Nyack Picks New School Trustees: Election 2024

NYACK, NY — Nyack school district residents approved a 2024-25 school budget on Tuesday, elected two new trustees to the Board of Education and OK'd two propositions for capital projects.

The $107 million proposed budget was approved with 80 percent of the vote. The budget comes with a 2.0 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.

Four people ran for two open seats on the Nyack Board of Education: Elaine Pilhower, Violet Merjanian, Scott Nappi and Bryan Burrell.

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Opponents called for the policy adopted in December on accommodations to be repealed and its proponents removed from the school board.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.

Unofficial results from the District Clerk:

Board of Education

Four candidates ran for two seats. There were 468 write-in votes, according to district officials.

• Elaine Pilhower: 935
• Violet Merjanian: 624
• Scott Nappi: 337
• Bryan Burrell: 672

District spending

Budget proposed for 2024-25: $106,980,784

Yes: 1,221

No: 291

Proposition 2 sought voter approval to expend funds from Capital Reserve 2015 in the amount of $8,811,000 for two previously approved projects.

Yes: 1,372

No: 229

Proposition 3 asked voters to approve a new Capital Reserve fund into which up to $10 million could be deposited over a 10-year period to fund all or part of the costs of future capital improvements.

Yes: 1,305

No: 288