WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. October 18, 2006: The Board of Education received the final official referendum Special Election results this evening from Clerk to the Board, Michele Schoenfeld, and ratified the result unanimously. The final tally was 1,060 voting YES, and 934 voting No for the $69.6 Million Capital Project, a plurality of 53% for and 47% against.
A Full Board Ratifies the Special Election and $66.5 Million in new lending this evening. Photo, WPCNR News
The meeting signalled the return of School Board President, Michelle Trataros to her seat on the board. Ms. Trataros, (shown in orange sweater at head of table in above photo), is in the process of defending a charge against her for alleged endangerment of the welfare of a child (her daughter), and second-degree harassment. She has not sat on a public meeting of the Board since September. William Pollak has been Acting President for Ms. Tratoros since the week of September 1, so as not to distract the public from the referendum issue, Pollak said (at the time Ms. Tratoros stopped attending public meetings of the Board of Education).
Michele Schoenfeld, the clerk of the Board presented the following final official results:
#1-Fire Station # 5 62 YES 88 NO
#2-Church St. School 175 YES 163 NO
#3-Rochambeau School 116 YES 59 NO
#4-Middle School 293 YES 230 NO
#5-Mam'k Ave School 53 YES 47 NO
#6-Ridgeway School 361 YES 347 NO
TOTALS 1060 YES 934 NO
Yes: 53%
Schoenfeld said about twenty more absentee ballots were counted with approximately 15 being for the proposition, and 17 Affidavit Ballots from a senior citizens' home were counted most of which were for the issue. She said officials from the Board of Elections recorded those ballots and oversaw the seniors' signatures on the ballots.
The Absentee Ballots were delivered to the school district, unopened by the Board of Elections.
Tratoros Never Off.
Michelle Trataros returned to the Board, sitting at the head of the table. WPCNR asked Ms. Trataros if she was back on the Board to stay, and she said she had never left the Board.
In view of the Board of Education statement that Ms. Trataros had left the Board temporarily while she dealt with the court proceedings against her, WPCNR asked Ms. Trataros if her daughter had returned home, (currently reported living with relatives) and Ms. Trataros said that that was a personal question she declined to answer. Asked if the case had been settled, Ms. Trataros referred WPCNR to her attorney but declined to give WPCNR his telephone number.
WPCNR asked if Ms. Trataros felt, in view of her personal experience in her current court case, whether she felt she could maintain an objective view and make valid judgments on discipline issues coming before her on the Board of Education, and she declined to answer the question.
