In an Executive Order issued on Friday, May 1, 2020, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that this year’s school budget vote and Board of Education election will take place on June 9, 2020, exclusively by absentee ballot due to the COVID-19 public health crisis.
The Executive Order establishes a timeline of actions that the district must undertake leading up to this date, including sending an absentee ballot with a prepaid return envelope to qualified voters in the district. Qualified voters are defined as U.S. citizens who are 18 years or older and have lived in the district for at least 30 days prior to the vote and are not disqualified for any reason set forth in NYS Election Law § 5-106.
The Board of Education is scheduled to adopt the proposed 2020-21 budget at its meeting on May 18, 2020. Following budget adoption on May 18, the district will make the proposed budget available to the public, hold a virtual budget hearing on May 28 at 7 p.m., and mail a budget notice to households in the district after the budget hearing. This procedure is no different than in past years, except that the hearing will be conducted virtually.
Individuals who have voted on a school district matter within the last five years will automatically be mailed an absentee ballot to the address on record with the district. If you do not receive a ballot or if you have moved, please contact District Clerk Jane Dawson by email at DistrictClerk@ncolonie.org or by calling (518) 785-8591, ext. 3126 as soon as possible to request a ballot. In addition, more information on the voting process will be provided via a postcard mailed to all district households in the upcoming weeks. This postcard is new to the budget process pursuant to the Executive Order.
More information about the 2020-21 budget also will be shared before the vote in a budget newsletter that will be mailed to all district households. Budget information can also be found on our district website.