New Yorkers voted Tuesday for public school budgets and board of education candidates in a year when national issues divided local communities.
According to the New York State School Boards Association, 99 percent of district budgets were approved, including a handful that overrode the tax cap.
In Saratoga Springs, three incumbent school board candidates were re-elected including John Brueggemann, the current Vice Chair of the city schools Board of Education.
He says there was an attempt by some to bring “national culture war” issues into local elections.
“I know lots of folks have no interest in that. They just want to do what’s right for the students. And there were people spreading lies and misinformation and half-truths, and the vast majority of people in our community have no interest in any of that and quite a few people find it rather irritating,” said Brueggemann.
Brueggemann, re-elected alongside Natalya Lakhtakia and Dean Kolligian, acknowledged frustration felt by parents and community members more than two years into the pandemic.
“One of the things we heard people talk about was transparency. And I think it’s absolutely true that our schools have been less transparent than they have been in the past. That’s largely due to COVID. We’ve sort of buttoned down the schools, we have fewer open houses, fewer meetings in person. Representation from parents and others on task forces and committees has been down the last couple of years because of COVID, so we’ve got to open up. We’ve got to pull people in,” said Brueggemann.
In Shenendehowa, in Clifton Park, Tom Templeton was elected as part of a slate of candidates that also included newcomer Petra Holden and incumbent Board President Deanna Stephenson.
Templeton, who ran unsuccessfully in 2020 and 2021, said he encountered a new trend among more conservative-leaning voters.
“The biggest thing this year under the umbrella of ‘parent choice’ that we faced was really about book-banning, and specifically about a book called ‘Lawn Boy’ and that was something that I heard an awful lot about and had to defend my stance pretty rigorously against banning books,” said Templeton.
Templeton said while he observed “vicious” commentary on social media, he felt candidates at Shenendehowa stayed out of divisive politics, for the most part. He said a primary concern is assisting students with mental health challenges brought by the pandemic.
“What’s happening now is even though we seem to be moving past the – whether it be social distancing, or masking, some of the isolation-based issues – what’s happening now is there’s that sort of lingering mental health fallout,” said Templeton.
Capital Region residents tended to re-elect incumbents or choose more moderate candidates. However, in the City of Schenectady, voters elected Vivian Parsons, a conservative newcomer.
Parsons’ election comes a year after voters chose two progressive candidates including prominent area Black Lives Matter organizer Jamaica Miles.
In her campaign, Parsons ran against what she called “special interest activism.”
“What matters most to me is putting the needs of our children above everything else, putting them above personal politics,” said Parsons.
Parsons says she wants to foster more financial literacy in students.
The former Republican city council candidate was critical of school board members who recently voted against a program to expand the district’s community engagement police officer program.
“The fact that opposition to that program came from elected officials was extremely upsetting to me,” said Parsons.
Also in Schenectady, board president Cathy Lewis was re-elected.
Andy Pallota, President of the New York State United Teachers, said public schools unite communities in a divisive time.
“Yes, there are very difficult issues facing schools, but I think the big indicator here is that people supported the public schools, came out, voted for those budgets, and supported school board candidates who look at the big picture, right? What are we really here for? We’re here to make sure that every student has great opportunities,” said Pallota.
