Oysterponds School District

Oysterponds school board runoff election set for June 25

KATHARINE SCHROEDER PHOTO | Oysterponds school board president Dorothy-Dean Thomas will face Betsy Dzenkowski in a June 25 runoff election.
KATHARINE SCHROEDER PHOTO | Oysterponds school board president Dorothy-Dean Thomas will face Betsy Dzenkowski in a June 25 runoff election.

A June 25 date has been set for the Oysterponds school board race between incumbent Dorothy-Dean Thomas and challenger Betsy Dzenkowski.

The candidates tied for one of three seats at the May 21 election, with 157 votes each.

Ms. Thomas is the current school board president and lives in Orient. In an interview with The Suffolk Times last week, she said she’s running because of her commitment to the community and wants to make sure students receive a quality education.

Over her three-year tenure on the board, Ms. Thomas said she’s been successful with creating an open dialog and public forums between the district and residents, such as roundtable discussions, coffee hours and parent meetings.

Ms. Dzenkowski is an East Marion resident who hasn’t actively campaigned.

Orient residents Tom Stevenson and Alison Lyne were elected to the other two seats vacated by school board members Deborah Dumont and Thomas Gray. Mr. Stevenson received 193 votes and Ms. Lyne, 160.

Candidate Charles Squire of Orient withdrew from the race on the day of the election after learning state law requires that a resident live within a school district for one year before serving on a school board. His name still appeared on the ballot and he received 61 votes.

District officials said the school board unanimously approved the June 25 runoff election date during a special meeting Tuesday. Mr. Gray was absent from the meeting.

The runoff election will take place at the elementary school in Orient between 3 to 9 p.m.

The new school board members are expected to be sworn-in at the July 2 reorganization meeting.

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