Ramsey April 24, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Last week, approximately 15 percent of Ramsey’s registered voters turned out to reelect incumbent school board trustees Carrie Williams, Claudia Monteith, and Timothy Finnegan. The public also supported the board of education’s 2013-14 budget, voting 1,169 to 329 in favor of the $58,407,487 spending plan. The budget includes a general fund that totals $54,818,333, special revenue in the amount of $1,167,258, and debt service that totals $2,421,896. This budget will result in a 2013 school tax increase of approximately $15 for the owner of a house assessed at $427,200. Over $550,000 has been included to address increased security in all of the school buildings. The district’s many Voters support 2013-14 budget, incumbents appropriations will include $18,134,025 for regular programs – instruction, $4,110,390 for special education – instruction, $4,568,598 for operation and maintenance of plant services, $1,786,914 for student transportation services, and $8,249,179 for personal services – employee benefits. Challenger Reena Chawla, who was seeking one of the three available seats on the school board, received 471 in her bid for election. Finnegan received 987 ballots, Williams received 994, and Monteith received 1,055. Finnegan was originally elected in 2010 and will now begin his second term on the board. He is serving as chairman of the board’s Finance Committee and as a member of the Personnel and Community Action committees. A 16-year borough resident, Finnegan has been involved in the Ramsey Junior Football Association and the Ramsey Baseball Association. His three children attend Ramsey’s schools. Finnegan holds a bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is a managing director at JP Morgan Chase, where he has been employed for 15 years. Monteith was a Ramsey Board of Education trustee from 1996 to 2007, when she opted not to seek a new term. In 2009 she returned to the board, replacing trustee Erik Endress, who resigned. She is a graduate of Ramsey High and of the University of New Hampshire, where she received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology with a minor in chemistry. Now retired, she worked for over 30 years in the diagnostic/biotechnology industry. She is involved in a host of community activities, and currently chairs the Negotiations Committee and the Policy Committee and serves as a member of the Personnel Committee. Williams, who is originally from Woodcliff Lake, has lived in Ramsey for 20 years with her husband, John Ware. Her son is a graduate of Ramsey High School and her twin daughters are juniors at Ramsey High. The incumbent trustee holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Denver and is currently the director of operations for an estate planning firm. She has served on the Ramsey Board of Education for the past six years and is the current vice president. She is the former president of the Ramsey Education Foundation and has chaired various PTO committees.