WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Before Election Day, we knew that it would take a while to get results from the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee races.

 

We just did not know how long.

 

On Monday morning, Lanesborough officials said that it will be at least until Monday, Nov. 16, before we know the official outcome of the Nov. 3 balloting.

 

That is because the Lanesborough Town Clerk Ruth Knysh, who runs elections and certifies the vote, is out of the office until that date, according to a bounceback message on her town email account.

 

On Monday, Lanesborough officials confirmed that the town's votes will not be certified until Knysh is back in the office.

 

Both Lanesborough and Williamstown voters cast ballots for all seven members of the School Committee.

 

This fall, four of the committee seats were on the ballot – two for Lanesborough residents and two for Williamstown residents. There were six qualified candidates for the four seats, three from each town, and three incumbents on the ballot (two incumbents in Williamstown and one in Lanesborough, where one of the town's three sitting members chose not to seek another four-year term).

 

Complicating the election in this cycle was a snafu that left all six of the qualified candidates – those who returned nomination papers with the proper number of signatures – were omitted from the ballot, meaning that voters had to write in names for all four seats.

 

The write-in count was one reason that election officials in both towns were up until the wee hours of Wednesday morning getting results in the Mount Greylock race.

 

At 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, Lanesborough's Knysh sent out results for the Mount Greylock race and all other races and public questions on the mid-term election ballot. At about 10 a.m. Wednesday, she sent a second note clarifying that the returns she reported were unofficial.

 

Williamstown Town Clerk Nicole Beverly noted Wednesday on the town's website that nothing would be official on Williamstown's end until after the close of business Friday, Nov. 6, the deadline to receive mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day.

 

On Monday at 9:30 a.m., Beverly met with Williamstown's Board of Registrars to count the mail-in ballots and produce final vote totals for the town.

 

The official totals for Williamstown are as follows:

 

For Lanesborough seats, Elfenbein (448), Szczepaniak-Locke (363), Zuroff (436), others (244), blanks (4,565).

 

For Williamstown seats, Greene (683), Miller, (476), Bifano (629), Anna Moriarty-Lev (46), others (80), blanks (4,142).

 

The unofficial results for Lanesborough (as of 1:15 on Nov. 4) are:

 

For Lanesborough seats, Elfenbein (347), Szczepaniak-Locke (379), Zuroff (307).

 

For Williamstown seats, Greene (256), Miller(246), Bifano (182).

 

Added together, the official and unofficial results show a tight race for the second Lanesborough seat.

 

Those premature vote totals for the two towns are:

 

Lanesborough seats, Elfenbein (795), Szczepaniak-Locke (742), Zuroff (743).

 

For Williamstown seats, Greene (939), Miller (722), Bifano (811).

 

No one can be sworn in for his or her seat until numbers are finalized in both towns, meaning that, technically, there are just three known members of the School Committee's new two-year cycle, the ones who would be up for re-election in 2028.

 

School Committee Chair Julia Bowen said this week's school committee meeting will be postponed. She said she notified current school committee members and candidates to hold Thursday, Nov. 16 for their next meeting. 

 

to ask how she plans to handle the committee's scheduled Nov. 12 meeting, knowing that the election will not be finalized until Nov. 16. After Monday's count in Williamstown, Beverly agreed that holding a meeting with the seven "current" committee members would be an option.

 

As of midday Monday, the Nov. 12 meeting was still listed on the district's website.