Pleasantville School Board Decided by 13 Votes; Budget Passes

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. ? Larry Boes and Emily Rubin Persons were elected to three-year terms on the Pleasantville Union Free School District's Board of Education after finishing as the top vote-getters in a three-person race for two seats.

Boes received 1,085 votes, and Persons got 769 votes. Tara Klein finished third with 756 votes.

"There's obviously a lot of hard work that still has be done over the next few years, and I look forward to participating in that process," Boes said. "I want to thank Tara and Emily, as well, for running along with me."

He is a 12-year resident of Pleasantville and is executive vice president and senior counsel for Kensington Vanguard National Land Services. Boes has two children in the district, both currently attending Bedford Road School.

Boes, who has volunteered with youth sports programs in the community for six years, said serving on the Board of Education would be a way for him to give back on a bigger scale. 

Persons is a 15-year resident of Pleasantville who currently has one son in each of the district's three schools. Persons, who works as an importer and wholesaler of retail items, said she decided to run for the Board of Education because she believes her communication skills can be valuable in opening up dialogue among parents, teachers and administrators.

The $45,300,311 budget for the 2012-13 school year was passed by residents of the district Tuesday with 69 percent of the vote. The vote count was 1,018 to 460.

"I am very grateful to this community for its overwhelming support for the 2012-13 school year budget," said Superintendent Mary Fox-Alter. "We know that these are difficult financial times, but this vote of approval gives us the resources to continue to deliver quality education to our students."

The budget, which falls within the state-mandated 2 percent cap, includes a tax levy of $32,923,844, an increase of 1.71 percent from the previous year. With exemptions from New York State, Pleasantville could have raised its levy as much as 2.57 percent. Under the adopted budget, the tax rate would increase from $1,337 to $1,361 per $1,000 assessment, an increase of $24 or 1.81 percent.

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