GHENT–All six public school districts in the county put annual budget proposals before voters Tuesday, May 21, and all won approval by wide margins. All the budget proposals stayed within the limits set by the state on their property tax levy increases.
Each of the six districts also sought to fill seats on the school boards, but there were ballot contests only in the Ichabod Crane and Taconic Hills districts. Write-in candidates were elected in New Lebanon and Hudson.
The propositions in New Lebanon and Ichabod Crane districts for the purchase of new school buses also won approval.
Columbia County 2019
School District Election Results
Chatham
Proposed Budget
$31,583,390
*Yes 393
No 99
Board Candidates (5 seats)
*Graham Button 321
*Meghan Charron 336
*Muriel Faxon 377
*Matthew Fisch 304
*Craig Simmons 362
Proposition 2: To authorize a
student representative
*Yes 443
No 47
Germantown
Proposed Budget
$15,597,618
*Yes 160
No 89
Board Candidates (2 seats)
*Andrea Provan 193
*Teresa Repko 220
Hudson
Proposed Budget
$49,792,463
*Yes 442
No 227
Board Candidates (3 seats)
Willette Jones 427
Charles Parmentier (write-in) 145
Justin Elliott (write-in) 63
Ichabod Crane
$41,597,201
Proposed Budget
*Yes 787
No 477
Board Candidates (3 seats)
James Antalek 362
Anne Marie Bertram 440
Brendan Caluneo 184
John Chandler 267
*Matthew Nelson 571
*Jeffrey Ouellette 507
*Elizabeth Phillips 536
Anthony Welcome 498
Proposition 2: Purchase 5
school buses
*Yes 817
No 445
New Lebanon
$12,480,879
Proposed Budget
* Yes 141
No 7
Board Candidates (3 seats)
John Kalisz 109
Timothy Lambert 128
Robert Long (write-in) 23
Taconic Hills
$38,112,618
Proposed Budget
*Yes 519
No 137
Board Candidates (3 seats)
*Craig Bender 384 (5-yr term)
Lynn Brandt 229
*Joseph Costa 355
Nadine Gazzola 317
*Linda L. Lee 328
Four write-ins received one vote each:
Richard Herrington, Heidi Beneke Main,
George Beneke, Edward Fertik
Proposition 3: Purchase 2 school
buses
*Yes 512
No 140