SARANAC LAKE — Saranac Lake will have the only contested school board race in the Tri-Lakes, with seven people running for three seats in May. Tupper Lake, Lake Placid and Keene all have uncontested races.

Monday was the deadline for school board candidates to file petitions to be on the ballot for the May 21 school election and budget vote.

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Saranac Lake

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On Monday, the order of the Saranac Lake Central School District Board of Education candidates to appear on the ballot was chosen at random. The order will be Justin Garwood, Scott McKim, Patrick Dupree, Tori Thurston, Nancy Bernstein, Jackie Niederbuhl and Rebecca Law.

For the first time in years, all open positions are for full three-year terms. Each expires in 2027. Terms begin on July 1.

Garwood is running for his second term. Thurston is running for her first full term. Bernstein is running for her third term.

Dupree, Niederbuhl and Law are running to keep Bloomingdale Elementary School open, after the board began discussion the possibility of closing it last month.

McKim is running on a long experience in education and community involvement.

Garwood lives in Saranac Lake and has four children — Ava, who attends Petrova Elementary in third grade, Hayes, 3, who goes to Northern Lights School, and 18-month-old twins Isla and Willa, who are at home. He teaches special education at the University of Vermont.

Garwood is a former classroom teacher who said he feels “a calling to support the youth.” He also coaches youth basketball and flag football. In his three years on the board he said he’s navigated many policy challenges, maintained fiscal responsibility and led the campaign to create a new Red Storm mascot.

“Reveal coming soon!” he wrote in an email.

McKim, of Brighton, has a daughter enrolled in the district. He said he co-founded a school in Alaska and taught middle school math, science and applied technology for seven years.

He serves on boards for the Northern Lights School, Saranac Lake 3P and the Saranac Lake Whitewater Park Project. He works as a science manager at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center’s Whiteface Mountain Field Station and as a meteorologist for New York state Mesonet.

McKim said he finds fulfillment in actively participating in the community.

“I hope to leverage my background in public education to engage constructively,” McKim wrote in an email. “As our community and school district encounter various obstacles, I hope to contribute to discussions that prioritize the well-being, aspirations, and achievements of our young people.”

Dupree, of Bloomingdale, has a son — Maverick, 4 — who is going into Bloomingdale Elementary next year. He works at Wesley Moody Landscaping, grew up in Onchiota and attended Bloomingdale School.

“I’ve been thrilled to know that my son, who will be going into kindergarten next year, would be attending the same school I did at his age,” Dupree wrote. “Most of my friends and family have moved to this area specifically for their children to attend Bloomingdale School.”

He said he wants to ensure this “treasure” of a school sticks around.

Dupree also said he wants to increase SLCSD’s rating on real estate portals to attract more families to the area.

Thurston will appear on the ballot as “Tori N. Thurston.” She’s a marine upholsterer who works with her husband in plumbing and heating and lives in the town of Santa Clara. Her daughter Bali is a junior at the high school.

“I ran initially because I thought the district could do better for our kids, academically and emotionally,” Thurston wrote in a text.

She said she’s become a “voice” for the district, and she is now the board’s liaison to the New York State School Boards Association and advocating for Saranac Lake on a state level.

“I want to continue fighting for our kids and their families both locally and statewide,” Thurston wrote.

Bernstein, of Vermontville, is an energy circuit rider for the Adirondack North Country Association who assists municipalities in clean energy projects. She recently had a child graduate from SLCSD.

She said she wants to see the district through “upcoming transitions,” including Superintendent Diane Fox’s scheduled retirement in 2026, the trend of declining student enrollment and the state’s electric school bus mandate.

“I’d like to continue guiding the district to provide equitable opportunities so all our students reach their full potential,” Bernstein wrote in a text.

Jacquelyn Niederbuhl of Bloomingdale has two girls — Holley, 13, at the middle school, and Lillian, 9, at Bloomingdale Elementary.

“I have been hearing very concerning chatter about Bloomingdale school being closed,” Niederbuhl wrote. “This is a huge motivation for my running for the Saranac Lake school board.”

She said the school is the reason she lives in Bloomingdale and alleged that it is “purposely being under-utilized.”

“I want to ensure that my children will never have to see it close,” Niederbuhl wrote in an email, adding that as a smaller school, it offers a less stimulating environment to some students, and can complement new housing initiatives in the area.

Niederbuhl, who owns the Uncommon Earthworks landscaping company, also said she wants to secure funding and grants to teach more personal financial literacy and life skills, as well as teach children about conservation and environmental preservation.

Law, of Bloomingdale, has a 3-year-old who will be going to school shortly.

“It is disheartening to hear rumors of the Bloomingdale school being closed,” Law wrote in an email.

Law said Petrova Elementary is “bursting at the seams” while Bloomingdale Elementary is “under-utilized.”

“I want to be a voice for not just the town of Saranac Lake’s student body but the surrounding towns as well,” Law wrote.

She works as a clinical manager for Mountain Medical Services.

“I am running so that I can make sure we are putting literacy first while being fiscally responsible,” Law wrote. “With our student population dropping I know the school board will be facing some tough decisions. I want to make sure the board is looking into every avenue of what can and can’t be done regarding classroom sizes and where the classes are being held.”

For the first year this year, New York is allowing universal mail-in voting with no excuse. Previously, absentee mail-in voting was only allowed with certain excuses.

Voters can currently request absentee or universal early mail ballots from district Clerk Gina Pollock at 518-897-1408 or pollockgin@slcs.org. Pollock said voters can request absentee ballots through the Franklin or Essex county boards of elections, too. The completed applications must be returned by 4 p.m. on May 14.

The SLCSD school board election, proposition and budget vote will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 21 in the district offices near the auditorium at door No. 5 of the High School at 79 Canaras Ave.

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Tupper Lake

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Two candidates put in petitions for two open seats on the Tupper Lake Central School District Board of Education, so the race is not competitive.

Board President Jane Whitmore and Vice President Jason Rolley are both running uncontested to keep their seats.

Both open positions hold full three-year terms, which will expire in 2027.

For the first year this year, New York is allowing universal mail-in voting with no excuse. Previously, absentee mail-in voting was only allowed with certain excuses.

Absentee and early voting ballots can be requested from TLCSD Clerk Shauni Kavanagh’s office starting on May 7. Completed applications must be returned at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election if the ballot is to be delivered in person to the voter.

Absentee ballots must be returned by 3 p.m. on May 21, the day of the vote.

The budget vote and school board election are scheduled for May 21 with polls open from noon to 8 p.m. at the library of the Middle-High School.

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Lake Placid

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Two seats are open this year on the Lake Placid Central School District Board of Education. Board member Colleen Locke is running for re-election, while board president Daniel Cash is not. Don Mellor, retired school counselor at Northwood School, is running for the open seat.

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Keene

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One seat is open this year on the Keene Central School District Board of Education. Incumbent Emily Reynolds Bergh will be running unopposed for her second three-year term.