Board Candidates Make Case for Support Amid Controversy
By DARLA M. YOUNGS
COOPERSTOWN
On Tuesday, May 21, Cooperstown Central School District residents will vote on the 2024-25 proposed school budget. They will also choose three Board of Education members from a slate of six candidates: Keith Parr, Padraic MacLeish, Matthew Monahan, Mary Beth Murdock, Anthony Scalici and William Streck.
Both Monahan and Scalici are sitting board members whose terms expire on June 30. Monahan has two children currently enrolled at CCS and Scalici has served on the Board of Education for 30 years. All four of the challengers also have close ties to the school. Parr is married to science teacher Amy Parr. Padraic MacLeish has five children in the school system and his wife, Shelby, is coordinator of the CCS Kid Garden. Murdock is a former CCS teacher and a prior president of the Cooperstown Faculty Association. Streck’s daughter, Molly Richtsmeier, is also a teacher at CCS.
The Cooperstown Faculty Association—also referred to as the Cooperstown Teachers’ Association—has endorsed candidates for the first time in recent memory. Parr, Murdock and Streck get the nod from the association, which represents regular full-time, part-time, probationary or tenured teachers of the district. A flier reportedly being circulated to members of the community refers to the trio of candidates as “pro-public schools.”
