Nine candidates running for three seats in Shen school board race
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » Voters in the Shenendehowa School District going to the polls on May 18 to cast their votes on the district’s 20212022 budget will be given the opportunity to make their positions known on three other proposals.
In addition to next year’s budget (Proposal No. 1), voters can vote on whether to purchase 17 new buses (Proposal No. 2), move forward with a $26.5 million Capital Project (Proposal No. 3), and select three candidates to represent them on the Board of Education (Proposal No. 4).
There are three seats up for election on Shen’s school board this year.
Two seats carry a full three-year term while one seat carries a one-year term due to the untimely death of a board member. The two candidates with the greatest number of votes will get the seats with three-year terms. The candidate with the third greatest number of votes will get the seat with the two-year term.
Nine candidates submitted petitions for candidacy with the required number of signatures as of the April 19 end date.
Jason DiGianni, of Clifton Park, is presently a Board of Education member having been appointed by board members to fill one of two empty seats in February. He is seeking his first elective term. DiGianni earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University at Albany in political science. He is employed as director of procurement at the state Division of the Budget. He and his spouse have two children who attend Shen schools.
Joseph Weber, of Clifton Park, is presently a Board of Education member having been appointed by board members to fill an empty seat in February. He is seeking his first elective term on the board. Weber holds an undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross in economics and a graduate degree in business administration from Clark University. Weber is employed as an associate manager at Public Consulting Group, LLC. He and his spouse have three children, two who attend Shen schools and one who will attend in the fall of 2022.
Meghan Chapin, of Ballston Lake, is seeking her first term on the Board of Education. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in public administration from Rockefeller College. Chapin is employed as a management consultant at KPMG LLP. She and her spouse have three children, all of whom attend Shen schools.
Ram Lalukota, of Clifton Park, is seeking his first term on the Board of Education. He holds an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from CBIT Hyderabad INDIA and is employed at SHRUTHI-SOFT, LLC / NYS ITS as an IT consultant. He and his wife have two children attending Shen schools.
Alfred Ives, of Clifton Park, is seeking his first term on the Board of Edu
cation. He holds an undergraduate degree in chemistry and computer science from the College of St. Rose and a graduate degree with a concentration in information security from SUNY Albany.Ives is employed at the NYS Office of the State Comptroller. He and his wife have one child who attends Shen schools.
Stacey Pflomm, of Mechanicville, is seeking her first term on the Board of Education. She holds an undergraduate degree from SUNY Geneseo and a graduate degree from Binghamton University with majors in Italian and secondary education and certification in Spanish. Pflomm is a stayat-home mom. She and her spouse have two children who attend Shen schools.
Robert Pressly, of Rexford, is a past president of the Shen Board of Education and is seeking his third term on the board. He has an undergraduate degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and a graduate degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma. Pressly is employed as a commercial manager at Momentive Performance Materials and retired as a colonel from the US Marine Corps Reserve. He and his spouse have two children who attend Shen schools.
Tom Templeton, of Clifton Park, is seeking his first term on the Board of Education. He holds an undergraduate degree in history and psychology from Siena College and a graduate degree in science in education and community mental health counseling from The College of Saint Rose.
He is the owner and a psychotherapist at Templeton Mental Health Counseling, PLLC. He and his wife have two children.
Kara Tubbs, of Clifton Park, is seeking her first term on the Board of Education. She holds an undergraduate degree in political science and a graduate degree in education administration from the University at Albany. Tubbs is a parttime teacher at Shen Methodist Preschool and a parttime registrar at Saratoga Hospital. She and her spouse have two children in Shen schools.
Proposition No. 2 on the ballot is a $1.76 mil- lion prop- osition to purchase 17 school buses to update the fleet. Approximately 60 percent of the expenditure is expected to be reimbursed by state transportation aid.
Proposition No. 3 on the ballot is a $26.5 million capital project to address repairs and strategic enhancements. In a statement, Shen officials said the district intends to use $2.5 million in Capital Reserves to offset the impact to taxpayers. With district reserve funds, declining debt service, and approximately 69.6 percent reimbursement by New state building aid it is estimated that the tax impact of this project will be approximately $0.046 (less than a nickel) per thousand of tax assessed value per year over 17 years.
The vote will be held from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 18 in the Gowana Gym. Absentee ballots are available at the district office by calling the district clerk at 881-0623.
One is eli- gible to vote if they are a U.S. citizen, 18 years or older and have been a Shenendehowa School District resident for at least 30 days prior to the vote. No preregistration is required but official personal identification with photo is required at the polls.