Five candidates face voters at Newburgh school board forum
Five Newburgh school board candidates faced voters at the Cathedral at the House, where spending, discipline and student performance became the sharpest fault lines.
Tuesday night’s forum at the Cathedral at the House in Newburgh gave voters their first close look at five candidates competing for three seats on the Newburgh Enlarged City School District Board of Education. The two-minute response limit forced quick answers on the issues that matter most to families: spending, school safety, student performance and who should steer the district next.
The event was co-hosted by the City of Newburgh Democratic Committee, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the Working Families Party, Newburgh Alliance and Nu Voters. It was also livestreamed on the City of Newburgh Democrats’ Facebook page, widening access to a race that will help decide the direction of a district serving 11,227 students in 12 schools.
Deborah A. Bouley, a retired NECSD teacher and former board trustee, drew a clear line on what she would change. Her posted priorities call for returning a tax increase she says was wrongly placed on taxpayers in the 2024-25 budget, tightening enforcement of the code of conduct and SAVE legislation, improving reading and math proficiency, and making sure IEPs are completed on time. Her platform put pressure on the district’s budget choices, discipline practices and academic results at the center of the contest.
The financial backdrop is significant. The district’s proposed 2025-26 budget was $378,695,404, an increase of $15.8 million, or 4.23%, over the adjusted 2024-25 budget. That spending came after voters approved Proposition 1 in 2025 by 1,903 votes to 936, and after Mark Levinstein, John Doerre and Shadé Burks emerged as the leaders in the last board race. Newburgh’s school board elections have been close enough to matter and public enough to shape the district’s next move.
The calendar now moves toward May 19, when the budget vote and Board of Education election will be held. Polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. Registration ran through May 5, after a voter-registration day on May 2 at the Newburgh Free Library, and nominating petitions were due April 29. With nine board members serving staggered three-year terms, the three seats on this ballot will help determine whether the district keeps its current course or shifts toward a harder reset on spending, discipline and student outcomes.
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