Legal Notice of 2020 Vote & Election

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING, BUDGET VOTE AND ELECTION – COVID-19 UPDATE 2020

Posted on May 11, 2020

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a public hearing of the qualified voters of the Chatham Central School District will be  held May 26, 2020. Copies of the budget and the text of any proposition that will be presented to the voters will be available for review by any qualified voter beginning the day after the Budget Hearing as requested by email to the District Clerk, Deborah Pottenburgh, at pottenburghd@chatham.k12.ny.us.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the annual meeting of the qualified voters of the Chatham Central School District will be held on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, to vote by absentee ballot exclusively upon the following items:

1. To adopt the annual budget of the Chatham Central School District for the fiscal year 2020-2021 and to authorize the requisite portion therefore to be raised by taxation on the taxable property on the District.

2. To adopt the following proposition:

PROPOSITION II: REDUCE NUMBER OF BOARD MEMBERS
Shall the number of members of the Chatham Central School District Board of Education be decreased from a nine (9) to seven (7), starting with 2021-22 school year, in accordance with the following schedule:
2021-22 – one member to be elected for a three year term
2022-23 – three members to be elected, two for three year terms and one for a two year term.
2023-24 – three members to be elected for three year terms
2024-25 – two members to be elected for three year terms
2025-26 – two members to be elected for three year terms

3. To elect three (3) members of the Board of Education for a three (3) year term each, commencing July 1, 2020 and expiring on June 30, 2023, to succeed Rachel Galvin, Matthew Fisch, and Patricia Wilson.

4. To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting pursuant to the Education Law of the State of New York.

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a copy of the statement of the amount of money which will be required to fund the School District’s budget for the 2020-2021 school year, exclusive of public monies, may be obtained by any taxpayer in the District during the fourteen (14) days immediately preceding June 9, 2020 via email request to the District Clerk Deborah Pottenburgh, at pottenburghd@chatham.k12.ny.us.

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that petitions nominating candidates for the office of member of the Board of Education to fill three (3) expired terms of three (3) years each shall be received by the District Clerk at 50 Woodbridge Avenue, Chatham, New York, or by email to pottenburghd@chatham.k12.ny.us not later than May 11, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Each petition shall be directed to the District Clerk and must state the full name and residence of the candidate (signatures arenot required for the petition to be deemed valid, pursuant to Executive Order 202.26). All candidates who submitted valid petitions shall appear on the ballot in alphabetical order. A copy of such petition and information packet, may be obtained by email request to the District Clerk.

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the qualified voters of the School District shall be entitled to vote in said annual vote and election by absentee ballot exclusively due to the prevalence and community spread of COVID-19, that the potential for contraction of the COVID-19 virus shall be deemed temporary illness for all qualified voters. All qualified voters shall receive an absentee ballot with a postage paid return envelope. Completed ballots must be mailed and received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. A qualified voter is one who is (1) a citizen of the United States of America, (2) eighteen (18) years of age or older, and (3) resident within the School District for a period of thirty (30) days preceding the annual vote and election. If a resident of the District meets the definition of a “qualified voter” but does not believe he/she will be on the District’s registered voter list please contact the District Clerk by email at pottenburghd@chatham.k12.ny.us as soon as possible to ensure timely receipt of the absentee ballot for the annual meeting/election. The Education Law makes special provisions for absentee voting by “permanently disabled” voters of the District and any questions regarding these rights should be directed to the Clerk of the Board. All completed ballots shall be mailed to the Office of the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on June 9, 2020.

The Education Law also makes special provisions for absentee voting for “military” voters of the District. Specifically, the law provides a unique procedure for “military ballots” in school district votes. Whereas absentee ballots must be received by the voter by mail, a military voter may elect to receive his/her absentee ballot application and absentee ballot by mail, email or facsimile. The military voter must, however, return his/her original military ballot application and military ballot by mail or in person. The Clerk of the Board shall transmit the military voter’s military ballot in accord with the military voter’s preferred method of transmission not later than May 15, 2020. The Clerk of the Board must then receive the military voter’s military ballot by mail not later than 5:00 p.m. on the day of the vote.

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to §2014 of the Education Law or pursuant to Article 5 of the Election Law the School District provides personal registration of all voters at school meetings or elections. If a voter has already registered pursuant to the Education Law and has voted at an annual or special district meeting within the last four (4) calendar years, he or she is eligible to vote at this election; if a voter is registered and eligible to vote under Article 5 of the Election Law, he or she is also eligible to vote at this election. All other persons who wish to vote must register. The Board of Registration will meet for the purpose of registering all qualified voters of the District pursuant to the Education Law at the Mary E. Dardess Elementary school building on Wednesday May 20, 2020 between the hours 3:00-7:00 p.m., prevailing time, at which time any person will be entitled to have his or her name placed on such Register, provided that at such meeting of the Board of Registration he or she is known or proven to the satisfaction of said Board of Registration to be then or thereafter entitled to vote at such election for which the register is prepared. The register so prepared pursuant to §2014 of the Education Law will be filed in the Office of the Superintendent of Schools at the School District (and will be open for inspection by any qualified voter of the School District five days prior to and the said day of meeting, except Sunday, starting on Wednesday, June 3 by appointment with the District Clerk Deborah Pottenburgh by email at, pottenburghd@chatham.k12.ny.us or by phone 518-392-1501.

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a rule adopted by the Board of Education in accordance with Education Law §§ 2035, 2008, any referenda or propositions to amend the budget, or otherwise to be submitted for voting at said election, must be filed with and directed to the District Clerk at the District Office, on or before May 8, 2020; must be typed or printed in the English language. However, the Board of Education will not entertain or place before the voters any petition orany proposition if its purpose is beyond the power of the voters or is illegal, or any proposition requiring the expenditure of monies which fails to include specific appropriations for all such expenditures required by the proposition.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CHATHAM CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, COUNTY OF COLUMBIA, STATE OF NEW YORK.
Deborah Pottenburgh
District Clerk

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