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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Six vie for three Valley Central Board seats
Continued from page 1
May 21. The fate of the district’s 2019-2020
proposed $106,822,000 spending plan will
be decided in next Tuesday’s balloting,
and the budget proposal includes a 1.05
percent tax levy increase, which is within
the state-mandated tax cap. The proposed
budget represents a 2.69 percent increase
over last year’s approved spending plan,
which passed last June after voters
rejected the district’s first proposal.
A proposition will also be on the ballot
for the potential creation of a Capital
Reserve Fund that could not exceed $10
million over the course of a decade. If the
fund were to be approved, voters would
then have to give the green light to every
capital expenditure to fund the district’s
future construction projects.
Three school board seats are also up
for grabs in next week’s election, with
a crowded field of six candidates vying
for the trio of slots, with Acting Board
President Sarah Messing as the only
incumbent in the race. Each seat comes
with a three-year term that begins on
July 1. In addition, the board candidate
who earns the most votes will also fill
the unexpired term from May 22 through
June 30 that was created when former
Trustee Joseph Byrne resigned from his
seat last winter. Polls will be open from
6:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. on May 21 at the
Valley Central High School gymnasium,
with the following candidates all seeking
to secure a spot on the board.
Sarah Messing
Sarah Messing is seeking a second term
after assuming the role of Acting Board
of Education President in March when
Trustee Melvin Wesenberg stepped down
as head of the board.
“I have very much enjoyed the time
I’ve spent on the board the past three
years,” she said. “I still have two kids
in elementary school and two kids in
middle school, and I’m interested in
staying involved and giving back to the
community.”
Messing, who also serves as the
secretary of the Montgomery Elementary
School PTA and has lived in the district
for more than 35 years, says the board
must restore a measure a faith with
residents after last year’s first proposed
budget was voted down.
“I think we have a lot of work to do
in gaining some trust in the community
after our budget defeat last year,” she
said. “I think that we have to work
towards rebuilding the trust and the
transparency in the community, and
really keeping all of the programs we
have now continuing. There has been
some issue about balancing our budget
with the use of fund balance, and I think
we really have to take a look at that and
look to have a sustainable budget in the
future that doesn’t rely on fund balance.”
In her current role on the board,
Messing is the liaison to the Health,
Safety and Wellness Committee and is a
delegate for the Orange County School
Board Association.
Arthur Fitzgerald
Retired police officer Arthur Fitzgerald
is hoping to earn his first term on the
school board, and the contender first
explored the possibility of filling a slot
on the council after Byrne’s resignation
in January.
“Initially I got into the race because
there was an opening and I had written
to the school district asking how I could
get involved and fill that spot if I could,”
Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald, 52, has lived in the district
his entire life, attending Montgomery
Elementary up through Valley Central
High School. He now has two sons in
Walden Elementary and currently works
as an Administrative Officer for the
United States Department of Veterans
Affairs. “I’d like to tell the voters that
if they elect me I will bring good, solid
rational thinking to the board,” he said.
“I’m more interested in making good
financial decisions. I think if I’m elected,
my main motto would be to support all
the needs of the district, and not so much
the wants. I think that’s a good way to
handle any budget situation.”
Fitzgerald serves as a Committee
Chairman for the Most Precious Blood
Cub Scouts Pack 32 in Walden, and also
is the Chairman of the Board for the
Emerald Society of the Hudson Valley.
Deborah Hansen
Deborah Hansen has lived in the district
for over three decades, and believes that
she has the tools necessary to make a
quality school board member. “I’ve been
asked to run in the past, but I did decide
to run this year because I was asked by
some district members and I believe my
skill set will complement the board and I
can do a good job,” she said.
Hansen, 59, has grandchildren
in the district and has worked as an
administrator with the Girl Scouts for
over 15 years. “So I’ve worked in youth
development and programming, and
I’m very supportive of our children and
I want them all to achieve their best
potential,” she noted.
The legal assistant graduated from
Marist College with a master’s degree in
public administration, and is now looking
to serve the community in another
capacity. “I think the voters should look
at their options, look at the candidates
and their beliefs and values,” she said. “I
have a very strong ethical background. I
believe that as a school district we need
to listen to our students, our families,
as well as look at the operations of the
district itself. We need to keep a good
balance, which I believe we’re doing, but
there’s always room for improvement in
everything you do.”
Katie McKnight
Katie McKnight has deep roots in the
local community and experience heading
the Orange County Rural Development
Advisory Corporation, and the candidate
hopes to bring that knowledge and a fresh
viewpoint to the school board.
“The main reason I decided to run
is that I have children in the district
and I’m a taxpayer, so I’m interested in
everything going on in the district from
both angles,” she said. “I think what
really motivated me though was reading
some of the stories in the Wallkill Valley
Times about some of the things that have
gone on in the board meetings. It just
seems like something’s not working with
the board. I’m the chair of another board
and I know how they’re supposed to work.
It just kind of motivated me to want to
make a change and have things better for
our school district.”
McKnight, 38, has lived in the district
for 31 years and works as the Accounting
Manager at Hudson Heritage Federal
Credit Union. She also holds a position
as an adjunct professor in accounting at
Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh.
Through Hudson Heritage, McKnight
mentors local high school students
and she volunteers as a coach with the
Orange County Soccer Club, which both
her children play for.
“I feel like things need to get back to
being about the kids,” she said of the
board. “I feel like things have gotten a
little out of hand. I’ll give the current
board members the benefit of the doubt,
and I’m sure they’re doing the best that
they can, but it seems like something is
not quite working and the focus is not on
the kids. ”
Patrick Murphy
Patrick Murphy wants to raise the
bar high for Valley Central, and the
candidate aims to earn his first term on
the board to facilitate just that. “I think
we can do better as a school district,”
he said. “They’ve done a lot of work the
past couple of years in filling the gaps
and making sure that the kids aren’t
falling through the cracks, and I think
there’s a strong enough foundation right
now where we can make the transition
and start raising expectations and
creating new opportunities for student
achievements. I’m essentially trying
to get Valley Central out of the beige
middle.”
Murphy, 42, has five children, with
three currently in district schools, one
alumnus and one future VC student.
Murphy’s daughter actually graduated
from Valley Central High School at 15 by
taking on an extra class load. “She kind
of figured out early on that she wasn’t
going to get what she needed out of the
district,” he said. “She was able to figure
out on her own that by taking a few extra
classes here and there starting in the
seventh grade, she took remedial summer
school classes just so she could escape.”
The candidate has resided in the district
for 19 years and works in Construction
Management for the Gilbane Building
Company. Murphy believes his experience
in engineering could be invaluable in
assisting the district with its upcoming
capital projects. “I’d like to make this
district something where if you’re having
a conversation with someone and they
say ‘Oh, you go to Valley Central? Wow,
that’s a really good school,’” he said of
his goals. “You don’t have those kinds of
conversations anymore. ”
Diana Revoir
Diana Revoir was a fifth-grade teacher
at Walden Elementary for 32 years before
retiring last year, so she has a unique
perspective that could be vital to the
board. “I have a lot of experience in
education, it’s something I’m very
knowledgeable about as far as education
and curriculum goes,” she said. “I really
just want to see what’s best for Valley
Central students.”
Revoir, 56, was recently appointed
Walden Village Historian and is closely
connected to the district. “I care very
much about the students at Valley
Central,” she says “Any decisions that
have to do with them and curriculum and
programs in particular, I’m interested as
a taxpayer in doing that in a responsible
manner.”
The candidate recently experienced a
personal tragedy with the death of her
husband, but she is ready to continue
serving the local community.
“I am a retired teacher who retired
from Valley Central last year and I’ve
lived in Valley Central my entire life,”
she said. “Last year was a rough year for
me. I lost my husband last January, and it
was a rough end to the school year. After
this last year, I’m back on my feet again
and feeling a lot better and I’d still like to
have my hands in it. I still care very much
about the district and I love it.”