Candidate petitions need to be submitted by April 15

By Jason Emerson

Editor

On May 15, Cazenovia school district residents will vote to fill four seats on the Cazenovia Board of Education — three in which incumbents are up for reelection to three-year terms and one for a one-year term to fulfill a previously vacated seat.

Current board members David Mehlbaum, Jennifer Parmalee and Louis Orbach, all of whom were elected in 2015, are up for reelection. All have said they will be running again.

“The three years I’ve been on the school board have been immensely rewarding and enjoyable. I’ve worked with and learned a lot from our district’s teachers, students and parents. I am seeking a second term to complete the district’s new strategic plan and see it implemented,” Orbach said. “My commitment, if reelected, is to continue to be a voice for smart resource planning and equitable access for all our students to the very best curricular and extracurricular programming our district can offer.”

Mehlbaum also said he would like to remain on the board and complete ongoing projects. “Having served on the board for three years, I am excited to be a part of the positive momentum associated with the strategic planning process that began earlier this year.  My goal for the next three years will be to help ensure that all decisions are made in support of that plan,” he said.

Parmalee said she is running again because she feels there is much work to do to keep the district moving forward and increasing in excellence.

“The strategic planning process has been a powerful one,” she said. “The process engaged teachers, students, families, administrators and community members to identify needs within the district and task forces are currently identifying solutions and recommendations. I look forward to supporting the task forces in implementing recommendations that will support the district in moving from great to extraordinary.”

The fourth seat up for election in May is for a one-year term to fill the unexpired term of former board member Kathy Hahn. Hahn resigned from the board in September 2017 after accepting a job in the Albany area. The board appointed former board member Mark Goris to fill Hahn’s seat until the May 15 election.

Goris said he will not be running for a seat in the May election.

The top three vote-getters in the May election will win the three full seats, and the fourth highest vote getter will be named to the one-year seat. That seat will be up for election again for a full three-year term in May 2019.

BOE President Jan Woodworth said she hopes there will be multiple candidates that stand for election in May.

“The democratic process works best when people have choices; I am hopeful that we will have a contested election for the four seats that are open this year so our school district voters can choose who best represents them,” Woodworth said. “I would encourage anyone with interest in serving on the BOE to contact Pat Marzeski in the district to obtain a petition.”

Anyone interested in being a candidate for Cazenovia school board must submit a nominating petition to the school district clerk (the petition can also be obtained from the district clerk). The petition must be signed by at least 25 qualified district voters or two percent of the number of those who voted in the previous annual election, whichever number is greater.

School board candidates must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, qualified voters in the school district and able to read and write. They must be residents of their districts continuously for one year before the election. At the time when the board member takes office, they cannot be employed by the board on which they serve or live in the same household with a family member who is also a member of the same school board.

For more information about how to run for school board, what the job entails and what to do if you win election, visit the New York State School Boards Association website at nyssba.org/about-nyssba/running-for-the-school-board.

The Cazenovia Board of Education election will occur on May 15, during the annual district budget vote.