School budget passes, Bodnar elected

Perry Bodnar, left, met with District Clerk Carol Butler, who announced his victory in the school board election minutes earlier on Tuesday night.

Ben Strack/Herald

Board of Education Vice President Stewart Mininsky, right, called the election results “bitter sweet,” as he commended Lester's service to the board and welcomed Bodnar to the elected body.

Ben Strack/Herald

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By a count of 1,833 votes to 856, residents overwhelmingly approved the Long Beach School District’s $135 million budget for 2016-17 on Tuesday.

Additionally, high school science teacher Perry Bodnar defeated incumbent Roy Lester, who had occupied a seat on the board on and off since 1999 and was elected the body’s president for the third time last July. Bodnar garnered 1,622 votes while Lester received 1,199.

“Congratulations to Perry Bodnar for his election to the Board of Education,” Schools Superintendent David Weiss said in a statement. “Thank you to all who participated and expressed an interest in the budget process. We appreciate the value that this community places on education and believe that this budget will help to ensure the continued success of our students and programs.”

On the heels of controversial issues plaguing the district, including teacher abuse allegations at the middle school and subsequent litigation, change orders on capital projects and the federal government’s audit of the schools for its use of Federal Emergency Management Agency funds, many residents were calling for a change in leadership.

Voters turned out strong for Bodnar, who ran on a platform of giving a voice to children and bringing more accountability to the district. He joins Dr. Dennis Ryan as the only other educator on the board, and pledged to create a more therapeutic environment for students and provide vocational programs for high schoolers who may choose a path other than college.

“It was a large victory, hard-fought, and the most amazing part about the victory was the number of new voters that came out,” said Bodnar, who has worked in the district for 30 years and is retiring next month. “A lot of former students, we figure well over 200, came out and voted who never voted before, so children spoke, students spoke, the community spoke, and now it’s time to move forward.”