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School budget passes; Board of Ed adds new members

In a vote count that went more than an hour over the expected time, the Shelter Island School District got a resounding vote of confidence on Tuesday, June 16. When the votes had completed a triple counting, the 2020-2021 budget had passed, 647 to 193.

The three candidates for the Board of Education were elected, with the following votes:

Robert Strauss: 734 votes

Dawn Hedberg: 719 votes

Tracy McCarthy: 716 votes

Mr. Strauss and Ms. Hedberg were elected to fill vacant seats; Ms. McCarthy was re-elected to her current seat on the board.

There were two propositions on the ballot, in addition to the budget. Proposition Number Two, to approve a Repair and Reserve Fund of no more than $3.5 million, passed 696 to 141. Proposition Number Three, to approve spending $161,000 from Capital Reserve for science classroom labs, passed 772 to 70.

Superintendent Brian Doelger, Ed.D., thanked District Clerk Jacki Dunning for administering the absentee ballots so effectively. “I believe this is the largest amount of votes cast in our history,” he said.