Clarkstown Picks New School Trustees: Election 2024

CLARKSTOWN, NY — Clarkstown school district residents approved a 2024-25 school budget on Tuesday and elected three trustees to the Board of Education.

The $253,179,418 million proposed budget was approved with 72 percent of the vote. The budget is a 4.03 percent spending increase over the current year and it comes with a 2.69 percent hike in the school tax levy. That is within the state's tax cap for the district so the budget only needed to be approved by a majority vote.

Six people ran for three seats on the Clarkstown school board. Trustees Christine Alia, Tamara (Tammy) Bierker and Irene Tagaris sought re-election. The challengers are Yelena Glukhova, Dana Gropper and Jason Bass.

Trustee Tamara Bierker, Yelena Glukhova and Jason Bass, who ran as a team on a "parental rights" platform, defeated trustees Christine Alia and Irene Tagaris and Dana Gropper, who ran as a slate, according to the announcement by district officials.

Clarkstown continues to be a local battleground for the national culture wars. While the school board election in 2022 focused on acronyms like CRT (critical race theory) and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), this year's focused on accommodations for students who are LGBTQ+. The campaign was marked by vitriol, particularly on social media.

Opponents called for the policy adopted in December on accommodations to be repealed and its proponents removed from the school board. Counsel for the New York State Board of Education issued a formal opinion last week explaining that whether a policy existed locally, state and federal law required such accommodations.

Board of Education

Unofficial results from The Journal News:

• Christine Alia: 2,301
• Jason Bass: 3,250
• Tamara (Tammy) Bierker: 3,440
• Yelena Glukhova: 3,113
• Dana Gropper: 2,256
• Irene Tagaris: 2,337

District spending

Budget proposed for 2024-25: $253,179,418

Yes: 4, 234
No: 1,623

Proposition authorizing the district to spend $1.198 million out of the School District’s Capital Reserve Fund 2018 and to expend $817,461 out of the School District’s Capital Reserve Fund 2020

Yes: 4,611

No: 1,218