Chappaqua's Kiesel is Unopposed for BOE; Nobody Files for Library Board

Chappaqua school board President Alyson Kiesel will cruise to re-election for a second term on the board. With the filing deadline having passed on Monday afternoon, Kiesel is the only one who is running, according to District Clerk Theresa Markley.

Kiesel's seat is the only one on the five-member board that is up for election this year. The new term will run from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2015.

Kiesel, a 1988 graduate from Horace Greeley High School, was first elected in 2009, in a race where she also ran unopposed.

When asked recently by Patch what her reasons are for running again, Kiesel offered the following response:

"Basically I feel that this is a critical time for our school district. We have hired terrific administrators and the team is working really well together, but there is still much more to do.  We are under siege from unfunded mandates and one size fits all thinking in Albany.  Were we can, we need to devise solutions to problems on a local level as we did with APPR. I want to continue to work with the district to put us on a sustainable path.  Our district needs to be on sound fiscal footing so that we can ensure that our kids get the best possible education regardless of the vicissitudes of the market and economy."

Meanwhile, nobody filed to run for an open seat on the Chappaqua Library's board of trustees, Markley announced. The library had the same problem last year, when the sole candidate who filed by the initial April deadline dropped out. Based on options described last year, the filing round could be reopened and if no one is elected to the board, then members could appoint someone to the seat. It remains to be seen what will be done this time. 

Both the school and library boards have their elections on May 15, along with votes for their respective 2012-13 budgets. The library is administratively part of the school district, which is why it is organized in its political form.