Voting in the Cornwall Central School District Board of Education member election and on the proposed 2025-26 school year’s budget will take place, as always, at the Cornwall Central Middle School this May.

The decision was made at the January 27 meeting of the Board of Education, after a lengthy discussion. The matter had been previously discussed as well.
There were several things to decide.

First, the location. Board Member Christian Brunelli had suggested, with some support, for the polling locations to be increased, by allowing residents to vote at either CCMS or the high school. He argued that at least half of the CCSD’s voters lived closer to the high school than the middle school, and that allowing for more than one location would possibly increase the overall number of voters.

There were several concerns about that, including from Board Member Brendan Carty, who worried that educating people which location they needed to vote at would be a challenge.

To possibly allow people to choose which location they want to vote at – instead of assigning a location – came up. To do that, an option would be to rent iPads for voters to check in on. The board had asked District Clerk John Fink to explore that – he did, and the cost for that (four iPads) would begin at about $47,000, although about $25,000 of that would be reimbursable in the following year. To conduct an election currently, using paper sign-in books, it costs $17,300.

There was some pushback to Brunelli’s ideas.

Superintendent of Schools Terry Dade balked at the idea of having a polling location at CCHS.

“I strongly, emphatically, say CCHS is off the table,” he said. “I have no idea how you would run an election with our community lunch and everything else going on. I’m uncomfortable with two sites … I think we would have to shut down the district, making it a teacher workshop day or something of that nature.”

Board Member Eleonora Fazio agreed that while two locations would be convenient, she said she worries about the security of any school being open while there is public coming and going to vote. Dade said that typically on the day of the vote the district concentrates its security and extra personnel at the middle school to help make sure voters go only to and from the gym; he said local police assist as well. “I’d be concerned we could have that focus with double the locations,” he added.

Board Member Tiffany Gagliano was not in favor of adding a second location or investing in the iPads.

“I’m team ‘we’re creating a problem that doesn’t exist’,” she said. “Though it would be nice to have a second polling site – I value and respect everything you have to say, Christian – at this time this is not a fiscal priority for us. I believe every person should go and exercise that valuable right (to vote), but I think it would create confusion. People can drive the five or six miles, once per year, in nice Spring weather, to vote at CCMS.”

Board member Bass Shakra agreed that it is not that far of a drive and said he has struggled with the proposal to add a new location.

Board member Richard Schaffner said he believes that voter turnout is higher on the west side of the district (closer to the high school), calling it a “very educated guess of mine”, specifically mentioning The Reserve and New Windsor. Brunelli had called CCHS “the most central location available to us”.
Board member Carl Gilpatrick suggested that “people don’t come out to vote (at CCMS) because they can’t find a parking place”.

When it came time for a straw poll as to what to do, Board President Jim Creagan first brought up one versus two locations. The support was for keeping just one location.

Then, he asked whether the board should invest in the iPads, even as a possible way to more easily track data as to where voters live. That voice vote was to leave things as they are now, using a paper book for voters to sign in on.

Shakra, Carty and Schaffner seats on the board are up for vote this Spring. Voting is set for Tuesday, May 20.