Legal Notification of School District Budget Hearing and Annual Budget Vote and School Board Election

Legal Notice Publication Dates are:  April 4, April 24, May 9, and May 13, 2025

NOTICE OF THE DISTRICT-WIDE BUDGET HEARING AND ANNUAL SCHOOL BOARD/BUDGET VOTE ELECTION OF THE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK AND THE MOUNT VERNON PUBLIC LIBRARY

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Time and Place of Voting:  District-Wide Budget Hearing:  Voter Registration; Absentee Ballots; Early Vote Ballots; Military Ballots; Final Date for Receiving Petitions of Nominations and Filing of School Election Registers.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN the Annual School Board/Budget Vote Election will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; for the purpose of electing three (3) members of the Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Mount Vernon, New York, to serve for a full term of three (3) years, beginning the first day of July, 2025, and expiring on the thirtieth day of June, 2028; and for the purpose of electing two (2) members of the Board of Trustees of the Mount Vernon Public Library to serve one (1) five (5) year term beginning on the first day of July, 2025 and expiring on the thirtieth day of June, 2030, and one (1) three (3) year term beginning on the first day of July, 2025, and expiring of the thirtieth day of June, 2028;

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN the public hearing on the school budget shall be held on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at the Education Center located at 165 North Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, New York.

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN residents may review a copy of the budget which will be placed on the District’s website, during the fourteen (14) days immediately preceding the date of the election.

A Real Property Tax Exemption Report prepared in accordance with Section 495 of the Real Property Tax Law will be annexed to any proposed budget as well as the final adopted budget of which it will form a part; and shall be posted on the District bulletin board maintained for public notices, as well as on the District’s website.

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the final date for receiving petitions of nominations for candidates for the Members of the Board of Education of the City of Mount Vernon, New York, three (3) members to serve for a full term of three (3) years, beginning on July 1, 2025, and expiring June 30, 2028; and for the purpose of electing two (2) members of the Board of Trustees of the Mount Vernon Public Library to serve one (1) five (5) year term beginning on July 1, 2025, and expiring on June 30, 2030, and one (1) three (3) year term beginning on July 1, 2025 and expiring on June 30, 2028, is 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, or sooner, in the Office of the District Clerk, at the Education Center, 165 North Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, New York.

Nominating petitions are now available in the Office of the District Clerk.

Drawing for Placement on the Ballot will be held on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at 4:00 p.m., in the Office of the District Clerk.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that applications for absentee and early mail ballots may be applied for at the Office of the District Clerk, located in the Administrative Offices of the Mount Vernon City School District, 165 North Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, New York 10553. An application for an absentee and early mail ballot on the form prescribed by the New York State Board of Elections must be received by the District Clerk no earlier than thirty (30) days before the Annual Election. Such application must be received by the District Clerk at least seven (7) days before the Annual Election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the Annual Budget Vote/Election if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter or his/her designated agent. Upon receiving a timely application for a mailed absentee and early mail ballot, the District Clerk will mail the ballot to the address designated on the application by no later than six (6) days before the Annual Election.

No absentee and early mail voter’s ballot will be counted unless it is received in the Office of the District Clerk of the City School District of the City of Mount Vernon, 165 North Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, New York by 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election.

Qualifications for Absentee Ballot Applications:

A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this section, if during all the hours of voting on the day of an election he or she will be:

1. Absent from the county of his or her residence; or
2. Unable to appear at the polling place because of illness or physical disability, or duties related to the primary care of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled; or
3. An inmate for any reason other than conviction of a felony (Education Law §§2018-a; 2018-b) or patient of a veteran’s administration hospital; or
4. Absent from his or her voting residence because he or she is detained in jail.
5. Voters with permanent disabilities, registration records should be marked so that they automatically receive absentee ballots for each election (Education Law §§2018-a(2)(g), 2018-b(2)(g). 

Qualifications for Early Mail Ballot Applications:

1. A qualified voter must be a citizen of the U.S.;

2. 18 years of age;

3. A resident of the district for at least 30 days prior to the meeting; and not otherwise prohibited under Election Law §5-106 (Education Law § 2012)

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN the Board of Registration of the City School District of the City of Mount Vernon shall meet to prepare the School Election District Registers for the Annual School Election on May 6, 2025, between the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Board Room at the Education Center, 165 North Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, New York.  Any person, who is not already registered, upon proving his/her entitlement to vote in the District, may have his/her name placed on the Register. The Register containing the names of the qualified voters will be available for inspection in the District Clerk’s Office during each of the five days prior to the election between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

IN ORDER TO VOTE IN THE ANNUAL SCHOOL ELECTION,

READ CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS:

IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO REGISTER FOR THIS COMING SCHOOL ELECTION

1.  If you were registered but have changed your place of residence since that time.

2. If you were not registered under PERMANENT PERSONAL REGISTRATION.

3. If you now have acquired or by May 7^th will have acquired the required qualifications to vote in the forthcoming School Election under the qualifications of voters listed below:

The qualifications for voting are:

a. A citizen of the United States.

b. 18 years of age or over.

c. A resident of New York State and the City School District of the City of Mount Vernon for at least 30 days preceding the Election.

DATE OF REGISTRATION

TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2025, BETWEEN THE HOURS 11:00 A.M. AND 5:00 P.M., IN THE BOARD ROOM OF THE EDUCATION CENTER, 165 NORTH COLUMBUS AVENUE, MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK.

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual School Board/Budget Vote Election will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. for three (3) members to serve for a full term of three (3) years, beginning on July 1, 2025, and expiring on June 30, 2028; and for the purpose of electing two (2) members of the Board of Trustees of the Mount Vernon Public Library to serve one (1) five (5) year term beginning on July 1, 2025, and expiring on June 30, 2030, and one (1) three (3) year term beginning on July 1, 2025, and expiring on June 30, 2028.

NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that an accurate description of the boundaries of the School Election District into which the City School District of the City of Mount Vernon is divided, is on file and may be inspected at the Office of the District Clerk, 165 North Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, New York.  The public schools where such Election will be held are as follows:

DISTRICT NO. and NAME AND LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES       

Election District 1: Lincoln School, 170 East Lincoln Avenue

Election District 4: Cecil H. Parker School, 461 South Sixth Avenue

Election District 5: Hamilton School, 20 Oak Street                    

Election District 6: Traphagen School, 72 Lexington Avenue

Election District 7: Edward Williams School, 9 Union Lane

Election District 9: Graham School, 21 East 5^th Street

Election District 11: Pennington School, 20 Fairway

Election District 14: Rebecca Turner Academy, 625 South Fourth Avenue          

Election District 17: Holmes School (MVHA), 195 North Columbus Avenue

Election District 22: Grimes School, 58 South 10^th Avenue

Budget / Election Information will be available on the website at:  www.mtvernoncsd.org/election in multiple languages.

AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that military voters who are not currently registered may apply to register as a qualified voter of the school district.  Military voters who are qualified voters of the school district may submit an application for a military ballot. Military voters may designate a preference to receive a military voter registration, military ballot application or military ballot by mail, facsimile transmission or electronic mail in their request for such registration, ballot application or ballot. Military voter registration forms and military ballot application forms must be received in the Office of the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 5, 2025. No military ballot will be canvassed unless it is (1) received in the Office of the District Clerk before the close of the polls on election day and showing a cancellation mark of the United States postal service or a foreign country’s postal service, or showing a dated endorsement of receipt by another agency of the United States government; or (2) received by the Office of the District Clerk by no later than 5:00 p.m. on election day and signed and dated by the military voter and one witness thereto, with a date which is associated to be no later than the day before the election.

By Order of the Board of Education

Of the City School District of the City of Mount Vernon, New York

Rita James, District Clerk