Three candidates running for two seats on the Pine Plains Central School District Board of Education faced questions on Monday, May 11, over how they would handle budget cuts, declining enrollment, and the possibility of consolidating the district’s schools into one building.
Brooke Brown, Amie Buehler, and incumbent James Griffin — appeared at Meet the Candidates forum that drew nearly 50 attendees in person at Stanford Grange and online. It was preceded by a budget presentation from school officials.The school board election will be held on Tuesday, May 19. The two winners will serve three-year terms beginning on July 1.
The race comes at a pivotal moment for the district. Uncertain state aid and a significant drop in student enrollment have forced the school board to consider shuttering one or more of its three schools. The district’s $40.78 million spending plan increases expenditures by $2 million over this year — fueled by a $350,000 rise in transportation costs and a 10% surge in employee health premiums.
To get closer to the district’s 3.4% tax levy limit, the school board cut $491,000 in programs and services, including the elementary enrichment program and two 5 p.m. buses. Despite these reductions, the budget still exceeds the cap by 1.03%, requiring a 60% supermajority vote to pass. If the budget fails, the district will face significantly deeper cuts to meet the allowed tax limit.
Brown, a member of the district’s Building Utilization Advisory Committee, which is investigating the educational impact of consolidation, said she is running to improve the school board’s transparency, community connection, and accountability. “It’s time for the board to have fresh blood,” she said. “I will ask the hard questions, and push the administration to do better.”
Buehler, the current elementary PTA president, said she wants to amend district policies on bullying and discipline. “I have strong opinions on a lot of our [budget] issues, but also on what is happening inside our schools,” she said. “I just want to see what’s best for our kids and our kids’ kids.”
Griffin, a 12-year school board veteran, said, “The school [district] has been the center point of my life since prior to having kids.” Supporting the move to consolidate, he added, “We have a short window in which we need to correct the size of this district. A good school system and decent teachers are a lifeline for kids — there are definitely a lot of hard choices here.”
Questions from the audience covered student screen time, testing performance, school security, redistricting, and legislative advocacy. But the discussion repeatedly returned to two issues: How the district should cut costs, and whether consolidation into a single building is inevitable.
An attendee who pointed out that employee costs consume most of the budget asked about potential staff cuts. Brown said she would look for surpluses in teaching and administrative positions; Buehler agreed. Griffin called rightsizing the staff a balancing act. “We may have redundancies,” he said, “But they’re spread across three buildings.”
Brown said the current budget cuts were necessary, “But I take issue with the fact the multiple board members spoke out about not wanting to remove the enrichment program, yet all cuts were accepted,” she said, adding that if the budget failed, she would “immediately take a look at staffing cuts and try to retain programming,”
Buehler said she would prioritize keeping extracurriculars like sports, art, and music. “They are essential for children, and the cornerstone of them growing up,” she said.
Griffin would protect core subjects, which he said now include music and art in New York. “I would hope whatever cuts we do would not take away from our system,” he said. “However in a contingency situation, a lot of those decisions are kind of forced.”
Candidates agreed district consolidation into one building is likely in five years, emphasizing the need to keep younger children and high school students in separate areas.
“I’m not against [it],” Brown said. “There are both benefits and drawbacks. My main concern is having a plan for it: Our short-term plan should serve along with long-term plans.”
Buehler said, “[Consolidation] has worked for communities as close to us as Taconic. But there needs to be a deep dive into it before any decisions are made.”
According to Griffin, a single school district is unavoidable. ”If it wasn’t about the size of the facilities for the children, we could fit every single student in this district into high school today,” he said.
The candidates’ discussion followed a presentation on the district’s proposed budget for 2026-27, one of two propositions on the May 19 ballot, along with the Board of Elections vote. (The second is a $750,276.55 purchase of two 71-passenger buses and three 35-passenger buses, funded by pre-approved reserves.)
Business Official Rafferty said that the district is still awaiting the finalized state budget, which lawmakers have extended for the 11th time.
District Superintendent Brian Timm fielded questions from the audience. One attendee wondered why programs, rather than staff, were cut to lower budget costs.
“When people leave or retire, if we don’t need to backfill the position, we don’t backfill it,” he said, noting his focus on rightsizing staff numbers. According to Timm, 15 positions have been eliminated since his tenure began four years ago. The district currently employs 90 teachers.
An audience member had concerns about the feasibility of an all-electric bus fleet, state-mandated by July 2027. Timm said that with a price tag of roughly $500,000 per vehicle, replacing the district’s 35-bus fleet is not currently doable.
“I would hope there will be grant money associated with this to help schools,” he said, “Otherwise it is absolutely going to pierce everyone’s tax cap.”
When asked what would happen if the budget vote failed, Timm outlined three options: resubmitting the original budget, proposing an amended version, or adopting a contingency budget — which requires no revote.
“My recommendation would be to get the budget down to under the tax cap,” he said, noting that would require an estimated $291,000 in additional cuts to be determined by the school board. A second failed vote would result in a contingency budget, forcing a reduction of $890,000, which Timm warned could threaten the pre-K program.
A video of this candidates forum can be found on Stanford Grange’s Facebook page. Details about the proposed 2026-27 budget can be found on the school district’s website.
In-person voting will be held from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May19, at the Stissing Mountain High School cafeteria. Early mail-in and absentee ballots can be obtained online, at the school, or by calling District Clerk Julia Tomaine at 518-398-7181, Ext. 1408. Tomaine must receive the completed ballots no later than 5 p.m. on May 19.