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Public Education

Obituaries
Community Mourns 'Exceptional' Teacher, Mother After Murder-Suicide In Yonkers Community Mourns 'Exceptional' Teacher, Mother After Murder-Suicide In Yonkers
Community Mourns 'Exceptional' Teacher, Mother After Murder-Suicide In Yonkers A community in mourning following the tragic death of a beloved schoolteacher in an apparent murder-suicide at her Westchester home is finding the silver lining in remembering her massive impact on countless young students.  Eastchester Union Free School District teacher Arlene O’Neill, age 47, was killed in a shooting at her Yonkers home on Chittenden Avenue on Wednesday morning, Oct. 16, according to Yonkers Police. Earlier Report - Retired Nypd Officer, Teacher Found Dead After Murder-Suicide At Yonkers Home O’Neill, a fifth-grade teacher at the Anne Hutchinson School, was fatally shot …

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
New Superintendent Named At Westchester School District New Superintendent Named At Westchester School District
New Superintendent Named At Westchester School District A Northern Westchester superintendent will soon transition to leading another nearby district in the county. In an announcement on Friday, June 14, the Katonah-Lewisboro School District revealed its next superintendent would be Raymond Blanch, who will be formally appointed in the role by the Board of Education on Thursday, June 20.  Blanch, who has served as superintendent of the Somers Central School District since July 2010, will officially begin in his new role on Monday, July 15.  Blanch's selection follows multiple rounds of interviews conducted by the school board in an ef…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
Proposed $6M Budget Cuts At Hudson Valley School District Spark Outrage Proposed $6M Budget Cuts At Hudson Valley School District Spark Outrage
Proposed $6M Budget Cuts At Hudson Valley School District Spark Outrage A Hudson Valley school district has sparked outrage among residents by proposing a budget for the next year that contains at least $6 million in cuts, which could affect many student programs and teaching jobs.  At a Board of Education meeting in Putnam County held on Tuesday night, March 12 at Carmel High School, countless community members spoke out about the budget, proposed by the Carmel Central School District for the 2023-2024 school year.  According to district documents, the budget could include at least $6 million in cuts to teaching jobs, after-school programs, fie…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
New Superintendent Named At School District In Westchester New Superintendent Named At School District In Westchester
New Superintendent Named At School District In Westchester A school district in Westchester has named its next leader after an extensive nationwide search.  The Yonkers Board of Education unanimously voted to confirm Anibal Soler Jr. as the city's next superintendent of schools, Yonkers school officials announced on Friday, Feb. 9.  Soler, who was selected as part of a "rigorous national search process" that began in July 2023, will begin serving in the role on Wednesday, May 1.  Yonkers school officials said that Soler will bring plenty of experience to the role, as he has served as Superintendent of Schenectady City Scho…

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by Ben Crnic
Schools
Schools Superintendent In Westchester Announces Retirement Schools Superintendent In Westchester Announces Retirement
Schools Superintendent In Westchester Announces Retirement A superintendent at one of the largest school districts in Northern Westchester has just announced he will be retiring. Andrew Selesnick has been in his post at the Katonah-Lewisboro School District since 2015, when he accepted the position after serving as principal at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua. His retirement will be effective Friday, July 12. "It is hard to express how grateful I am to have been your superintendent for nine years and an educator in Northern Westchester for 32 years," Selesnick said in a statement. "Though I’m retiring as superintendent, I will seek new way…

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by Joe Lombardi
Politics
Bowman Easily Wins In Race Against Former Mayor In Westchester County Bowman Easily Wins In Race Against Former Mayor In Westchester County
Bowman Easily Wins In Race Against Former Mayor In Westchester County Incumbent Democratic US Rep. Jamaal Bowman trounced Republican challenger Miriam Levitt Flisser to once again represent New York's 16th congressional district, which includes much of Westchester County.  Bowman beat Flisser, the former mayor of Scarsdale, by more than 50,000 votes, according to Ballotpedia.  In a statement released on Wednesday, Nov. 9, Bowman outlined his priorities for his second term.  "We will continue to fight for health care as a right, not a privilege. We will continue to fight for reproductive freedom. We will continue to fight for meaningful gu…

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by Ben Crnic
News
COVID-19: Westchester Resident Wins College Scholarship In NY Vax Incentive Program COVID-19: Westchester Resident Wins College Scholarship In NY Vax Incentive Program
Covid-19: Westchester Resident Wins College Scholarship In NY Vax Incentive Program A student in the Hudson Valley will receive a full ride to any SUNY or CUNY school he desires after being chosen as a first-round winner of New York’s “Get a Shot to Make Your Future’ COVID vaccination campaign. Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state is raffling off scholarships to New Yorkers between the ages of 12 and 17 who go out and get a COVID-19 vaccine in the next several weeks. Scholarships include full tuition and board to any public college or university for the full four years for adolescents who get their shot. Original story - COVID-19: NY Launches Co…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Judith Johnson, Longtime Hudson Valley Educator, Dies Judith Johnson, Longtime Hudson Valley Educator, Dies
Judith Johnson, Longtime Hudson Valley Educator, Dies Former New York State Education Department Regent and prominent Hudson Valley educator Judith Johnson has died. During her career, Johnson, 80, spent time serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for Education under President Bill Clinton and spent decades educating students in the Hudson Valley. Johnson spent 10 years as the Schools Superintendent in Peekskill, becoming the first African American to hold that post. She also took over at the helm in Mount Vernon in an interim position in 2012 as the district underwent wholesale changes and sought a permanent …

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano Wins Three-Way Democratic Primary Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano Wins Three-Way Democratic Primary
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano Wins Three-Way Democratic Primary Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano easily won Tuesday's Democratic Party primary election, according to unofficial vote returns. The two-term mayor declared victory shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25 in the three-way Democratic primary race. With about 70 percent the votes counted, Spano led with 75 percent. Spano defeated attorney Karen Beltran, with 18 percent of the votes, and community activist Ivy Reeves, with 8 percent, according to unofficial returns from the county Board of Elections. Beltran is a longtime Yonkers resident who immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia when she was sev…

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by Jon Craig
Politics
Ocasio-Cortez Ally Launches Primary Challenge Against Eliot Engel Ocasio-Cortez Ally Launches Primary Challenge Against Eliot Engel
Ocasio-Cortez Ally Launches Primary Challenge Against Eliot Engel Justice Democrats, the progressive group that backed U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset over incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley last year, is now supporting a 2020 primary challenge against another senior Democrat. In a campaign to unseat 30-year U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, the group said it supports Jamaal Bowman, a middle school principal and former teacher in the Bronx. New York’s 16th Congressional District includes southern Westchester and part of the Bronx.  Bowman, 42, announced his campaign via this video on Tuesday. He’s running on a political platform centered on inve…

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by Jon Craig
Politics
Bloomberg Rejoins Democratic Party: Who Would You Vote For If He Ran Against Trump? Bloomberg Rejoins Democratic Party: Who Would You Vote For If He Ran Against Trump?
Bloomberg Rejoins Democratic Party: Who Would You Vote For If He Ran Against Trump? The race for president in 2020 is getting even more interesting. Former three-term New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who owns an estate in Westchester, announced on Instagram and Twitter that he has re-registered as a Democrat, setting up what many political observers anticipate may become a challenge to Republican President Donald Trump, a native New Yorker. Bloomberg's decision was posted here on Instagram. The announcement quickly spread like wildfire among international media outlets on Wednesday, Oct. 10, including an early scoop, of course, by Bloomberg News in this report:  Blo…

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by Jon Craig
Politics
County Taxpayers Being Unfairly Targeted, Schumer Says In Westchester Visit County Taxpayers Being Unfairly Targeted, Schumer Says In Westchester Visit
County Taxpayers Being Unfairly Targeted, Schumer Says In Westchester Visit Standing with Westchester County homeowners, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles "Chuck" Schumer called on the IRS on Monday, June 25 to treat fairly a new state law aimed at reducing taxes.  In a letter to the IRS' acting commissioner, Schumer asked the federal agency to support the state law, which enables cash-strapped New Yorkers to ease the tax burden caused by a federal tax bill that capped State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions at $10,000.  New York tax law would allow residents to receive more tax credits for charitable donations to help reduce state and federal taxes.  Sc…

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by Jon Craig