Schools
Longtime School Trustee Conklin Stepping Down
Her withdrawal opens a third slot on May ballot, none of which have yet to attract a candidate.
Trustee Sheila J. Conklin has resigned her school board seat, ending more than a decade’s service to the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns.
Her resignation, effective at the end of the current school year, will mean three candidates on the ballot when district residents vote May 21. In addition to replacing Conklin, who is stepping down with a year left in her term, voters will also fill the seats now held by Trustees Paul Rode and Vincent Nadile. Neither has said whether he will seek re-election to a three-year term.
Conklin’s announcement, at the start of the Thursday evening school board meeting, brought expressions of support from some of her fellow board members. “I’ve enjoyed the time with you,” said board President B. Joseph Lillis. “You’ve served the community well.”
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A longtime district resident, Conklin has put her now-empty nest in Philipse Manor on the market. Given the chance that her next home may be outside the district boundaries, she decided to step down. And by making her intentions known now, instead of waiting for her resignation’s effective date, Conklin empowers district residents to fill her term’s final year.
Conklin was herself initially appointed to the board, in 2002, but was subsequently elected to four consecutive three-year terms.
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In the Tarrytowns, residents elect a seven-member school board, with the trustees serving staggered three-year terms. Among other things, the board helps formulate, then adopts the annual operating budget, sets educational policy and appoints the superintendent who implements it.
“This is huge job that people volunteer for,” one Sleepy Hollow mother said. “They run what is effectively the biggest corporation in town.”
Candidates have until 5 p.m., April 22 to throw their hats in the ring. They have until 5 p.m. to file the paperwork, available now in the office of District Clerk Nelly Valentin or online by following this link (PDF attached).
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