School Board Ballots Are Set; Contests in East Hampton and Amagansett
Residents of public school districts throughout the state will head to the polls on May 15 to decide the fate of annual budgets and also to vote for board members seeking re-election or wishing to win a seat. Here is a look at which school board members are stepping down or running for re-election, as well as new candidates whose names will appear on the ballots.
Two seats are in play in East Hampton, with Christina DeSanti, the board’s vice president, and Elizabeth Pucci at the end of their terms. Ms. DeSanti is seeking re-election but Ms. Pucci is not. Two newcomers, Sarah Minardi and Jeffrey Erickson, are running for the seats.
In Amagansett, Dawn Rana-Brophy, a board member, is seeking re-election, and her only challenger so far is Mary A. Eames, a well-known board critic. The district’s search for a new superintendent to take over from Eleanor Tritt, who will retire at the end of June, also is underway.
Barbara Dayton, the president of the Springs School Board, is running for
re-election. Unless write-in candidates emerge before May 15, she will be uncontested.
In Bridgehampton, Ronald White, Lillian Tyree-Johnson, and Doug DeGroot’s seats are expiring this year and all three are running again. No candidates to oppose them had come forward at press time.
Lee White, a Montauk School Board member, is uncontested in running to retain his seat.
The Sag Harbor School Board has two openings since Susan Schaefer and Stephanie Bitis are at the end of their terms. Ms. Schaefer has declared herself a candidate for re-election while Ms. Bitis has declined. The only contender so far is Jordana Sobey.
There is a vacant seat in the Sagaponack School District as Joseph P. Louchheim, the board’s president, has declared himself unavailable after his term ends on June 30. His place will be filled by either Lauren Thayer or Diane Payne, the only two candidates thus far.
In Wainscott, Kelly Anderson will seek re-election and is, at least for the moment, uncontested.