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Timberlake, Sullivan, Comberiati take Bedford Central
BY EMMA BLADEN
The Bedford Central School District budget for the coming school year has been passed; Board of Education member Deborah Timberlake has been re-elected; and Elfin Sullivan and Carmelo Comberiati are to replace outgoing school board members Burt Solomon and Robert Frisch.
These are the results of the Bedford Central School District vote held on Tuesday, May 19. They were announced officially just after 11 p.m. at the Board of Education meeting that evening, to thunderous clapping and cheering from the successful board members' campaigners who had gathered in the Fox Lane Middle
School's Little Theater.
The budget accepted by school district residents on Tuesday is a spending plan totaling $58.1 million in the new school year. It is 5.8% higher than this school year's budget of $54.9 million, which has been the subject of vigorous debate for and against at the series of budget meetings in recent weeks. The increases in each town in the school district will be 5.9% in Bedford; 5.7% in Mount Kisco; 6.0% in Pound Ridge; 5.9% in New Castle; and 5.5% in North Castle.
The budget for the next school year was originally proposed at $59,030,141 which was an increase of 7.43%.
The candidate who challenged Ms.Timberlake for her seat on the board, Philip Christe, did not attend the school board meeting, and his supporters did not appear to be present. David Hertz, who ran against Mrs. Sullivan for Mr. Solomon's seat, nobly admitted defeat that night, and said he congratulated the winning candidates and wished Bedford Central School District all the best in the future.
A total of 3,229 votes for and against the proposed budget were cast last Tuesday. A total of 1,638 people voted for the proposed budget and 1,351 against it, with a total of 240 votes void or blank.
For the race for seats on the school board, Mrs. Sullivan gained a total of 1,954 votes, versus her opponent, Mr. Hertz, who won a total of 906 votes. The match between Ms. Timberlake and Mr. Christe was a little closer, but still a decisive victory for Ms. Timberlake, who won 1,872 votes against Mr. Christe's 1,028. Dr. Comberiati, who was running unopposed for Mr. Frisch's seat, won a total of 2,235 votes.
A closer study of the votes by district shows Mrs. Sullivan won more votes than Mr. Hertz in every voting place, to a varying degree. At Bedford Hills Elementary School, Mrs. Sullivan won a total of 422 votes, against Mr. Hertz's 132. In Bedford Village, Mrs. Sullivan won a total of 385 votes, against Mr. Hertz's 286.
In the race for Ms. Timberlake's seat, the incumbent also won in every district, also to a varying degree. In West Patent, Ms. Timberlake won a total of 319 votes, against Mr. Christe's 88, and in Bedford Village, Ms. Timberlake won a total of 375 votes, against, Mr. Christe's total of 349.
A study of the budget votes by district shows that voters in Pound Ridge went against the overall trend, and voted against the budget, with a total of 337 "No" votes, against 321 "Yes" votes. Bedford Village residents did likewise, with a total of 424 voters casting a "No" for the budget, as opposed to 310 people voting in support.
In all other voting districts, the "Yes" voters had a decisive victory. A total of 1,575 voters turned out at the polls across the district to vote "Yes" to the budget, as opposed to the 1,318 residents who voted "No."