With budget workshops wrapped up, state aid analyzed, and board candidates now secured as of an April 21 deadline for all petitions passed, local school districts are preparing for regional school board and budget votes coming up on Tuesday, May 20... and meet the candidate events and final budget hearings in the weeks between then and now.

The most interesting race when looked at from an eagle's perspective is in the region's largest school district, Pine Bush, which hit the news big time this year after The New York Times ran a front page story on a pending lawsuit involving charges of anti-Semitism against the district, which then got called out by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his annual State of the State speech earlier this year.

There, four candidates will be running for two seats being vacated by a longstanding board member and major community figure Joseph Peluso and former county legislator and local realtor/developer Richard J. Smith.

The four candidates for the two slots in Pine Bush School District, which spans several towns and parts of three counties, are newcomers Rebecca Christner, Cara Robertson and Marianne Serratore, along with former boardmember Eric Meier, defeated two years ago.

Christner, a resident of Bloomingburg with a five-year-old student at Pine Bush Elementary, serves as an adjunct professor at Nyack College and is the operations and communications manager for Rockland 21st Century Collaborative for Children and Youth. She is stressing her experience in management and time spent working with state and local officials, as well as her role as an active community member.

Robertson used to own the Pine Bush bus company until she sold it to First Student and ran it for seven years for them. She is currently a stay at home mom with a son at Crispell Middle School and daughter in EJ Russell Elementary. She is currently secretary of the EJR PTA.

Serratore is an eleven year resident of Pine Bush with a six year old student at EJ Russell Elementary. She has been principal of Montgomery Elementary School for the last ten years, and was an elementary school teacher in Washingtonville from 1994 to 2002. She belongs to the EJR PTA, has taught Sunday School at the United Methodist Church, and is a coach for Pine Bush Soccer.

Sergeant Eric Meier of the Town of Crawford Police previously served twelve years on the school board, leaving in 2012. He says he's proud to have attended Pine Bush schools and lived in the district all his life, dating back to when there was still an elementary school in Bloomingburg.

The total PBSD budget for the coming year, $104,558,977, represents a 2.16 percent increase year on year, but with a hike in school aid means the tax levy would be $54,331,221, a 1.95 percent increase over last year and includes some restoration to the district's fund balance for emergency purposes. Among the savings listed are $607,552 from 19 teacher retirements, and $264,791 in 8 support staff retirements. In addition the relocation of the STARS academy is expected to save $283,666.

A budget hearing will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13 at the Pine Bush High School; any meet the candidate events have yet to be announced. In Ellenville, five candidates will be vying for three board of trustee seats whose current occupants are vying for reelection; the two challengers have each run in recent elections. The incumbents include board president Carolyn Kuhlmann, vice-president Karen Osterhoudt, and trustee Phil Mattracion, who also serves as the village's police chief. Running as well are Empowering Ellenville founder and director Sandra Oglesby, who also ran last year, and previously, and Francis Gurgui, who has run in most elections in recent years.

The 2014-2015 proposed budget for Ellenville totals $49,098,553.00, up $3,616,370 from last year's budget of $45,482,183. The amount to be raised through taxes is a proposed $22,596,591, up $578,236 from last year's figure of $22,018,355 but still under the 2 percent tax cap state mandate. A final public hearing on the 2014-2015 budget hearing will be held on Tuesday, May 6 in the Ellenville High School media center room. A PTO meet the candidates night will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14 in the Ellenville Middle School cafeteria, while an NAACP meet the candidates night will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 15 in the Ellenville Public Library community room.

Finally, Rondout Valley school district voters will choose among four school board candidates for three open seats when the polls open next month. Two incumbents, James Ayers and James Blair, are seeking reelection, while Kent Anderson is not running for another term. Newly running will be Glenn Dannaham and Thomas Pacti, Sr.

Ayers is a retired Rondout Valley teacher who is completing his twelfth year on the board, and Blair is an attorney with experience in property-tax cases who will be standing for election for the second time.

Dannaham is a teaching assistant who challenged State Senator John Bonacic for his seat in 2010. Little is presently known about Thomas Pacti, Sr., the other challenger; Pacti's name is not included in other published reports about the race, but RVSD district clerk Debra Barbiani listed him as a candidate. Both men live in Kerhonkson.

Voters will also consider the 2014-15 school budget on May 20. An updated plan will be presented at the board meeting on Wednesday, April 23, too late for publication in this issue, but in February superintendent Rosario Agostaro unveiled a proposed amount of $59,248,926, which would result in a tax levy increase of 1.5 percent, the maximum allowed the district under the tax cap this year, with total spending that is 2.09 percent more than last year.

The board was scheduled to meet on a rare Wednesday in order to conduct elections for the BOCES board, which must be performed by all county school boards on the same night.