Southeast-Brewster Patch School District Voters Guide

Editor's Note: The deadline for school districts to receive school budget ballots has been extended. Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order Sunday saying the ballots can be accepted by hand delivery through 5 p.m. Tuesday or received by mail through June 16 by the school district. SEE: Cuomo Extends Deadline For Mail-In School Budget Ballots

BREWSTER, NY — New York residents are asked to vote on their local school district's budget and board of education by mail this year because of the new coronavirus pandemic.

That meant New York's 700 districts ordered absentee ballots and envelopes for every registered voter. That meant that problems such as the paper shortage plaguing communities during the beginning of the pandemic became problems for the districts.

Under Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order, ballots must be returned to the District Clerk by 5 p.m. June 9 though some political officials are trying to have the deadline extended.

Here are fast facts about the ballot in Brewster.

School District

Voting information

District officials have made arrangements to allow residents to drop-off their absentee ballots using a secure box located at the District Office, located at 30 Farm To Market Road, on the following days:

• Saturday, June 6th from 8 a.m. to noon
• Sunday, June 7th from 8 a.m. to noon
• Monday, June 8th from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 9th from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.

According to the Executive Order, ballots received after 5 p.m. on Tuesday cannot be counted. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that residents utilize the drop-off option to ensure their ballots are received and counted. In order to ensure the integrity of the budget vote process, the Drop Boxes will be monitored by District employees, Putnam County Sheriffs, and video surveillance.

Board of Education

There are three candidates running for two seats on the Board of Education: School trustees serve three year terms and are unpaid.

• Kerry F. Cunningham (incumbent)
• Glenn Niles (incumbent)
• Francine Santos

School budget

• Proposed for 2020-21: $103,981,692
• Increase over current spending: 2.91 percent
• Tax levy increase: 1.48 percent

Proposition 2

• Approval to spend $730,000 for school buses

SEE:

• An Update Regarding School Budget Vote Ballots
• Brewster Sets Hearing On $103.9 Million School Budget For 2020-21