The recent upward increase in voter turnout seen in last year’s Peekskill City School District election did not continue with this year’s election on Tuesday, May 20, likely affected by a race that was uncontested on the formal ballot.

Of 13,304 eligible voters, per Feb. 20, 2026 enrollment data,  364 people (2.73 percent) came to the polls to vote on the $138.8 million budget and elect two candidates to sit on the Peekskill Board of Education for three-year terms, starting in July.

The school district’s proposed 2026-27 budget of $138,870,733 passed with 319 votes in favor (88 percent) and 45 opposed (12 percent).

Elected to the board is incumbent Branwen MacDonald, the sole name printed on the formal ballot, and write-in candidate Hilda Kinga Portik-Gumbs. There were 59 names entered as write-in votes.

MacDonald received 317 ballot votes and Portik-Gumbs received 62 write-in votes. The two trustee seats up for re-election were MacDonald and Amy Vele, who did not run for re-election.

Board of Education President Jillian Villon announced the votes at the Board of Education meeting at 11:19 p.m. on May 20, following polls closing at 9 p.m. Votes were double checked for the sake of accuracy.

“I want to thank everyone for coming out to vote,” Villon said. “We always appreciate it. We may stay late but we’re always open to getting more votes. So, come on out, talk to our board for anything. We’re really excited to have our budget and to see where we go next year with it, so thank you all.”

Zero Percent Tax Increase

There is a zero percent increase in the tax levy under the Peekskill City School District’s 2026-27 budget of $138.9 million. The budget is 5.41 percent higher than last school year’s budget of $131.7 million.

The proposed tax cap is 0.01 percent. The homeowners’ impact is a monthly decrease of $3.34 and an annual decrease of $40.14.

Of the $138.8 million budget, 9 percent goes to administrative, 14 percent to capital, and 77 percent to program.

For the administrative component, the fiscal agent fee (administrative charge to accounting firm) increased 71.4 percent, to $96,000 from $56,000, due to the school district undertaking several capital projects and requiring advisors to assist with the borrowing process for projects to be completed. Insurance also saw a 26 percent increase, to $791,995 from $626,963, due to an increase in the cost of insurance to cover school district needs.

For the capital component, the biggest increase came from the interfund transfer capital. It increased 30 percent, to $650,000 from $500,000. The fund is for a flooring replacement and abatement project at Uriah Hill, Oakside Elementary School, and Peekskill High School.

For the program component, one increase is occupational education, to $1.9 million from $1.7 million, for the district’s program at BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Services ) for secondary level. One decrease is the school library and audio visual, to $829,719 from $986,850.

The budget by object is 67.98 percent salaries and benefits, 9.88 percent contractual, 9.21 percent BOCES, 5.76 percent interfund transfers, 4.54 percent tuition, 1.47 percent materials and supplies, 0.74 percent textbooks and 0.41 percent equipment.

For revenue, the district estimates a 6.57 percent increase in state aid at $79,549,857, a 16.8 percent increase in other revenue, at $10,583,742, and a 35.13 percent increase in assigned fund balance, at $2,702,657. Revenue projection is 57 percent state aid, 33 percent tax levy, and 10 percent other.

Incumbent and Newcomer Elected to Board

The two open seats on the Board of Education will be filled by incumbent Branwen MacDonald and newcomer Hilda Kinga Portik-Gumbs, who amassed the most write-in votes. 

Following the results of the election, the Peekskill Herald asked the electees for comment.

“I’m grateful to [voters] for their confidence and I’m looking forward to all of us working together as a community over the next three years to work through our goals in the Peekskill community together,” MacDonald said. “And I’m very grateful to them for passing the budget because that’s really what allows us to do it for them.”

MacDonald, a former president of the board, has been a trustee since 2017. She has volunteered on the Citizens’ School Budget Committee and is a founding member of Peekskill Community Schools, a group dedicated to strengthening Peekskill schools through statewide and local advocacy.

When McDonald first joined the school board, it was in the midst of a superintendent’s search, hiring Dr. David Mauricio, who recently announced his retirement, effective Dec. 31, 2026.

“I’m looking forward to, unfortunately, finding Dr. Mauricio’s successor,” MacDonald said. “We will miss him. He started a lot of good work so I’m looking forward to building on that. And I’m also really looking forward to all of the new programming we’re going to be able to add with our capital projects that we’ll start rolling out. We’ll have new spaces and that’s going to be new programming for our students.”

Portik-Gumbs is a registered dietitian and mother of two kids, including a son in Peekskill Middle School and a daughter about to graduate middle school and enter high school. She has lived in Peekskill the past 13 years. She previously ran for a seat on the board unsuccessfully in 2025.

“The results of yesterday’s election is a great example of not allowing past failures or rejections keep us from trying just one more time,” Portik-Gumbs said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful for this community and to the people of Peekskill who entrusted me with their votes. I am honored to be part of a board whose mission has been, and I know it will continue to be, the improvement of our schools and the support of our students and their families.”

Portik-Gumbs said her mission is to cultivate the partnership between parents, teachers and students to continue on building a school district where students’ lives are better, safer, and are prepared for the “big world.”

“I believe that it is important to ensure we make our schools environmentally efficient, (I.e by installing solar panels, ensuring comfortable class rooms), safe, and that we enhance academic learning like continued STEAM opportunities or as mentioned prior, by providing nutritious meals for the students.”

Portik-Gumbs continued, “I am a parent and a human being before I am a board member, I know there will be mistakes made and I ask for your patience as we know it takes a village to bring on changes. We live in a scary world, where so much uncertainty engulfs our daily lives, but I believe in the greater good and I choose to believe that when we reach high together we can move mountains.”

Compared to the 2026 turnout of 364 voters (2.73 percent of eligible voters),  the voter turnout in 2025 was 455 (3.1 percent of eligible voters) and in 2024 the voter turnout was 382 (3.05 percent of eligible voters).