School board candidates — one in Voorheesville and one in Guilderland — have decided not to run in the May 19 elections; both had submitted valid petitions by the April 20 deadline. Consequently, as required by state law, both districts have now re-opened the window for submitting petitions.

Voorheesville

In Voorheesville, Christina Suits withdrew from the race, declining to give a reason. A lawyer with children in the district, this would have been her first run.

Board Clerk Jessica Tabakian said that the legal team at New York State School Boards Association told Voorheesville to reopen the petitions, and the district’s lawyers agreed, based on a state law that requires an additional 15 days for petitions up to seven days before the election.

Petition forms are available at the district office from Tabakian; potential candidates must return the forms with 25 signatures by 4 p.m. on May 12.

There are two seats open on the school board; one four-year term, and a three-year term that completes an unfinished four-year term. The election is open, so that the candidate receiving the most votes would fill the four-year seat; the candidate with the second highest vote tally would fill the three-year seat.

Attorney Doreen Saia, who was appointed to the unfulfilled term, has filed to run, and so has local parent Adam Shelmerdine. (See related story from April 30.)

This week, Michael Canfora filed a petition, making it, for now, a three-way race for two seats.

Guilderland

Packets outlining board member qualifications and duties along with petitions are available through the district office. Any district resident who is at least 18 and a qualified voter may run by submitting a petition with 53 signatures of district voters — 2 percent of those who voted last year — by May 7 at 5 p.m. to the district office at 8 School road in Guilderland Center.

The board has nine unpaid members elected at large who serve three-year terms.

After two years of uncontested races, six candidates submitted petitions by the April 20 deadline this year. On April 22, incumbent Jennifer Charron told The Enterprise she would not seek a second term.

She said, since her husband died two years ago, she has had to devote much time to dealing with his “complex estate” and that her children will always come first. “After last night’s board meeting, my blood pressure spiked again,” Charron said, leading to her decision to withdraw from the race.

Five candidates are currently in the running for three seats; they were profiled in The Enterprise on April 30: incumbents Catherine Barber and Christine Hayes and newcomers Timothy Burke, Nicholas Fahrenkopf, and Seema Rivera.

On Wednesday, Linda Livingston, clerk for the Guilderland School Board, said no one had picked up a petition since the window was re-opened.

— Jo E. Prout wrote about Voorheesville and Melissa Hale-Spencer about Guilderland.