Three Village elects school board members, adopts district budget
By Mallie Jane Kim
Three Village voters reelected the two incumbent board of education members and, in a close race for third, selected Stanley Bak to finish out a one-year term that was up for grabs.
The 3,280 residents who voted also accepted the district’s $236.1 million budget for 2024-25, with 65% approval (2,140-1,140).
As district officials tabulated results from each area of town on screen during the May 21 board meeting, it was a nail-biter for Bak and fellow candidate Amitava Das, who were neck and neck. In the end, Bak won the seat by just 5 votes — 1,688 to 1,683.
Bak said he is relieved, but also grateful the campaign was so civil. The two-week campaign saw a collegial rapport between the four candidates, all of whom spoke highly of the slate of people willing to volunteer to serve the community.
“I think that reflects very strongly on Three Village,” Bak said, adding that he’s ready to start working on the goals he stated during the campaign, including fiscal sustainability, later secondary school start times and enforcement of the district’s cell phone policy.
“We’ve done the campaign part, and now the hard part comes because we have to do the work,” he said.
And Bak may get a chance sooner than he anticipated. At the meeting, district officials realized that since he is filling a currently vacant seat left empty by a board member who had to resign for personal reasons, his term may begin immediately. They planned to consult the district’s lawyer to seek out an answer, though one was not available by press time.
Shaorui Li, with 1,976 votes, and Susan Rosenzweig, with 1,970 votes, easily recaptured their seats for another term.
“If I can serve and be useful to the community, I’m more than happy to continue,” Rosenzweig said after the results were certified. “I think it’s a really productive board, and we’ve done really good work.”
For her part, Li, who spoke during the campaign about protecting the extracurriculars the district provides, was excited to be reelected but already looking to the difficult job the board has ahead of it.
“We still want to support extra programs, but with the budget, it’s always a balance,” she said. “It’s going to be tough, but with support from the community, we’re confident with it.”
2024 school budgets, propositions and candidates results:
Three Village Central School District:
Budget Vote:
Yes: 2,140
No: 1,140
Board of education election: elect three, third highest gets one-year term.
Shaorui Li – 1,976
Susan Rosenzweig – 1,970
Stanley Bak – 1,688
Amitava Das – 1,683
