In 2025 we will be voting for:
A) Board of Selectman
B) Zoning Board Members
C) Members of the Board of Education
D) All of the above
(Answer: D – all of the above)
2025 is the off-year election for the people who will run the town government. Beginning in December we will begin an in-depth series on our local government, its history, how it is structured, the importance of volunteers and the jobs they hold, both elected and appointed.
We will also delve into the several budgets that will be created; two for education and one for the Town of Kent. The education budgets are for Kent Center School, the local elementary school (pre-K-8) and for the Region 1 budget.
Kent is part of Regional School District #1, the first regionl district formed east of the Hudson River. It was established in 1937 and includes six towns: Kent, Cornwall, Sharon, Canaan, North Canaan and Salisbury. Each town has its own elementary school and sends their students to Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village (Canaan).
The budget voted on is for the high school and the regional school district administration, including the Superintendent of Schools and the Pupil Services that incudes services for special needs students. This budget is voted on in a referendum (machine vote) on the first Tuesday after the first Monday each year (May 6 in 2025).
Later in May, the Town of Kent and Kent Center School present their budgets at public hearings during which the public can express their concerns. Later in the month, at a town meeting, the two budgets face a vote by the townspeople. You must be present either at the Town Hall or on Zoom to vote.
In November, we will vote for the people who run the town. This year there will be a week of early voting before the machine vote on Nov. 4 (first Tuesday after first Monday). This is a long and complicated ballot that takes some explaining especially as to how the board of selectman is determined.
Each month between now and May and before November we will explain the town government, how it works and how it is funded.
