails. There is no question that more money is needed for education in this state, in this country. The state already has paid scant attention to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity's winning lawsuit, in which it was adjudicated that the state must pay more for poorly equipped schools.

It's crystal clear in these days how the splatter has to hit the fan before anything in this glacially paced society changes - the oil prices are finally changing the way we think about driving and what we drive; how we eat; what we can afford to eat; how we think about cities and suburbs; how we live. The ripples are creating tsunamis all around us.

This opportunity to straighten out how we pay for education is upon us and it cannot be missed. The Suozzi-Paterson plan seeks to merely tweak and perpetuate a system when much more is needed.

Read Governor Paterson's press release on the proposed legislation here
Download the Commission on Property Tax Relief's full report (pdf) here
Read Newsday's feature on the proposed legislation here

Onteora Students at Reel Teens Festival

Friday's Daily Freeman reported:

An Onteora High School junior is on a roll with his film.

Robin Richardson will watch his short animation chosen for the Reel Teens Film Festival, which starts today in Hunter. Then, in November, he will leave for the Youth, Film and Video Festival in Barcelona, Spain, where another of his works - the audience favorite in the animation category last year at Reel Teens - will be shown.

Read the full story here.
Learn more about the Reel Teens Festival here.

Community Celebration this Saturday

Join us as we thank everyone for their efforts in the recent Onteora School Board election, with a potluck barbeque and picnic.

Hosts: Ralph, Donna, Ann, Laurie and Campaign Team
Location: Kenneth Wilson State Park and Campground
859 Wittenberg Road, Mount Tremper, Ny 12457 Us
View Map |
When: Saturday, June 7, 4:00pm
Campground Phone: 845-679-6302

See you on Saturday, from 4-7!
Do bring food, drink, children, guitars, games and festive attitude!
Alcohol is allowed -- but be prepared for high temperatures and high humidity! Bring plenty water and other rehydrating goodies, hats and sunscreen.
RSVP to abbearonson_at_hotmail.com and let us know what dish or drink you are bringing!
PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN REUSEABLE/RECYCLABLE UTENSILS AND CUPS. We are a fun & low-waste district!

Please pass on this invite
to anyone who wants to join the fun...
all are welcome!!!

The fine print: No dogs and no lifeguard, so no swimming. Park charges $5 a car - please carpool.

Phone number for Park is (845) 679-7020.
Ask at entrance for exact location of our party,
reserved under the name"Osmond."

From Woodstock: Follow Rte. 212, turn left at Bear Cafe on to Rte. 45, two miles on, turn right onto County Rte. 40 (Wittenberg Road). Campground is approx one mile up, on the left side of road.

From Shandaken/Olive: Take Route 28 to intersection with Rte 212 in Mt Tremper; half a mile up 212 take right turn onto County Rte 40(Wittenberg Road). Campground is approximately four miles up, on rightside of road.

From West Hurley. Follow either route above.

June 3 Board Meeting

The Phoenicia Times/Olive Press has a brief report about the June 3 board meeting at the end of a longer piece on the restructuring of the School Board. You can read Lisa Childers' full report here:

Letter from a teacher

This letter by local teacher Donna Bryan appeared in last week's Woodstock Times as a full-page "Point of View." It has now been printed in the current Phoenicia Times/Olive Press and can be accessed online.

We hope you can take the time to read it

Dear Editor,

I follow the comings and goings of our school district not only as a member of the community but also as an educator. I had intended to write this letter several weeks ago but perhaps my procrastination served me; elections are completed and perhaps the tide of passions, platforms and convictions has ebbed.

It must be said that we all have a stake in how our school district is run; we are all affected by decisions made—the political, the financial, the pedagogical. And, the greater majority of those at the forefront, on either side of a given issue, make decisions and take actions based upon what they sincerely believe is best for all. Certainly, arguably, there will be dissent and even struggle as our community manages our district and this is important because local issues at least for now, are an area where the will of the community can affect change.

However, as I read the commentary of many community members published in these pages in the past few weeks, there surfaced a social issue that transcends the exigencies of the election process and the direction the district is to take. I continue to be dismayed and often disgusted by the attitude of American citizens toward its teachers. The disdain for and at times vehement rhetoric directed at educators betrays an insidious yet palpable anti-intellectual gestalt that so seldom surfaces in any discussion about education and how it is to be shaped.

One particularly shrill and nasty letter from a community member sneered about the salaries of Onteora’s teachers and unabashedly called for salary cuts. As teachers and those that do appreciate them know, a teacher is always a teacher, it’s a mindset, it’s part of the very identity of those who spend their days with students in a classroom. In that spirit, I find myself compelled to enlighten those members of my local community who would give less to those whom they expect to, and even demand, do more.

A teacher’s day does not end at 3 pm. I am a high school English teacher; I worked at Onteora from 2002 to 2004 and now teach in another county. I have 100 students, I teach five classes a day; I moderate two school clubs and teach SAT test technique to students, an endeavor in which, in that season, I work two 18 hour days per week for four weeks. I spend a minimum of 15 unpaid hours a week, at home, grading papers and writing lessons. The conventional wisdom among educators about this part of our careers is “Well, that’s just part of the job.” In any given day, we have 45 minutes of preparation time, hardly enough to grade a minimum of 400 papers a week. We are not paid overtime, not time and a half; we are expected to live by our ethics and make sure our students are served no matter what it takes. I am relatively certain nurses, construction workers, law enforcement professionals, and many others do not expect to work overtime for no pay. Most teachers do this with alacrity. Most teachers do live by their ethics and do whatever it takes. If I calculate the at-home, unpaid hours I work, and the two unpaid months of July and August, my hourly salary is about $10.31. American teachers are among some of the lowest paid workers in the industrialized world.

And by the way, we do pay for our insurance. We do pay into our retirement funds. I pay over $600.00 a year to my union that in addition to protecting my rights as a worker, lobbies tirelessly on behalf of American schoolchildren for funding and the creation and continuance of programs that benefit families.

We are mandated by the state to obtain advanced degrees, all NYS teachers must be “Highly Qualified,” a masters degree in one’s discipline is not optional. We do not get grants or state tuition aid for these advanced degrees; we must pay for them ourselves. I completed my masters’ degree last August. My degree took one year to complete. During that time, I wrote over 400 pages of discourse based on research and analysis. My day began at 5 am and continued until midnight most nights; weekends were a fond memory during that year and I had to continue to grade those many papers and continue to deliver the “best practices” of education to my students. Happily, my advanced degree earned me a raise—$200.00 per month gross income. However, cost of the degree was $21,500.00 dollars—fifty percent of one year’s gross income. The $200.00 per month increase in my pay does not cover the monthly loan repayment of $280.00 per month. Yes, you read that right, it is costing me $80.00 per month to bask in the cache of an advanced degree which the state says I must have or cannot teach.

According to law, if I do not make timely payments on this loan, I can be denied any other kind of installment loan for any purpose including a mortgage or a car loan.
With regard to cutting teachers’ salaries, there are legal, negotiated contracts that cannot be just waved away. The teachers at Onteora who make salaries that irritate those who hold teachers in such acrimonious contempt have earned those salaries one year at a time over many years of service. Is this any different than members of other public professions? Instead of railing against teachers and their administrators for their salaries, salaries earned in service to community members and their children, why not take a look at the industries and careers in which you serve? Why not demand from your industries or professions professional organizations and unions that protect your interests. A strong, organized workforce protects all Americans. Rather than stand up to the avaricious practices of those social structures that raid the pockets of industry and citizens, many engage in a green-eyed money counting of those who have worked hard to protect their rights as workers, in this case teachers. Why call for the abolition of teachers’ benefits when outraged demands should be made on those who can get away with the unregulated and absurd cost of those benefits? Why not rally against an administration that imposes strictures of operation and delivery of services in a way that bankrupts local districts by way of impossible-to-meet edicts of accountability? Why do so many find it so much easier to submissively take what is dished out by profit-hungry employers and call for the reduction in salaries of their fellow workers, when all should be treated fairly, when all have the right to demand from society as much as they put in?

Teachers are not the enemy of a community, our social structures are. Speaking of which, we have been invested by a not-so-well-hidden, undiscussed-in-the-mainstream yet inescapable structure in which teaching, actual delivery of instruction, can seem secondary while we cope with the needs of students and their families who daily bring to us issues attendant to poverty, substance abuse, neglect, issues of behavior, learning, mental, emotional, or physical disability. We are expected to attend to the needs of all with professionalism, compassion, alacrity, and impartiality. Often, we do so deftly, successfully, compassionately. Sometimes we cannot. And yet, to make an analogy, if health care costs rise do we call for cuts in hospital funding? If crime rates go up do we call for salary cuts for law enforcement? If a judge makes an unpopular decision do we cut his salary or take away his dental insurance?

The teachers I know, and indeed there is a plethora of wonderful teachers at my school and at Onteora, are truly in service to their students and their families. I have seen teachers repeatedly pay for lunches for students who cannot afford them, I have seen teachers surreptitiously send money to families they know are struggling, I have seen teachers buy medicine, clothes and school supplies, sew prom dresses, buy glasses, fund field trips for individuals and entire classes—from their own pockets. Some of my colleagues do this routinely; many, many of them are carrying student loan debts of $50,000.00 and above.

This issue is certainly too long to be treated properly in this forum. And though teacher bashing is alarming for the reasons I have stated above in the particular, in the general, it is a symptom of our society’s educational schizophrenia. We SAY we value education, we SAY we want academic performance, we SAY we want change, yet we do not really value what school is meant to teach. Many individuals and families are too mired in popular culture or their own consumer needs and desires to pay careful attention to learning. We do not value our public intellectuals, and a recent U.S. Department of Education study indicated that less than half the citizens under forty in our country have read a book in the past year. Functional illiteracy in the U.S. among those 16 and older is at a brisk 39 percent. I have had more parents than I like to think about tell me that I “have no right to demand that [their children] read over the summer,” “I don’t feel it is my job to be on top of his homework, it’s yours,” send me notes that a student cannot do his homework because he was “up too late last night because we were out,” and have had parents who took kids on trips to Disneyland during the school year demand to know from me why their children are failing. If I had a dollar for every child who tells me that reading is “a stupid waste of time,” I could handily pay off my student loans. I have had students who tell me they could not afford to buy a $6.00 book for our summer reading projects come into school to brag about their $300.00 I-Pods or X-Boxes.

Recently, I had the misfortune of overhearing one community member, whose occupation is to sell $90.00 t-shirts and $150.00 blue jeans to other community members, quip to a “client,” “Those Onteora teachers are parasites on the body of this district.” Luckily, she once had an English teacher who schooled her in the use of irony and metaphor, most likely at Onteora.

No one becomes a teacher to milk the system or to get rich, I assure you. The work we do is valuable, important, and most of the time exhilarating, but it is difficult, sometimes impossible, and often, as the recent rhetoric of some community members indicates—utterly thankless. Please do not cannibalize those whom you have charged with a very important task—the needs of human beings, the needs of your children; needs for which many families, social ideologies and government structures have abdicated responsibility.

Donna Bryan, West Shokan, NY

Party postponed until June 7

We took the State Park Rangers' advice that this afternoon's weather
may turn dangerous, and have postponed the Community Celebration to
next Saturday, June 7. Same time, same place: Kenneth Wilson State
Park, Wittenberg Rd, Mt Tremper, 4-7pm. We'll send out another
reminder during the week. The celebration is open to everyone: if
you'd like to be on the Evite list to see who else is coming and what
they're bringing, just e-mail abbearonson_at_hotmail.com

Woodstock Times on new Trustees' at work

Newly elected Onteora district school board members, Donna Flayhan, Ralph Legnini, Ann McGillicuddy and Laurie Osmond are gearing up for immediate changes as promised during their campaign, while tackling all of July's business.

Read the rest of the Woodstock Times story here.

Electees in Memorial Day Parade

All the electees were invited to participate in the Woodstock Memorial Day Parade. Laurie Osmond and Donna Flayhan were available to do so on behalf of all four.

The Onteora High School Marching Band also participated in the Parade.

"Pendulum swings back" says Woodstock Times

The Woodstock Times has a cover story on the election, by Lisa Childers, as follows:

Ralph Legnini, Donna Flayhan, Ann McGillicuddy and Laurie Osmond, the block of four candidates who ran on a platform to put a moratorium on the Onteora Central School District's Grade 5-8 middle school proposal and pledged to keep the currently operating elementary schools open, secured a landslide victory over three incumbents, Mary-Jane Bernholz, Cindy O'Connor and Rita Vanacore. Osmond, the fourth place finisher, will fill the unexpired term of Herb Rosenfeld, who resigned in April.

Onteora administrators were pleased to see that all four propositions on the ballot, including the $48,215,077 school budget for 2008/2009, a 3.08 percent increase in spending, were easily approved in the May 20 election. Also meeting with voters approval was a proposition, rejected twice in the last two years, to approve $189,127.32 for the purchase of two new school buses.

District superintendent Leslie Ford was thrilled that all four propositions passed. "This is really good news for kids, we're going to be able to work on the facilities upgrades, we're going to get new buses and the child safety zone, this is really good news."

Results from the towns were tabulated at Onteora Middle/High school after the 9 p.m. closing of the polls. However, even before the last town votes from Shandaken and Lexington were called in, it was clear that the three incumbents were defeated.

Although O'Connor, Bernholz and Vanacore achieved their highest votes in their home town of Olive, it was not enough to secure a win. Fewer votes were cast in Olive (1,083) than the 1,525 in 2005, when townwide anger boiled over due to the imposition of the Large Parcel provision of state law by the school board that caused Olive taxes to rise an average of 60 percent. In contrast, more voters came out this year in Woodstock (1,001), West Hurley (738) and especially Shandaken (812), where the front running candidate Legnini outpaced the leading incumbent O'Connor, by 751-95. (Town vote totals are based on the budget proposition, a yes-or-no deal.)

Legnini totaled 2,460 votes, with Woodstock resident Donna Flayhan close behind with 2,379. Legnini appeared stunned by the result. "I am overwhelmed that the community spoke and got to vote on the direction that they want the schools to go in." He said come July, when the new school year begins and the new board members take office, that they would work on the procedure to overturn the Grade 5-8 middle school proposal. Flayhan agreed. "We have a mandate to move forward to fix the schools," she said. "That is what we promised to do and make sure we keep the student teacher ratios low...because that is the best learning environment and the people have spoken, democracy has spoken."

Of the three incumbents, O'Connor tallied the most votes, 1,446, far below the last winner, Osmond, who finished with 2,267. Bernholz tallied 1,384 and Vanacore, 1,301. Once the totals came in, all three left the High school auditorium and moved toward the cafeteria to approve the votes. They all refused to comment, with Olive Matters leader Judith Boggess and O'Connor's sister, Lisa Valvo sweeping them away. "I think you should leave them alone," said Valvo.

Vanacore said, "No comment. I am not going to comment at all to anybody."

Some cracks may have appeared in the previously monolithic Olive vote, also. Legnini, who is an Olive resident, tallied 339 votes, slightly more than 30 percent in the town. One year ago, with significantly lower turnout, Marino D'Orazio, also an Olive resident, garnered only 94 there.

The total district vote for the budget of 3,633, less than 2000, 2001, 2005 and the peak of the last decade, 2002 - the year voters unseated trustee Joseph Doan - when 4,108 went to the polls. But it far surpassed last year's total of 2,232.



A function of democracy

Ann McGillicuddy, who came in third with 2,294 votes was beaming. "The people have spoken," she said. "I am really proud to be a member of this community. It was a grass roots effort by so many members of the Onteora community and I look forward to working with everyone in the community."

Legnini, Flayhan and McGillicuddy will serve full three-year terms. Osmond, who will fill Rosenfeld's unexpired term, was sworn in during the special school board meeting and will begin serving as a trustee immediately. "It was so heartwarming to see this community come together, it was great," said Osmond. "I think this is a sign of very good things to come." She thanked all the people who helped with the campaign and said she enjoyed talking to everyone in the school community.

For nearly a year Ford followed the school board's direction to create a Grade 5-8 middle school, to be located at the current site of the shared middle/high school, although with new construction added and extensive renovations. The plan would have called for the closing of one of the three currently functioning elementary schools, likely Phoenicia Elementary, and would have studied the relative merits of remaining at Woodstock Elementary or perhaps switching back to the now closed West Hurley Elementary. It would likely have required voters to approve borrowing approximately $70 million, a sum the consultants had said would have been somewhat offset by state aid and savings from closing an additional school. Farther down the road, the potential was for having a single campus in Boiceville.

Now that a new board intends to change that direction, Ford's thoughts on starting from scratch were optimistic. "That is a feature of working with the board," she said. "That is the democratic process so that's not something to be disappointed over."

High School senior Adam Pollock who came in last at 739 votes said he was happy with the outcome. "I ran my campaign on $300, so I think I did really well, I am not disappointed at all." He plans to run again next year

A Challengers’ Sweep

The new editions of the Phoenica Times and Olive Press are out and about with the following story, written by Paul Smart. You can read it in more detail online here or here.

"Just as recent elections have been decided by late-arriving vote numbers coming in from Olive and Marbletown voters at the Bennett School, the pendulum-like sweep victory of four challengers to incumbent Onteora board members Mary Jane Bernholz, Cindy O’Connor and Rita Vanacore had to wait Tuesday night, May 20, for the Phoenicia School to provide the final clue as to the district’s wishes.

Which seemed only right, given that the issue pulling the biggest blocks of voters out had to do with a pending decision to close at least one community elementary school in Phoenicia to create a new 5-8 Middle School on a rapidly centralizing Boiceville-based campus rather than the Large Parcel threat, or reality, that drove Olive voter turnout since 2005.

“Taking Large Parcel off the table changed the demographics,” said Ralph Legnini, the evening’s top vote-getter and a West Shokan resident, after all the tallies were counted. “I’m glad people came out and participated. They spoke out to change the way things have been going.”

Legnini received a total of 2,460 votes, with Woodstocker Donna Flayhan at 2,379, Phoenicia-resident Ann McGillicuddy at 2,294 and Willow resident Laurie Osmond getting a total of 2,267 votes.

On the incumbents side, O’Connor received a high of 1,446 votes, current board president Bernholz got 1,384 votes, and Rita Vanacore ended up with 1,301. All were from the Town of Olive, which voted for them overwhelmingly, albeit by slightly less numbers and splits than other candidates have received in recent years.

Woodstock-based High School senior Adam Pollack got a total of 739 votes but promised to try again next year.

All four propositions on the ballot passed. The budget, a proposed $48,215,077 budget representing a 3.08 percent hike in spending, won 2,468 votes to 1,165; a proposition to purchase $189,127 worth of new busses, got through 2,063 to 1,529 after several previous failures; a $1.8 million expenditure of already-there capital reserve funds was okayed 2,062 to 1,457 and finally, a request to establish a Child Safety zone requiring use of school busses to pick up and drop off kids near the high school in Boiceville passed 2,642 to 964.

“I’m just so pleased we passed a budget, a proposition to get new busses, and a child safety zone; all really wonderful things that are good for the kids of Onteora,” said District Superintendent Leslie Ford after hugging the incumbent board members who hired her, and with whom she’s worked for the last year, and welcoming their replacements warmly. “We welcome the new board and their energy… That is a feature of working with the board, that is the democratic process so that’s not something to be disappointed over.”

Asked about how she and the district would handle a series of pending decisions — some made like the decision to create a 5-8 Middle School at the high school and take that issue out for bonding in January, and others about to be okayed, such as the official closing of the Phoenicia School that had been set for mid-June, Dr. Ford spoke about process.

“The new board will decide what still stands. The new board, as it formulates, will decide the directions they want to go in. As you know, I serve at their pleasure.”

Osmond, as the lowest vote-getter of the four winners Tuesday night, was sworn into office during a terse board meeting where all results were accepted by the current board. She will be filling the vacated board seat of Herb Rosenfeld, and will be up for re-election next May.

“I am overwhelmed that the community spoke and got to vote on the direction that they want the schools to go in,” Legnini said after it was all over. He said that come July, when he and his three other challengers take office, they would work on a proper procedure to overturn the 5/8 middle school proposal. “We have to reflect the vote that was cast by the community-we ran on those issues and the community spoke.”

“I feel like the vote was so overwhelming that it’s a mandate for the four of us,” added Flayhan. “Clearly people voted for us because of what we are against – the $70 million bond and the five-through-eight middle school. We have a mandate to move forward to fix the elementary schools and make sure we keep the student teacher ratios low.”

She added that she and her slate had also spoken about shifting away from the current committee structure, a governing style picked up from the town of Olive that the challengers feel may have insulated the defeated incumbents, and entire board, from truly hearing from the wider community about their wishes and dislikes.
...

“I think this is a sign of very good things to come,” said Osmond, soon after being sworn in as the first new board member of four.

“It was a grass roots effort by so many members of the Onteora community,” added McGillicuddy. “I look forward to working with everyone in the community.”"

WAMC hosts Vox Pop on School Boards and School Budgets

The day after New York State voters went to the polls to approve school budgets and elect board members, WAMC turned its regular afternoon Vox Pop show over to a call-in with Tim Kremer , Executive Director of the New York State School Boards Association). Calls came in from across the full spectrum of concerns, including many of the issues that were discussed during the Onteora School District election campaign. You can listen to or download the show at this link.

Early on in the show, Mr. Kremer says that, State Wide, voter turn-out averages 5-10%. Turn-out in the Onteora Central School District was closer to 40%. Everyone in the campaign is very grateful for this massive show of interest in the Onteora Central School District.

Daily Freeman on the election

The following story was in Wednesday's edition of the Daily Freeman. You can read it here.

A plan to add fifth and sixth grades to Onteora Middle School and close a district elementary school is expected to be halted by a new Board of Education majority that was swept into office Tuesday.

Winning candidates for three three-year seats were Ralph Legnini with 2,460 votes, Donna Flayhan with 2,379, and Ann McGillicuddy with 2,294. A one-year term to finish a vacancy was won by Laurie Osmond, who received 2,267 votes. The school board has seven elected members.

Osmond, who was sworn immediately following the election, said the four winning candidates were successful in getting the word out on their opposition to closing schools. She compared the sweep to an election three years ago, when the three candidates defeated Tuesday won seats on the board over the "large parcel" tax issue.

"I had a few people come up to me and say it was going to be a landslide, but I felt either way that it went had to be accepted," Osmond said.

Legnini said the new majority expects to immediately stop the plan to expand Onteora Middle School and close one of the district's three remaining elementary schools.

"We have to put it into motion to change that," he said. "That's what the voters said they wanted and we have to reflect that. So it was a very simple community decision."

The incumbent trustees finished as follows: Cindy O'Connor, 1,446 votes, Mary Jane Bernholz, 1,384; and Rita Vanacore, 1,301. Newcomer Adam Pollack, an Onteora High School senior, received 739 votes.

Bernholz and Vanacore declined to comment on the result. O'Connor called the defeat "very liberating for us."

"You don't always get what you want but you get what you need," O'Connor said, quoting the Rolling Stones tune.

Superintendent Leslie Ford said issues will be addressed when the new board takes over in July.

"That's what happens with boards, that's the usual," she said. "It'll be a different set of people and they will come up with their own collective way of working together."

Ford was pleased that the $48.21 million budget was adopted by a 2,468-1,165 vote, and that all three separate ballot propositions were approved by voters.

"I couldn't be happier about the budget," she said. "We've got buses, so we've covered transportation. We're going to be working on facilities, so this is really, really good news."

Ann McGillicuddy on WAMC

WAMC ran a short story Wednesday about the budget/election results around the area. They interviewed Ann McGillicuddy. You can hear the story by clicking here.

The Vote In More Detail

Here are the votes as cast by town. They are in the order of ballot names, the numbers in brackets refer to that person's final polling position SH is Shandaken, WH is West Hurley.

Please note that this remains the unofficial vote count. Affadavit votes have yet to be counted, and the final vote will be ratified at the next Board Meeting, Tuesday June 3. That Board Meeting will be at the Phoenicia Elementary School.


Adam Pollack
SH 127
Olive 202
Wdstk 189
WH 221
Total votes: 739 (8)

Donna Flayhan
SH 743
Olive 270
Wdstk 967
WH 399
Total votes: 2379 (2)

Laurie Osmond
SH 736
Olive 186
Wdstk 927
WH 418
Total votes: 2267 (4)

Ralph Legnini
SH 751
Olive 339
Wdstk 942
WH 428
Total votes: 2460 (1)

Ann McGillicuddy
SH 768
Olive 288
Wdstk 937
WH 301 6
Total votes: 2294 (3)

MJ Bernholz
SH 91
Olive 867
Wdstk 116
WH 310
Total votes: 1384 (6)

Cindy O'Connor
SH 92
Olive 893
Wdstk 130
WH 328
Total votes: 1443 (5)

Rita Vanacore
SH 78
Olive 834
Wdstk 108
WH 281
Total votes: 1301 (7)


We are proud to announce that every one of our block of four got more votes than ANY other candidate for School Board in at least the last six years, if not longer. We are also very grateful for the true cross district support.

The Propositions in Numbers

Budget: Approved, 2,468-1,165
Vehicles proposition: Approved, 2,063-1,529
Capital reserve proposition: Approved, 2,062-1,457
Child safety zone proposition: Approved, 2,642-964


We will publish town-by-town break-downs on everything later on today. In the meantime, you should be able to make them out on the blackboard photos below.

The Numbers in pictures

We Won!

The results are in, and the tallies are as follows:

Adam Pollack 739
Donna Flayhan 2379
Laurie Osmond 2267
Ralph Legnini 2460
Ann McGillicuddy 2294
Mary Jane Bernholz 1384
Cindy O'Connor 1446
Rita Vanacore 1301

Laurie Osmond is being sworn in at this moment, to take the seat that Herb Rosenfeld resigned from. Donna Flayhan, Ralph Legnini and Ann McGillicuddy will all be taking their seats on July 1.

All propositions passed. So did the budget.

Thank you everyone.

Phoenicia Photo

Candidates and children getting out the vote in Phoenicia this afternoon.

An Open Letter To All Voters, from the Candidates

We are at a critical juncture in the future of the Onteora Central School District, and unless voters in all the communities respond on Election Day, May 20th, our children, taxpayers and communities will suffer a terrible and irreversible body blow.

The Board of Education incumbents, if re-elected, will saddle the district with an $70-86 million bond, and embark on the largest, most expensive construction project in the history of the district and build a Grades 5-12 Middle School/High School Building that is not educationally sound nor publicly supported.

Additionally, by the time construction begins, the original cost estimates will be 3 ½ years old and will need to be updated.

Does the Ulster County Jail ring a bell?

The incumbents are also determined to close an Elementary School, although our neighborhood Elementary Schools are thriving. They are not broken.

In short, borrow $70+ million to close a school, to build a school, to overcrowd the classrooms.

The incumbents deny that taking our youngest children and busing them further and longer to sit in overcrowded classrooms will be harmful.

They deny that there is anything troubling about putting 5th graders on the same buses and in the same building as 12th graders.

They deny that the closure of a school will have any economic impact on a town, or on property values. Talk to a local business owner or realtor and you’ll get a very different picture.

They cite predictions of a downward spiral in enrollment, while actual predicted enrollment shows a plateau, and demographic reports do not include families moving to the area.

The incumbents are ramming forward one costly solution. There are other solutions that they have refused to consider. These are solutions that can cost less, include all our communities, create vibrant, educationally sound schools for our children, keep our local businesses and property values from declining, all while being eligible for state aid.

These other solutions need to be fully explored and costed out before making any decisions and putting forth a bond.

Our block of four Onteora School Board challengers are already working on fiscally responsible, creative, educationally sound ideas that provide a positive, doable vision for our district.

We ask for your support and your help in getting out the vote on Tuesday, May 20 from 2-9pm at your town Elementary School, so that we can turn this catastrophe around and create a district that we can be proud of and that others will want to be part of.

Vote #2-5 on your ballot.

Education Matters. Money Matters. Community Matters.

Sincerely,
Donna Flayhan, Laurie Osmond, Ralph Legnini, Ann McGillicuddy
Candidates for Onteora School Board
www.saveouronteoraschools.com

The Future of Our District? Don't Let It Happen!

Vote FOR the 4, Vote FOR the Budget

We’ve been asked by many people how we recommend they vote on the Budget and various propositions that are also on Tuesday’s ballot.

We suggest voting FOR the Budget, which comes with a promise – but not a guarantee – of a 0% tax levy increase. The current School Board was fortunate to have several teachers retire this year, and had a late increase in State Aid; the Board decided to pass these savings back to the taxpayers. Were this budget to be voted down, the District would be forced to enact a contingency budget, which would stifle all purchase of new equipment, the cancellation of field trips etc. And it would also create a painful and divisive headache across the district just as we hope to start the process of moving forward in cross-district unison. Voting for the budget does NOT mean you are voting for the Grades 5-8 Middle School plan, or for the vast sums of money that the Board needs to implement it. These are policy decisions that we trust our candidates will be able to overturn when they are elected. So even as you vote Lines 2-5 for us four candidates, we recommend you also vote FOR the budget.

As regards the four propositions, we do not have one unified opinion on them. In part, this is because we were not part of the Board (and therefore the discussion) that developed them. We invite voters to learn more about each of these issues, either via the current edition of the Onteora Schools newsletter, or by talking to neighbors and other would-be voters. Again, none of them relate to the current Board's plans for a Grades 5-8 Middle School and the immediate closure of an elementary, nor the Bond costs they would need to raise. We will note that the same Woodstock Times editorial that endorsed the four of us candidates also expressed support for all four propositions. And we would also say that if you feel you are not suitably informed on these issues, you do not have to cast a vote on them.

Thank you to all the voters who have expressed so much interest in all these issues. This campaign has shown just how much people care about their schools.

Halt The Vicious Circle

Voting By The Numbers

THE HARD FACTS
There are almost 12,000 registered voters in the Onteora Central School District. When elected in 2005, the three incumbents averaged less than 2,000 votes each - barely one-sixth of the eligible vote!

BUT…
In 2005, when the three incumbents were elected on the back of a Large Parcel protest from Olive voters, Woodstock turn-out was only 25%, Shandaken turn-out was 33% - and Olive turn-out was nearly 65%.

IN OTHER WORDS…
It’s all about the turn-out! In 2008, we have to show that we care enough about our schools to vote to keep them! Woodstock and Shandaken combined have more than twice as many registered voters as Olive – and people in Olive have been telling us for weeks that they are fed up with the direction of the current board, and voting for the “challengers.”

AND REMEMBER…
Voting is at your town elementary school. (Woodstock if you live in Woodstock, Phoenicia if you live in Shandaken or Lexington, West Hurley if you live in West Hurley, Bennett if you live in Olive or Marbletown.) Voting does not take place at the local firehouse, library or wherever you may be used to voting during Government Elections. Voting is from 2-9pm. If you arrive at 9:01pm, you will not be allowed to vote. If you are a registered voter, you are already registered for the School Board Election. If you received a blue postcard from our candidates, you are registered to vote in the School Board election. If your name is not in the registrar’s books and you are certain it should be, you may request a vote by affadavit. A form will be filled out, and your name will be checked with County records the next day and your vote tallied if approved.

If you show up to vote but are not registered, you will be invited to register there and then for future elections. It’s never too late to vote!

See you at school tomorrow!

The Future of Our District? Don't Let It Happen!

Endorsed by Every Newspaper!

Every newspaper that has made an endorsement on this election has recommended that the incumbent trio be replaced.

“There is no choice but to vote them out,” says the Phoenicia Times/Olive Press. “We have to remember this is about the quality of our community’s education, and not just taxes. And we have to get beyond allowing one block of voters to decide all Onteora matters.”

"We believe that we give up too much by implementing the Grade 5-8 middle school plan,” says the Woodstock Times. “And thus we support those who seek a moratorium on the plan and urge you to vote for Ralph Legnini, Laurie Osmond, Donna Flayhan and Ann McGillicuddy."

“We ask our readers to support the challengers in this election May 20th so this ill-advised reshuffling of the school district does not happen without more scrutiny and the help of experts,” says the Ulster County Townsman.

We thank these papers for their support and remind you to vote Tuesday May 20, 2-9pm at your town elementary school.

Thanks! to the Olive Seniors

Going into this election, we heard a lot of sweeping comments about how people vote in the Onteora School District... Which is one reason we were thrilled to hear from the Olive Seniors last week, who invited us to come speak to them as a group at the American Legion Hall in Olive. Following shortly after the incumbents had their turn, we met with about 25 members who listened attentively as we outlined our plans for the district, asked great questions and were very gracious to us throughout. We were delighted that the seniors in our district should care so much about the schools they help fund, and equally pleased that they wanted to hear from both “sides,” in person, to help them make their own, individual judgment calls on their votes. Thanks for having us, guys.

Olive Billboard

On Route 28 in Shokan:

Indie for Beginners

If you’ve been following the election closely, if you’ve been attending board meetings, and of course, if you’re a High School student, you may have noticed discussion recently about the “Indie” program. There has been some legitimate concern about its future. We asked director Russell Richardson to answer some questions about the program, as a starting point for what we hope will be further dialogue. Please click here to read the full article: Indie for Beginners.

Uncloseable

Ralph, Ann, Donna and Laurie unveiled their campaign song, "Uncloseable," on WDST this morning. Check the video below.

On the Woodstock Village Green...

Candidates on WDST Monday morning

Donna, Laurie, Ralph and Ann will be on WDST, 1001.1FM, and WDST.COM, this Monday morning, somewhere between 8:00 and 8:30am.

We Interrupt This Election Campaign to Bring you a News Broadcast.

You may have heard of Phoenicia Elementary School’s innovative Recycling program, initiated by the school’s PTA. (The program is based on the 5Rs: Reduce, Refuse, Reuse, Rethink, Recycle.) Well, with the help of Digital Dave (music teacher David Laks), Ms. Sharon McInerney's 4th grade class at Phoenicia Elementary made a video about the program, and entered it into Senator Bonacic’s State-Wide “I’m A Green Nation” contest. Last week they were told that out of over 600 entries, they had won FIRST PRIZE. Ms. Mcinerney's class will be going to Albany on Tuesday, May 20th (election day!) to meet the Senator, 
other winners and to accept their award medals.

The current school board plans to close Phoenicia Elementary in three years.

You should be able to see the nine-minute video below this line. If not, click here for the YouTube link.

Multi-media Election information

We have an ad going out on the radio Monday and Tuesday. Listen to it here.

Last Tuesday's 'Meet the Candidates' debate at the Boiceville Inn was filmed, and is being broadcast on Public Access TV (Channel 23) over the next few days, at midnight and 3pm in the Shandaken/Olive townships. Tune in to see what the eight candidates have to say for themselves.

Dakota Lane, who hosts the 'Dakota's Question' section of the Phoenicia Times, not only filmed Saturday night's projection art event in Phoenicia (read more about it here), she stayed up all night to edit it into a five-minute YouTube video. It should be playing in a screen right below this line; if not, you can watch it here.