League Announces Cooperstown Central School Board
Candidates’ Debate on Wednesday, May 6
The League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area will hold a candidates’ debate for the two open seats on the Cooperstown Central School District Board of Education, on May 6 at the Cooperstown Jr./Sr. High School cafeteria at 7 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by the Cooperstown PTA. Each candidate will have an opportunity to speak and answer questions from the audience during the forum.
Three candidates are running for school board: Margaret Lyon Dowd, M.D., Christopher Franck, and Nicholas A. Marcantonio, Ph.D. School board members serve three-year terms and oversee the administration of school districts. The school board elections are non-partisan; candidates do not run as members of a party. School Board elections in New York are held each year in conjunction with a vote to approve the annual budget.
Dr. Dowd is an attending physician and surgeon at Bassett Hospital. Her three children are students in the Cooperstown schools, and she has been involved in various school-related activities including "The Walnut Street Journal” and the Cooperstown Kid Garden.
Mr. Franck is completing his first term on the CCS Board of Education. A graduate of Cooperstown Central High School in 1983, he is currently a guest lecturer at Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management.
Dr. Marcantonio, who has been teaching since 2004, retired from the faculty of Cooperstown High School in 2025 after 18 years with the district. He is currently an adjunct lecturer in mathematics at SUNY Oneonta. He served on various school committees during his tenure at CCS, and his daughter graduated from Cooperstown in 2015.
“School boards are small and local. Those running for the office make an important commitment to the community,” notes Marueen Murray, Voter Services Chair of the LWV Cooperstown Area. “They are not paid, but nonetheless, make an important commitment to our community sharing their time and expertise to oversee not only the education of our children, but the funding and spending necessary to maintain our schools. We hope the community will turn out to hear these candidates speak on May 6.”
Candidates for school board must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, a resident of their district continuously for at least one year before the election, and qualified voters in the school district; board members are also expected to be able to read and write. They cannot be employed by the board on which they serve or live in the same household with a family member who is also on the school board.
The election will be held at the Cooperstown Jr./Sr. High School, 39 Linden Ave, Cooperstown on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Polls are open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.Any citizen, 18 years of age or older who has been a resident of the district for 30 days preceding the election is qualified to vote. Applications for absentee ballots are available at the district office, 39 Linden Ave., Cooperstown; contact Maria Field, 607 547 5364. Ballots must be returned by 5 p.m., May 19.
