Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media voters in the Cairo-Durham Central School District will have record number of candidates to choose from when they go to the polls, May 21. A total of 11 people, including 2 incumbents, are in the running for four open seats. Candidates include Incumbents Dennis Burke and Gary Warner, as well as Robert Conti, Dale Handel, Brock Juusola, Robert Poelstra, Nicole Maggio, Steve LaFever, Claudia Zucker, Bernadette Gavin-Palmieri and Todd Hilgendorff. For the first time in recent memory, a newly rejuvenated Cairo-Durham Teachers Association’s Political Action Committee has endorsed Maggio, Gavin-Palmieri, Juusola and Handel in the board race. History teacher Laura Giarrusso, a member of the CDTA PAC, said the large candidate pool is good for the community. “I think it’s great that we have an active community that wants to be involved,” she said. The teachers union will support its endorsed candidates by going door-to-door, sending mailers and working phone banks on behalf of their campaigns, Giarrusso said. The district will hold a meet-the-candidates night 7 p.m., May 1, in the high school auditorium. The large field of school board hopefuls comes just weeks after the abrupt departure of now former Superintendent Anthony Taibi. Many residents of the district believe the board pressured Taibi to resign, despite denials that he was forced out. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.