Goodermote And Fiske Elected To BCS Board

by Thaddeus Flint
Voters in the Berlin Central School District Tuesday re-elected School Board President Gina Goodermote, and voted out Board Member Rachel Finney of Stephentown, replacing her with Katie Fiske of Petersburgh. The budget and two resolutions all passed easily.
[private]The vote for two Board member seats this year was done “at-large” for the first time, meaning that the two candidates with the most votes would be elected. School Board President Gina Goodermote took the largest share of votes with 467 ballots cast in her favor. Newcomer Katie Fiske was second with 426 votes. She will now take the place of Rachel Finney who received 400. Shelly Bedford of Grafton was fourth with 313 ballots.
Fiske thanked the voters for coming out and “my family and friends for standing by my side through this journey.” She stated that when she starts her three year term in July, she “would like to see our BCS Board Members come together and work as a team to do what is best for our kids. Also, I would like to see a building project supported by all and passed by all members on the Board of Education so we can move onto other important issues regarding our children’s education.”
Budget Vote
The vote on the proposed budget of $17,438,900 passed easily with 551 for and 262 against. Property owners in the District will now receive an increase in the tax levy of 1.98%, the first increase since the 2008-2009 budget.
The proposition on a Capital Project to spend $100,000 for building improvements in the middle/high school also passed 522 to 286.
Voters Choose To Sell Elementary School Properties For $1
And finally, a proposition on whether to convey Stephentown Elementary and Grafton Elementary to the towns for $1 passed 540 to 274. Appraisals of the buildings recently found them to have market values of $0. The appraiser stated that “the cost of the demolition would likely exceed the value of the land.”[/private]