& Albany County Post - The Altamont Enterprise

12 The Altamont Enterprise – Thursday, May 17, 2012The Enterprise — Anne HaydenEmbracing victory: Jason Windsor, who lost out on a schoolboard seat by six votes, shares a quick embrace with top vote-getterDiana Straut on Tuesday night. Straut received 646 votes, andWindsor received 479.The Enterprise — Anne HaydenTallying the votes: Poll workers behind the old-style lever voting machine count the ballots at theVoorheesville Middle School on Tuesday night before announcing the results. The school budget passedby 67 percent, and the library budget passed by 65 percent. Diana Straut and Timothy Blow won seatson the school board, and Janna Shillinglaw won a seat on the library board.Christ the King Early Childhood CenterSummer Enrichment Program for 2012IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS:•Program for children 4 and older will run for 6 weeks onTuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.•Program for 3-year-old children will run for 6 weekson Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from9 a.m. - 12 p.m.•Your child must be ages 3-5 between July 9th - August 18th•Weekly cost is $72.00•Children enrolled at CTK for the 2012-13 year will have firstpreference•Open registration to the public begins May 1, 2012•Registration forms can be obtained by calling or emailingthe ECC office•All required forms must be on file with the office by July 1,2012“A Heavenly Havenfor Kids!”Week One: July 10, 11, 12Week Two: July 17, 18, 19Week Three: July 24, 25, 26Week Four: July 31, Aug. 1, 2Week Five: August 7, 8, 9Week Six: August 14, 15, 1620 Sumter Ave., Albany, NY 12203518-465-5400 - www.ctkparishny.orgctkecec@gmail.com… VCSD easily passes $22M plan(Continued from page 1)higher than it has been in pastyears, according to Snyder.Diana Straut secured her firstterm on the school board witha large majority of the votes— 646.Incumbent Timothy Blow, whois currently finishing out his fifthyear on the board and serves asboard president, was re-electedby a six votes — he received 485votes to newcomer Jason Windsor’s479 votes.These unofficial tallies, gatheredby The Enterprise onWednesday, include both absenteeand affidavit ballots.Straut, who has three childrenin the school district and wants tobring her experience as a teacherand a school consultant to theboard, said she was “surprised”by the large number of votes shereceived, especially as comparedto the other candidates.“You just don’t know whatvoters will do,” said Straut, whosent hand-addressed postcardsto district residents, as well asposting lawn signs. “I’m verypleased.”Straut is a former elementaryschoolteacher; she left herteaching job to pursue a degreein organizational studies and towork as a consultant for schooldistricts in New York Statebecause she wanted to makechanges in the schools, andfelt she couldn’t do that in theclassroom.“I know that sometimes cutshave to be made, and I know thatyou have to weigh what has thegreatest impact against whatwill cause you the least harm inthe long run,” said Straut duringher campaign. She said sheis most sensitive to class sizes,and kids with disabilities.“When I look at Voorheesville,I think there are things we canget better at,” said Straut.Blow said he was not surprisedat the small number of votes thatseparated him from Windsor.“I thought it could have goneeither way,” he said.Blow has lived in the schooldistrict for 22 years, and hasthree children. He works as thechief financial officer for BallstonSpa National Bank.“Drafting the budget was verydifficult,” said Blow during hiscampaign. “There are alwaystrade-offs; I wish we could domore to save certain programs,but the burden is on the taxpayersfirst and foremost.”The ultimate goal, said Blow,is to make sure the district isspending money in the best waypossible.“I thought the voter turn-outwas pretty high, and it is nice tosee such support for the budget,”said Blow. “Now we need to continueto do what is right for thetaxpayers.”Windsor said the vote turnedout the way he expected it to.“I’m still thrilled, because theother two candidates are so solid,it is good news for the schooldistrict no matter what,” saidWindsor, who was making hisfirst run. He said the campaignhad been a great experience andhe has already learned a lot inthe process and may run againnext year.“I plan to be much more involvednow,” Windsor said.“I think we had an awesomeslate and three strong candidates,”said Snyder.Blow said he wanted to welcomeStraut to the board.“I think she’ll fit right in,” hesaid. “We have a lot of work to doover the next four years in thiseconomic quagmire, and I thinkshe’ll be a great addition.”