Poughkeepsie voters approve school budget and capital reserve; three elected to school board

The Poughkeepsie City School District announced on May 19 that local voters approved the district's proposed budget and a separate capital reserve proposition, and that three candidates won school board seats.

At the board meeting opening, the board chair convened the session and asked Mister Torres to report election results. Torres said voters approved Proposition 1 (the budget vote), with 460 votes in favor and 167 opposed, and approved Proposition 2 (a 2026 capital reserve measure), with 500 yes votes and 127 no votes. Torres also announced that Jamar Cummings and Stacy McDonald were elected to three-year terms beginning July 1, 2026, and that Richard Deistel was elected to a one-year term.

The transcript includes garbled or unclear numeric text describing the proposed budget amount and the school year; the exact dollar amount and the transcript's reference to the school year were not readable in the record provided. The meeting notice and results announced at the session indicate the propositions passed and the new board members' terms as reported by Torres.

After the results were announced, participants moved and seconded routine motions, including a motion described in the transcript as to "accept" (the precise motion text is unclear), which was approved by voice vote. A motion to adjourn was then seconded and approved; the transcript records an "Aye" outcome but does not record recorded roll-call tallies or the names of movers and seconders for those motions.

"Congratulations to all the upcoming board members," Torres said after reading the results. The meeting concluded shortly thereafter with the chair thanking attendees and adjourning.

Next steps: The newly elected trustees' terms were reported to begin July 1, 2026 for the three-year seats; the transcript does not specify any additional agenda items or implementation steps related to the approved budget or capital reserve at this meeting.