No contest for School Board

Woody Allen said 80 percent of success is showing up. For this year’s School Board election, it was everything. Just two candidates filed petitions for three open seats in the May 21 trustee election, so by default Angie Minew and sitting board President George Heidcamp will be elected to three-year terms. The third open seat will be filled by a one-year appointment. Incumbents Mark Thompson and Robert Davies did not seek reelection.

Minew, owner and proprietor of Speckled Frog Playcare in Barclay Heights, is a parent of three students at Cahill Elementary and a member of the school’s PTA. She’s seen enough board meetings from the crowd to pique her interest.

“I just wanted to get more involved,” she said, adding that she’s not coming to the board with any specific agenda. “Not at this point. There’s so much I’m going to have to learn.”

Minew, who grew up in Ellenville, moved with her husband and family to Saugerties five and a half years ago. Seeing a need, she opened Speckled Frog a year later.

“There weren’t too many daycares in the area, so that’s what I decided to do,” she said.

She might be the only trustee who’s also a student; she’s studying business as an undergrad at Marist College.

“It’s to build on my daycare business, and you never know, maybe I’ll do something else,” she said. “I’ve been doing daycare for four and a half years and my kids are getting bigger.”

She’s coached AYSO soccer for the past five years and is just starting her first year as a Little League coach. She joked that she spends a lot of time at Cantine Field, just across the street from Saugerties High and Board of Education meetings.

“I’m pretty sure I live (at Cantine) at this point,” she said. “I play softball myself, so I’m pretty much there every night.”

Through AYSO, Minew was already familiar with the School Board’s Vice President Tom Ham, the regional coach administrator. Asked if she received any advice, Minew laughed.

“He said to not really speak to the press, but other than that, no,” she said. “I was ready either way. We were going to get signs, but now we’re good.”

Heidcamp declined to speak to the Saugerties Times, noting that he would make a statement at a later date. He did acknowledge Minew’s successful bid to join the Board of Education.

“I wish her luck and I’m looking forward to working with her,” he said.

The election will be held May 21 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the district’s four elementary schools. Also up for vote: a $55.9 million budget carrying a 1.9 percent tax increase.