MEET THE BAUMANN SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
SCHOOLS
052298 New Bedford Central School board
seeks higher scores, `improvement'BY EMMA BLADEN
It was a lively bunch that gathered at the Fox Lane Middle School Little Theater on Tuesday night to hear the results of that day's elections.
Most of the attendees wore three badges, to show their support for the three candidates who ran together: Deborah Timberlake, who was running against Phil Christe for her own seat; Elin Sullivan, who was running against David Hertz for the seat to be vacated by Burt Solomon; and Carmelo "Mel" Comberiati, who ran unopposed for the seat to be vacated by Robert Frisch.
A normal school board meeting began just after 8 p.m. and was adjourned shortly before 9 p.m., while board members met in executive session to wait for the election results.
About 9:30 p.m. the crowd began to gather in the theater. It was about 9:45 p.m. when Ms. Timberlake and Mr. Solomon emerged, and not long after that when rumors of unofficial results began to be bandied about.
It was a full hour after that when Superintendent of Bedford Central School District Bruce Dennis received a call on his mobile phone to report the results, and shortly after that, the results arrived printed in black and white, to be handed out to members of the public and the media.
-The gathering was delighted at the results, but did not seem to be surprised. Mr. Hertz warmly congratulated his successful opponent, and Mr. Christe was not present. The two losing candidates' supporters did not appear to be present.
At around 10:45 p.m., Ms. Timberlake reconvened the school board meeting to announce the results, which were formally accepted by the board.
As Ms. Timberlake read the results, the crowd clapped and cheered. There was a roar of approval and victory when she announced that the budget was passed. There were also a few laughs during the formalities, when Ms. Timberlake read aloud some of the results of votes which had been sent in.
A total of 53 people had voted for school board member Robert Frisch, who was stepping down from his seat on the board. A total of five people had voted for Mr. Frisch to be elected to the seat about to be vacated by Mr. Solomon, and a total of 48 people voted for Mr. Frisch to be re-elected to the seat he had announced he would not re-contest. One person voted for "R.F." to be elected to the seat about to be vacated by Mr. Frisch, and another voted for "Friske." One person voted for Mr. Hertz to be elected to the seat about to be vacated by Mr. Frisch. School Board member Jim Markowski later congratulated Mr. Frisch for doing so well in the election, given that he wasn't even running.
On Wednesday, school district residents, campaigners and officials were left to ponder the significance of the results from the night before.
Ms. Timberlake said on Wednesday that the new board would work well together. "The new board members add a great deal in terms of their experience and expertise," she said.
Pay negotiations for school district staff that the board are currently undergoing would continue to go forward, Ms. Timberlake said. "The board has been unanimous in its negotiation strategy and we think it's working fairly well. We expect to have a resolution pretty soon. We want to continue improving the district. Stay on target implementing the bond, continue with curriculum develop
ment and improving test results. There are a number of things we will be working on, and the new board will work well together."
Regarding the two districts of Pound Ridge and Bedford Village voting "No" to the budget, Ms. Timberlake said the results were "very curious."
"We need to know the concerns of the community," she said. "I hope people will voice those concerns. We tried to keep the increase as modest as we could.
We always have to be mindful to make sure the increase is sensitive to taxpayers' needs."
Ms. Timberlake said Bedford Village had voted down the school budget "many times" over the years "with a larger margin that this year. It's been leveling out somewhat." In Pound Ridge Ms. Timberlake said the "No" vote had occurred occasionally in past years.
Regarding her opponent, Mr. Christe, Ms. Timberlake said his election race had been "very positive." "People stuck with the issues, which is very, very important," she said. "It was a very respectful race."
Ms. Timberlake surmised that a lower voter turnout that usual was due to a "less heated" election campaign than in some previous years.
Richard Hallinan, whose group, the Taxpayer Oversight Committee, urged school district voters to reject the proposed budget, said he was disappointed that a lot of people felt the budget increase was an acceptable level, and said he believed they had drawn that conclusion by comparing the increase with those in other districts.
"The voters have approved about $1 million, to $1.5 million in taxes more than we had to," he said, adding that Superintendent of Bedford Central School District Bruce Dennis and at least four school board members would disagree with him. "The taxes have not yet got to the critical level where people are suffering, but we'll get there eventually," he said.
Mr. Christe, who was defeated in his bid to gain a position on the board and who vigorously urged members of the public to vote "No" to the proposed budget, said on Wednesday that he believed the budget was passed because a lower number of people had turned out to vote, compared to last year. "It was about 65 or 70% of last year's number who turned out to vote," he said, adding that he didn't know why the turnout was low.
"It was disappointing," he said. Mr. Christe said he believed the lower turnout meant that a higher proportion of total voters was made up of district employees and members of their families, as well as members of the parent-teacher associations who were "under the influence of teachers."
Mr. Christe said he was happy for the successful candidates, including his opponent, Ms. Timberlake, and said he would see them at the meetings. "I'm not going anywhere," he said. "I hope the board acts prudently." He estimated that his opponent's supporters spent about $15,000 on the election campaign, compared to his $1,600.
Mr. Christe indicated he objected to the reported mood in the Little Theater when it was announced that the budget had been passed. "They were so happy they got their money," he said. "But it's not their money. It was a kind of a celebration, but an apology's more in order. They should be apologizing to the public for spending this money."
School Board President Deborah Timberlake is flanked by the two newest members of the board, Elln Sullivan and Carmelo "Mel" Comberiati, who were a elected on Tuesday at polls across the district.