By Jeanne Sager
SULLIVAN COUNTY — May 18, 2007 — The tallies are complete, and every school district in Sullivan County has a budget.
Voters in all eight districts gave the OK to expend the amounts proposed by their respective board of education.
The only proposition on the ballots to fall short of acceptance was a request by Livingston Manor Central School to spend $91,800 on buses for the pre-kindergarten program.
The mid-day vans and monitors would have bumped the district budget by 1.4 percent, but 158 voters said “no,” with only 107 giving their approval.
In Sullivan West, the budget was approved on the first go-round, but voters made clear their desire to see change.
After last year’s closing of the Delaware Valley and Narrowsburg elementary schools sent angry voters to the polls to elect a slate set on reforming the district, there was a reversal this week.
Former board president Richard Sandler, ousted last year by his reform opponent Noel van Swol, regained his seat, as did running mates Ken Cohen and Richard Tegnander.
They beat out opponents Geoffrey Gangel, Tom Prendergast and incumbent Shawn Bailey – all of whom had the backing of Board President Art Norden and van Swol – and Ken Uy.
But the three will still be a minority on the Sullivan West Board where Norden, van Swol, Rose Crotty, Shaun Sensiba and Jennifer Mann usually vote along the same lines.
Sullivan West wasn’t the only district where incumbents got the boot.
One-time Livingston Manor Board President Allen Clark Sr. lost his bid for re-election by a 43 vote margin to newcomer Elaine Lutz.
Barbara Strauss, a member of the Fallsburg board, lost her seat by just 5 votes to Robert Whitaker.
The breakdown, district by district, vote by vote
Results are official:
Eldred
Budget – 273 yes, 148 no; continued support of Sunshine Hall Free Library proposition – 282 yes, 134 no;
Board seats – Doug Reiser, 314.
Fallsburg
Budget – 380 yes, 205 no;
Board seats – Richard Whitaker 310, *Barbara Strauss 305; Valerie Sitz-Mahmoud 176, Arlene Hussy 362; Martin Woodard 88; *Michael Zalkin 340, Philip Borko 270.
Liberty
Budget – 364 yes, 132 no; capital reserve fund proposition – 371 yes, 130 no;
Board seats – * Joyce Teed 424, *Dr. Philip Olsen 363, Andrew Kavleski 337, Glenn Ramirez 255.
Livingston Manor
Budget – 191 yes, 74 no; Livingston Manor Free Library budget proposition – 167 yes, 97 no; capital reserve fund proposition – 199 yes, 66 no; pre-K busing proposition 107 yes, 158 no;
Board seat – *Allen Clark Sr. 102, Elaine Lutz 145.
Monticello
Budget – 847 yes, 580 no; purchase of school buses proposition – 829 yes, 579 no; EXCEL Aid proposition – 875 yes, 527 no.
Board seats – *Richard Feller 947; *Liza Glick 883; Yvonne Housman 651, Vincent Gilmore 463.
Roscoe
Budget – 111 yes, 42 no; Roscoe Free Library proposition – 111 yes, 54 no;
Board seat – *Gary Dahlman 143.
Sullivan West
Budget – 1,008 yes, 620 no. * Shawn Bailey 804, Ken Cohen 1,038; Tom Prendergast 752, Richard Tegnander 1,072; Geoffrey Gangel 642, Richard Sandler 902, Ken Uy 318.
Tri-Valley
Budget – 361 yes, 215 no;
Board seats – *Wanda Terwilliger, 419; *Tom Yager 404, *Michael Ryan 437.