It wasn’t on the meeting agenda for the special board of education meeting held on May 21, and it was the news that took the members of the public most by surprise.
Superintendent Dr.  John Morgano submitted his letter of resignation, effective August 15, 2018.  He stated that he enjoyed his interactions with the students and found them to be very well mannered, and also thanked Board President Carol Bliefernich. 

He received sustained applause and a standing ovation from most of the audience.  During the public comment session, the speakers lauded Morgano’s brief tenure with the district.  He has served as superintendent since October 20, 2017.

The Board officially adopted June 19 as the date of the re-vote.  The date is established by statute but the resolution to approve the date was not passed at the May 17 special meeting.  Allyson Wagner made a motion that the district send a notice of communication to each voter in the district to advise them of the date.  She suggested a means of mailing that would be more cost efficient than regular mail.  Morgano will work with BOCES, which does the district’s mass mailings, to ascertain the cost of such an undertaking.  The item was tabled till the June 7 regularly scheduled meeting.

Also at the June 7 meeting, the district will be required to reintroduce the budget which will be before the voters on June 19.  Bliefernich stated that the budget will be the same as that presented in May.  If the budget does not pass, a contingency budget will be enacted because there wouldn’t be sufficient time to schedule another vote before July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.  

There was discussion as to whether the ballots could be amended to eliminate the name of the candidate for the board who withdrew after the original ballots had been printed, or to add additional names to the ballot.  The district’s attorney, Steve Latino, said that the date for adding or deleting names from the ballot had been April 18, and that although the date of the vote has changed, the ballot remains the same.

Brian Siegel asked how a vacancy on the board would be filled prior to the June 19 election, if one were to occur.  Jay Worona, an attorney with the NYS School Board Association, who had joined the meeting via speakerphone, said that the district’s policy on filling unexpired terms would dictate. That policy states that the board has the authority to fill that position by the vote of the majority. That person would serve until the next school board election, where two seats would be on the ballot; one for a five year term and one for the unexpired term.

It is important that voters realize that they will need to vote on June 19 even if they voted on May 15, as those votes cast on May 15 do not count.  This is also true for those who voted via absentee ballot.   

Photo caption:  Dr. John Morgano acknowledges the well wishes of the audience following the announcement that he will resign effective August 15, 2018 as superintendent of the Eldred Central School District.