Jennifer Russo and Michael Finley Elected School Board Trustees; School Budget Passes
By Carol P. Bartold, Senior Reporter
May 17, 2017: Bronxville voters went to the polls on May 16 for the annual election of school trustees and budget referendum. A total of 232 votes were cast.
The proposed 2017-2018 budget of $47.1 million passed with 188 votes for and 37 votes against. The tax levy to fund the budget, $42 million, falls within the allowable 1.57 percent tax levy cap rate for the Bronxville school district. The levy represents a tax rate of $13.35 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The board of education approved the use of $500,000 of appropriated fund balances to fully fund the budget.
Michael Finley and Jennifer Russo, candidates selected by the Committee for Non-Partisan Nomination and Election of School Trustees, were elected school trustees to fill the seats vacated by Dr. Mary Guiffra and Adele Murray. Giuffra and Murray will complete their terms at the board of education's June 15 meeting.
Finley received 188 votes with 11 write-ins, and Russo received 188 votes with 11 write-ins. The count does not include affidavit ballots. There were no write-in candidates.
During his career in private equity, Finley, a certified public accountant who holds an MBA, has worked for Lehman Brothers as well as for two smaller firms that managed multibillion-dollar equity funds. In his service on several private and public company boards, Finley has interacted with several management teams. He has coached lacrosse and is a staunch supporter of Bronxville teams.
Formerly a corporate bond analyst at Lehman Brothers, Russo worked at a New York City design firm before opening her own interior design business. As a trustee of child services organization at Graham Windham, Russo co-chairs and organizes an annual holiday party for more than 100 children living at the Graham School campus in Hastings-on-Hudson. She has held several leadership positions in the Bronxville School PTA and on school councils. Russo has also served on the boards of the Lawrence Park Hilltop Association and the Lawrence Home Care Fund and was co-chair of the fundraising committee and membership secretary of the Junior Leagues of Bronxville and Boston.
The new board will hold a reorganization meeting in July.
Pictured here: Newly elected school board trustees Jennifer Russo and Michael Finley.
Photo by A. Warner
