By Paul Shapiro
Five individuals declared their candidacy for the Hewlett-Woodmere school board. Marcy Goldberg, Jill Stern and Stephen B. Witt will run for re-election with Fred Usherson and Mitchell Greebel running for their first terms. The elections in Hewlett-Woodmere are at-large and thus the top three vote getters will attain seats on the board.
In Lawrence, four individuals are running, but as of press time Abel Feldhamer is running unopposed for Michael Hatten's current seat and current board member Uri Kaufman, John Kinder and Barry Ringelheim are all running for Kaufman's seat on the board.
Kinder filed incomplete paperwork and, according to multiple sources, meant to run for Hatten's seat. Per education law, nominating petitions must be filed in the office of the District Clerk no later than 30 days before the annual or special district meeting at which the school board election will occur and thus Kinder must remain on the ballot for Kaufman's seat.
Voters may cast a write-in vote for the candidate of their choice that is not on the ballot. Those currently on the ballot cannot receive write-in votes if their name appears on the machine as a nominated or designated candidate for the office or position in question, per election law.
The school budget vote and Board of Education elections will take place on May 19 from 7 to 10 p.m. in both districts. Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools' voting will be held solely at the Woodmere Education Center, at One Johnson Place in Woodmere. Lawrence has designated five sites for voting. They are Number Two School at 1 Donahue Avenue in Inwood, Number Six School at 523 Church Avenue in Woodmere, Lawrence Middle School at 195 Broadway in Lawrence, Lawrence High School at 2 Reilly Road in Cedarhurst and Atlantic Beach Village Hall.
Each Board of Education will hold an Annual Public Hearing, required by law, where it will discuss the expenditure of funds and the budgeting for the 2009-2010 school year. District 14's will take place on Wednesday, May 6, at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Woodmere Education Center. District 15's Board of Education will hold this hearing on Tuesday, May 5, at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Lawrence Middle School, followed by the Board of Education Work Session meeting.
A special Voter Registration Day for District 14 voters will be held on Tuesday, May 12, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Woodmere Education Center. Registration is also being conducted now through May 13 at Woodmere Education Center, school days, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Room 207. May 13 is the last day for citizens 18 and older to register for the District 14 elections.
Registration of voters not previously registered and eligible to vote in District 15 will take place until May 14 during regular school hours at the District Clerk's office at 195 Broadway in Lawrence. The final date to register for the 2009-2010 budget vote and election with the Board of Registration of the Lawrence School District is Thursday, May 14, at 11 a.m. in the office of the District Clerk. A special Voter Registration Day will take place on Wednesday, May 6, for District 15 voters between 4 and 8 p.m. at the designated five locations in the district for voting. Two forms of ID are required to register.
Absentee ballots may be obtained, at least seven days before the election, if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be picked up by the voter. Applications for absentee ballots may be applied for at the Office of the Clerk or by calling the Hewlett-Woodmere District Clerk at (516) 374-8100. Absentee ballot applications may also be obtained for the Lawrence School District from its Web site (lawrence.org) or by calling the Lawrence District Clerk (516) 295-7032.
