Schools

No Contest in Hills Board of Ed. Race

Incumbents Frank Grimaldi and James Ptucha are running unopposed for re-election.

Both Frank Grimaldi and James Ptucha will be running uncontested for re-election of their open trustee seats on the Half Hollow Hills Board of Education on May 15.

Grimaldi, who works for a lending and investment firm, serves on the Budget Committee and Audit Committee. He has been a board of education trustee since 2009. Ptucha currently serves as vice president of the board and has been a trustee since 2006.

A Hills East graduate, Grimaldi is a co-founder of the Half Hollow Hills Alumni Association and Half Hollow Hall of Fame. He is a 33-year resident of the district and has three children in the schools. Over the years, he has taken on numerous athletic endeavors within the school district. Grimaldi is commissioner and co-founder of Hills Pride Football and a member of both Hills East and West football booster clubs. He is also president of the Hills West wrestling booster club and member of the combined girls' lacrosse booster club.

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In his run for re-election, Grimaldi says he will fight for utilization of regional cost factors when calculating state aid and implement a plan to create new revenue for the district, other than tax dollars. He is also a supporter of special education services, the AHAP program and Enrichment Program.

Ptucha runs a small business, has two children in the district and is an active member of the PTA. He serves on several board committees including Facilities, Community Awareness and Budget and Legislation.

Find out what's happening in Half Hollow Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In addition to serving as vice president of the school board, Ptucha is also the vice president of the Four Towns Civic Association. He is an avid activist against over-development, and is currently fighting against the NYS Department of Transportation's Pilgrim State Intermodal plans.

The Half Hollow Hills School District budget vote and board of education candidate election will take place on May 15 at High School East.


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