By JUDY RATTNER and TIFFANY RAZZANO
Rockville Centre School District voters elected South Hempstead resident Doreen Cordova to a three-year term on the Board of Education in Tuesday's election.
Cordova, who was excited about her victory, will fill the seat Meg Koch will vacate at the end of June. In unofficial results Tuesday night, Cordova garnered 1,676 votes, 200 more than opponent Mary Koppinger.
"I felt great going in," Cordova said. "... I had a late start - I only had four weeks to pull it all together. My family and friends were amazing."
The school spending plan was approved with 1,781 votes; 1,538 residents voted against it. "My thanks again to the community for supporting its children, its schools and the many opportunities we provide to them," said school superintendent Dr. William Johnson.
The library's budget also passed, 1,932 to 1,125.
District clerk Cynthia Geones said that 3,373 residents voted, substantially fewer than last year, when more than 4,500 turned out.
The school budget totals just under $85 million, $4.2 million more than the current spending plan. The library budget is just over $2.9 million, an increase of nearly $133,000. "It's a tough choice," resident Maryann Norwood said Tuesday afternoon. "I feel like I have to vote yes, but to be honest with you, the taxes get higher and our income doesn't."
Voters also re-elected library board Trustee April Wexler with 1,939 votes. With 28 write-in votes, Charles Kelleher, a member of the library's Strategic Planning Committee, will fill the board's open position. "He probably knows the library better than most people in the community," said library Director Maureen Chiofalo.
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