Katonah-Lewisboro Board of Ed to see uncontested election

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - A week before voters go to the polls, it’s already clear who will likely fill three open trustee seats on the Katonah-Lewisboro School District board.

A current board member and two newcomers, they will be the only candidates on the May 20 ballot seeking to serve on the district’s policymaking, seven-member panel.

Carolyn Snell of Katonah and Arwen Thomas Belloni of South Salem along with Katonah’s Jon Poffenberger, who is finishing the term he won and started in May 2024, will be sworn in for three-year terms when the board begins the 2025-26 academic year in July.

All three promise energy and enthusiasm in their trustee roles and, perhaps more importantly for a board that has recently lost so many key, long-serving members, they bring expertise in education (Poffenberger and Snell) and the business world (Belloni).

In May 2024, Poffenberger’s election allowed the twice-delayed departure of a 10-year veteran trustee. “I have really enjoyed my time serving on the [board] over the past year,” Poffenberger says, and noting he’s learned, “ through . . . mandated training and firsthand experience, that serving on the board is truly a team effort.”

“Relying on each other’s expertise on any given subject while having thoughtful dialog to come to an agreed outcome is what drives the work,” he says.

A director of an overnight summer camp in New Hampshire, Poffenberger has been an educator for 25 years, the last 20 as an administrator. He and his wife, a teacher for 24 years, have a KLSD 3rd grader.

Carolyn Snell, a former first-grade teacher, brings to the board her background as an education professional with experience in curriculum, educational technology and creative leadership.

“I’m ready to bring both classroom knowledge and a deep commitment to the community and work ahead,” Snell says. “There has never been a more crucial time to advocate for robust public education. . . . Our future depends on students who can read and write confidently, think critically, solve problems creatively and participate fully in our democracy.”

A mother of two Increase Miller students, Snell believes in “a well-rounded education that nurtures strengths across academics, arts, movement and enrichment,” Snell says. “I’ve advocated for stronger early literacy instruction and for practices that ensure every student is seen, supported and challenged.”

Three of Arwen Thomas Belloni’s children are KLSD graduates and another is an 8th grader at John Jay Middle School, so it’s not surprising she believes “strong collaboration between families, educators and the community is more important than ever.”

Belloni says she had long hoped to serve on the school board but family duties and the demands of her management job at JP Morgan Chase precluded it. When she was offered a separation package, however, “I chose to use this moment as a turning point—one that would allow me to pursue long-standing goals in public service and education.”

Belloni describes herself as “especially optimistic” about Vision 2030, KLSD’s focus on developing a well-rounded learner profile.

Inevitable turnover will leave the board seated in July with only one trustee who has completed a full three-year term. That’s Marjorie Schiff, who has served 13 years on the board, including eight as president. Schiff, who is finishing the first year of her fifth KLSD term, is also president of the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association.

Julia Hadlock, the board’s president for the past two years and a member for nine, will step down at the end of June. So will Rory Burke, who’s been a trustee for six years and served earlier as a citizen-member of the finance committee.