Newburgh voters elect 3 new school board members, outing current president and trustee
President Carole Mineo and Trustee William Walker were swapped out for newcomers Deborah Bouley, Ramiro Burgarelli and Letitia Politi.
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There was a major upset this week to the balance of power on the Newburgh School Board now that their president and a trustee were voted out this week.
President Carole Mineo and Trustee William Walker were swapped out for newcomers Deborah Bouley, Ramiro Burgarelli and Letitia Politi.
Board member Ramona Burton previously resigned leaving her seat up for vote.
All three were endorsed by board member Darren Stridiron, who is now positioned to get the majority vote to become the next board president.
Stridiron has been vocal against alleged district corruption for years and what he says has been the mishandling of many issues – including a six-figure "golden parachute" exit deal for former Superintendent Roberto Padilla after he was accused of sexual harassment by two female district administrators.
Just last week, Stridiron spoke at a board meeting about his own district concerns, after he said his non-verbal autistic son was allegedly verbally and physically mistreated by a bus driver and aide.
“I think the newcomers will recognize we need to work with our community members, that we cannot ignore them,” said Stridiron. “There’s so many issues that need to be dealt with and we are going to try to deal with all of them to make sure that people that are hired to do a job are doing their job.”
Newburgh Enlarged School District Communications Specialist Cassie Skarlz told News the district is thankful to everyone who cast their vote and appreciates outgoing board members for their service.
“We are thankful for those who came out to cast their vote in support of the district. Running for the Board of Education displays a tremendous commitment to serve the children in our school district. We welcome newly elected trustees and look forward to those individuals joining our current Board members to continue the critical work of providing a quality education to all of our scholars. We would also like to thank outgoing Board members for their service," says Skarlz.
Incumbent Mark Levinstein was re-elected.
The board is expected to address several items before the new board convenes in July, including raises and contract extensions for several administrators at a public meeting on Tuesday.
