Bedford, Chappaqua School Budget Results

Bedford's school budget failed to be approved by a 60 percent majority of voters.

The vote was 2,597 yes to 1,821 no -- so 59 percent of the voters approved it -- but the school board needed a supermajority because the spending plan required an increase in the tax levy that would have been over the state-mandated tax cap.

Many parents and teachers had protested the budget because it wasn't high enough. Officials asked voters to approve spending $129,654,885 in 2016-17, up 1.93 percent from this year, which called for a tax levy increase of 3.8 percent. The district was looking at an $8 million budget gap when officials began crafting plans for next year.

In Chappaqua, where the budget proposal was under the tax cap, voters passed the plan handily with a decent turnout including 14 absentee ballots. (Seven affidavit votes remain to be counted.)

Warren Messner and Jeffrey Mester were re-elected to the school board.

• Messner: 928
• Mester: 880
• Kaufman: 649

The Chappaqua school budget for 2016-17, $118,225,288, was just 0.27 percent higher than current spending.

The Chappaqua Library budget was also approved, 1,211 yesses to 188 noes.

In a crowded race for library trustee, with one full term open as well as the remainder of a second term, here is the vote count from the district clerk:

• 170 votes – Jennifer Lem
• 343 votes – Audrey Brooks
• 132 votes – Dishat Hydari
• 298 votes – Richard Ma
• 169 votes – Paige Nesis
• 320 votes – Leslie M. Wertheim
• 577 votes – Pamela J. Wright