NOTICE OF THE PINE PLAINS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BUDGET, ANNUAL MEETING, SCHOOL DISTRICT ELECTION AND VOTING ON PROPOSITIONS   NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES Notice is given that petitions for nominating candidates for the office of member of the Board of Education must be filed with the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 20, 2026. Such petitions must be signed by at least twenty-five (25) qualified voters of the school district and must state the name and residence address of each signer and of the candidate. Petition forms may be picked up in the District Office on any school day during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. except Saturday, Sunday and holidays.   BUDGET AVAILABLE Notice is also given that a statement of the amount of money which will be required for school district purposes for the 2026-2027 school year (the Budget) may be obtained by any resident of the District in each school building in which school is maintained and in the District Office, effective Monday, April 27, 2026, during regular school hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. except Saturday, Sunday and holidays. The budget will also be available on the district website: www.ppcsd.org and at every public and free association library in the District. A Real Property Tax Exemption Report prepared in accordance with Section 495 of the Real Property Tax Law will be annexed to any budget of which it will form a part; and shall be posted on District bulletin board(s) maintained for public notices, as well as on the District’s website.   PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given that the Board of Education of the Pine Plains Central School District will hold a public hearing on the budget in the Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School, Pine Plains, New York, on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. for the purpose of presentation of the 2026-2027 budget.   LOCATION, DATE, SUBJECT OF ANNUAL VOTE Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting, Election and Vote on Propositions of the Pine Plains Central School District will be held on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at the following location and time, when the polls will be open for the purpose of voting by voting machine:   All district residents vote at the Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School, 2829 Church Street, Pine Plains, New York from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.   THE VOTERS SHALL VOTE ON THE FOLLOWING: 1. SHALL the Budget for the 2026-2027 school year be approved?   2. SHALL the Board of Education of the Pine Plains Central School District, Dutchess and Columbia Counties, New York be authorized to purchase two (2) 71-passenger school buses, including cameras and necessary equipment, at a maximum estimated cost of $194,525.66 each, for an aggregate maximum estimated cost of $389,051.32 and three (3) 35-passenger school buses, at a maximum estimated cost of $120,408.41 each, for an aggregate maximum estimated cost of $361,225.23; and that the sum of $750,276.55, or so much thereof as may be necessary is authorized to be expended from the District’s “Bus Purchase Reserve Fund” approved by the voters on May 17, 2022, to pay for the cost of the bus purchases.   3. To elect two (2) members of the Board of Education for three-year terms commencing July 1, 2026 and ending on June 30, 2029.   VOTER REGISTRATION Notice is also given that personal registration of voters is required pursuant to Section 2014 of the Education Law. Any qualified voter may register to vote for the Annual School District Election and Vote at the District Office during regular business hours, from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, on days when school is in session, until May 14, 2026. The register for said Annual School District Election and Vote shall include all persons who shall have presented themselves personally for registration and shall also include all persons who shall have been previously registered for and have voted at any annual or special school district election or vote held or conducted during the 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025 calendar years. A resident who is registered with the Dutchess or Columbia County Board of Elections is also qualified to vote. Voter qualifications are thus: must be a United States citizen; 18 years of age or older; and a permanent resident within the District for a period of thirty (30) days immediately prior to the vote.   INSPECTION OF VOTER REGISTER Notice is given that the Voter Register of the School District so prepared, including the names of military voters who submitted valid military registrations, will be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the District, where the same will be available for public inspection by any qualified voter of the District starting May 14, 2026 by appointment with the District Clerk during regular business hours from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and on Saturday, except Sundays and holidays. Said register shall be open for inspection at the voting place during the day of the Annual School District Election and Vote, on May 19, 2026.   EARLY MAIL BALLOTS AND ABSENTEE BALLOTS Notice is also given that early mail ballots and absentee ballots will be offered for the Annual School District Election and Vote. Applications for early mail ballots or absentee ballots for the Annual School District Election may be obtained at the Office of the District Clerk or downloaded from the website at www.ppcsd.org. The early mail ballot or absentee ballot application must be received by the District Clerk no more than thirty (30) days and at least seven (7) days prior to the election, if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be personally picked up by the voter or the voter’s authorized designee set forth in the application, at the Office of the District Clerk. Early mail ballots and absentee ballots must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election and vote, May 19, 2026. Separate lists of all persons to whom early mail ballots, absentee ballots, and military ballots have been issued, will be available for public inspection to qualified voters of the District in the said Office of the District Clerk, during regular office hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. until the day of the election. Any qualified voter may file a written challenge of the qualifications of a voter whose name appears on any such list, stating the reasons for the challenge.   MILITARY VOTER REGISTRATION AND BALLOTS Notice is given that military voters who are not currently registered to vote in the School District may request an application to register as a qualified voter of the School District and military voters who are registered to vote in the School District may request an application for a military ballot, for the Annual Meeting on May 19, 2026, by contacting the District Clerk at 2829 Church Street, Pine Plain, NY 12567, by telephone: (518) 398-7181, ext. 1408, or email: j.tomaine@ppcsd.org. A military voter may indicate their preference for receiving the registration application and/or military ballot application by mail, facsimile, or email. The completed application to register and/or for a military ballot must be received by the District Clerk by no later than 5:00 pm on April 23, 2026. Military ballots will be mailed or otherwise distributed no later than 25 days before the election (April 23, 2026). Military ballots must be returned by mail or in person and received by the District Clerk by 5:00 pm on May 19, 2026.   DATED: April 2, 2026 Julia W. Tomaine, District Clerk Pine Plains Central School District 12188976