Large turnout at Penfield CSD to vote on school budget, Board of Education members
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Long lines of people showed up to vote for the Penfield Central School District's budget and board of education members months after the district faced controversy.
The huge voter turnout prompted the district to keep the polls open for at least another hour. The results didn't come in until after midnight — the budget and proposition passed, and three candidates were elected.
Jeff Burns was one of the voters who showed up. He said they were waiting in line for over an hour and a half.
'I've been doing this for 20 years and have never seen anything like this. I was in line for over an hour and a half lot of people outside, many of us were shivering, and they told us once we were in line, if you were in line by 9, you would be able to vote,' Burns said.
The large turnout comes months after the district faced controversy over 'The Rainbow Parade,' a book by Emily Neilson. It was alleged a student went home with the book that featured illustrations of people wearing limited or no clothing.
The controversy led to residents attending board meetings, addressing their concerns, while board members reported that some in attendance yelled or threw insults. Some meetings were even cancelled after the district received threatening messages.
'I think that the school board election was really the key issue and that there has been division,' Burns said. 'People wanted to vote for the people they felt would be better on the school board. There's a group trying to ban a group of books, and I'm against that. That's why I came out.'
News 8 is following the school election results. You can find a complete list by clicking here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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