Eric Harrison, was elected to a seat on the Baldwin Board of Education in last week’s election, is a Brooklyn native who moved to the area in 1994. He and his wife, Melanie, have been married for 18 years and their two children attend Baldwin Senior High School and the middle school. more

Next year’s budget for Baldwin schools makes the best of a bad situation. The choices district officials had to make on spending were grim, but they were realistic, and based on many hours of careful consideration. While there may be regret about the plan’s cost-cutting measures, there should not be anger, and voting “no” on the budget as an expression of vitriol would be a mistake. Voters who do so would actually be disadvantaging the students they hope to protect. The outcome would not be a restoration of programs, schools or jobs, but rather an even more savage slashing of funds that would gut district activities and significantly reduce the quality of life for students and non-students alike. more

There are five candidates for two seats on the Baldwin school board. The election will be held on May 15 from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. at Baldwin Senior High School. The last day to register to vote is May 10. The incumbent candidates for school board are Mary Jo O’Hagan, the current board president, and Robert “B.A.” Schoen. The challengers are Tracy Mahler, Eric Harrison and Michael Grannum. Below are profiles of each candidate. more

At a PTA-sponsored candidates forum May 2 at the school district office, each of five candidates for two trustee seats on the Baldwin Board of Education attempted to persuade voters that he or she was the best choice. more

By 12:45 a.m. on Dec. 15, a resigned, almost conciliatory atmosphere pervaded the gymnasium at Lenox Elementary. Two of the last commentators of the evening commended the school board on its hard work, but voiced their concerns about the board’s accounting transparency and the timing of its announcements. The 50 or 60 remaining residents shuffled out tired but better informed, and there was a sense of accomplishment as participants packed away their papers. more

Laura Williams will become the newest member of the Baldwin Board of Education in early July, replacing incumbent Anne Hannon, whom Williams defeated in the May 17 election. A mother of two daughters who attend Plaza School — Claire, 11, and Julie, 5 — and a third, Molly, who is 3, Williams is a former education reporter for the Daily News and the New York Post, and edited the Baldwin and Oceanside Heralds in 1998-99. She has lived in Baldwin since 1997. more

Baldwin residents voted yesterday to ratify the school board's 2011-2012 budget proposal and also elected a new school board member: former education reporter Laura Williams. Carl Williams, who was running unopposed, won the seat on the library board. more

With three bright, capable people running for one seat on the Board of Education, we almost wish this were a school board expansion rather than an election. But our choice is the incumbent trustee, Anne Hannon. more

The three candidates vying for a single open seat on the Baldwin school board at a PTA sponsored candidate forum May 4 were cordial, clever and well prepared. The forum, held at the district office on Hastings Street, was energetically moderated by Marion Fleming, a volunteer from a non-Baldwin chapter of the League of Women Voters, and was structured to include opening and closing statements from each candidate as well as questions from the audience. The questions, delivered on index cards to Fleming, were addressed to each candidate in turn, and the 40 or so community members who came up with them also heard remarks from Carl Williams, an unopposed candidate for library board. “No matter what the results of this election are, we’re lucky to have three such capable candidates for school board,” said one observer of the proceedings, and indeed the evening had a spirit of community rather than contention. more

Budget meetings are rarely upbeat affairs, but the mood at the Baldwin Board of Education meeting Jan. 9 at the Plaza School was unusually somber. Despite the best efforts of a student orchestra that demonstrated the success of district music programs, the focus of the evening soon turned to crunching numbers. And the outlook was not rosy. more