Incumbent Trustee Bavlnka Re-Elected; Connors Returns to BOE

Incumbent candidate Deanna Bavlnka has been re-elected to the Board of Education, and running mate Bill Connors, who previously served 12 years as a trustee, will once again sit on the school board.

Bavlnka and Connors both expressed gratitude towards their supporters, but said they wished it could be under happier circumstances, as to get the supermajority it needed to pass.

"Thank you to my family and my friends who supported me. ... I'm thrilled and happy for Bill and I, but I'm very upset about the budget," Bavlnka said. "I thought we were going to do it."

Connors said he feels honored to be able to serve the district once again.

"I certainly appreciate the support they gave me," he said. "I just wish that the budget had passed, that's my big frustration."

Connors, who left the board in 2006, won 4,438 votes. Bavlnka, who was elected last year to serve the remaining year in place of a trustee who had resigned, won 3,597 votes. The third candidate, Dr. Andrea Fusco-Winslow, garnered 2,899 votes.

"It was a good race," Fusco-Winslow said after all the results were in. "You need someone in charge who can run a budget that will pass."