On Tuesday, May 21, the Hendrick Hudson community will vote on the annual school budget for the 2024 – 2025 fiscal year and elect two new Board of Education trustees to three- year terms to fill the seats being vacated at the end of June by current president, Alexis Bernard and trustee, Jennifer Bakker. The vote will take place from 7 am to 9 pm at Frank G. Lindsey Elementary School Gym located at 57 Trolley Road, Montrose.
Five candidates vying for the two seats are Cori Boudin, Christine Jacknick, Joseph Mintz, Devys Rivera, and Lauren Stanco. The Hendrick Hudson School District website has a dedicated page that hosts each candidate’s information as submitted by the candidates.
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Cori Boudin received 741 votes.
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I’m Dr. Chris Jacknick, Buchanan resident, and parent of children attending BV and FGL. As a lifelong educator and the daughter of schoolteachers, I’m passionate about building a strong district that values teachers and fosters our students’ growth. I earned my MA, EdM, and EdD from Columbia University, and I’m a professor at the City University of New York. With my experience teaching and researching classrooms, I will bring a fresh, evidence-based perspective to the board. We need long-term investments in our teachers and our schools, while minimizing the financial burden on taxpayers. I’m committed to establishing community-driven, consensus-based budget priorities, and bringing transparency to the process. Open communication and collaboration are essential. I’ll advocate for greater transparency and engage with stakeholders to build trust in our leadership. When schools partner with families and community, students benefit.
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Enterprising urban farmers got the green light to till the soil on city-owned land and turn plot in Lepore Park on Main Street into a garden which will provide food for hungry residents and local restaurants.
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Devys Rivera dedicates herself to any task she undertakes, always looking to work smarter and consistently strives to build consensus with her colleagues. Devys will bring her immense professional experience as an IT Director, overseeing the daily operations of two hospitals to the Board. This experience includes crafting and managing budgets, implementing policy, contract management and promoting seamless operations across multiple departments. Devys understands the value of education, earning her B.A. in Psychology, her M.S. in Information Technology and her Ph.D. in Psychology. As a result, her vision for Hendrick Hudson Schools is simple: work tirelessly to deliver quality education for our children and provide them with every opportunity to succeed long after they leave Hendrick Hudson High School. Devys will listen, collaborate with stakeholders, ask tough questions and commit herself to the best interests of our students, taxpayers and faculty.
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Lauren Stanco was the top vote getter with 815 ballots cast.
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The Hendrick Hudson PTA Advocacy Committee hosted a Board of Education Candidate Forum on May 9th. All five candidates introduced themselves and responded to a series of questions submitted by the community then reviewed, sorted and compiled by the PTA Advocacy Committee. That two- hour forum was filmed, archived and is available for viewing on the Stream HHCSD YouTube Channel.
The Hendrick Hudson Central School District is governed by a seven- member Board of Trustees including a President and Vice President selected by the board at their organizational meeting in July. The incumbent board members who will be working alongside the two new trustees starting July 1 are Jeremy Basso (2022 – 2025), Tomica Dietrich (2023 – 2026), Stephanie Hickey (2022 – 2025), Erica Mills (2022 – 2025, Current Vice President), and Amelia Silverman (2023 – 2026).
The proposed budget for the 2024 – 2025 school year is $93,059,145, which translates to an increase of 5.7 percent over last year’s budget. This budget will maintain all curriculum and instructional programs as well as extra-curricular programs, such as athletics, arts and clubs. For a detailed breakdown of the proposal, the 2024 – 2025 Budget Book is available online. The 2024 – 2025 School district budget will appear on the ballot as Proposition 1.
There are a total of six Propositions on the ballot – with the first one being the district budget and the election of two new Board of Education trustees. Proposition 2 is a proposed $30 million bond to fund capital improvement projects across all schools. Proposition 3 is for the creation of the Energy System Tax Stabilization Reserve Fund. The district also seeks to purchase three school bus-vans and related equipment, one school bus and related equipment, and one heavy-duty truck, which is the Proposition 4 vote. The 2024 – 2025 budget for the Hendrick Hudson Free Library will be listed as Proposition 5 and is detailed on their website here.
For complete details on voting in this election refer to the district website. To read the 2024 budget issue of Hendrick Hudson District Soundings newsletter, there is a version online located here.
