Last-Minute Write-in Campaign for Clarkstown School Board

An expensive last-minute write-in campaign for Wendy Adolff, a Clarkstown school trustee who had said she didn't want to seek another term on the Board of Education, has local residents flummoxed.

According to Rockland Voice, the campaign, which started yesterday, was done by JA Media, which is owned by Joseph Gravagna of Suffern.

Lots of commenters on the Clarkstown-What They Don't Want You to Know Facebook page said they had received calls.

Under New York State school law, the system is that candidates for school board file nominating petitions and campaign finance disclosure forms.

Here are details from the New York State School Boards Association.

Eligibility Requirements

Generally, 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 (as little as 30 days or as long as three years in some city school districts) before the election. They cannot be employed by the board on which they will serve or live in the same household with a family member who is also a member of the same school board.

Nominating Petitions

The requirements for filing nominating petitions for a school board vary depending upon the type of school district. Generally, candidates must submit a nominating petition to the school 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. In small city school districts, nominating petitions must be signed by at least 100 qualified voters.

The petition must include the following:

• • Candidate’s name and residence
  • Vacancy in question
  • Incumbent’s name (if any)
  • Residences of the persons who signed the petition
  • Length of the term of office for which the candidate is being nominated

Blank petitions are often available from the district clerk. If a school district runs for seats “at large” such that each nominee is eligible for each vacancy, the nominating petition does not need to identify the specific incumbent’s seat the nominee is seeking. This petition must be filed with the district clerk at least 30 days (20 days in small city districts) before the election meeting, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. In 2016 nominating petitions in small city school districts must be filed by April 27th, in other districts nominating petitions must be filed by April 18th.

Campaigning

Once the petition is filed, the next step is to gather support. State law requires all candidates for election to a board of education to file a sworn statement with the district clerk disclosing their campaign expenses. Statements must be filed at three different times during the election period. If expenditures made by the candidate or by others on the candidate’s behalf exceed $500, a statement also should be filed with the commissioner of education. Expenditures of not more than $25 may be made without the candidate’s permission if the donor or donors file a sworn statement with the clerk and the commissioner stating that the candidate did not approve the expenditure. Details concerning these requirements may be obtained from your district clerk or from the Performance Improvement and Management Services (PIMS) and Chief Financial Office (CFO), New York State Education Department, Albany, NY 12234.

SCREENGRAB: from the Clarkstown Board of Education photo