Next Tuesday, Rye voters will see a ballot with just three Board of Education candidates for the three open seats: incumbents Nancy Pasquale and Chris Repetto are seeking second terms and Kelly Smith-Powers, a Loudon Woods parent with a first grader at Midland and twins heading for kindergarten in September, is running for the first time.

By Sarah Varney

Next Tuesday, Rye voters will see a ballot with just three Board of Education candidates for the three open seats: incumbents Nancy Pasquale and Chris Repetto are seeking second terms and Kelly Smith-Powers, a Loudon Woods parent with a first grader at Midland and twins heading for kindergarten in September, is running for the first time.

Smith-Powers has lived in Rye for three years. She grew up in Buffalo, and graduated from Alfred University with a major in Sociology and a minor in Equestrian Studies. The daughter of two high school teachers, she worked alongside her parents on their horse farm after school. She left the stables behind when Accenture hired her as a human resources representative; she then worked at Merrill Lynch for 11 years as head of HR on the debt side.

 

“HR professionals need to be very objective, hear all sides, and look for fact-based solutions. On the School Board, the importance of being impartial is clear,” she noted.

“The outcome of the May 19 school budget with its override of the 2 percent tax cap is sobering, but if it fails there will still be a need for clear-thinking,” she stated. “It would be devastating and it would change the way our schools operate but we’d have to find a way to move forward.”

For Repetto, the best part of serving is having “a front-row seat to school life. Seeing what our kids are able to accomplish academically, artistically, and athletically is both the best part of my Board service and what I am most proud of.” He added, “The least enjoyable part of the job is dealing with the limitations of Albany.”

He views the lack of competition for the three Board seats optimistically. “I would like to think that this uncontested election is a sign that community members are widely satisfied with the results of our oversight of the District on their behalf,” said Repetto.

Nancy Pasquale sees her greatest accomplishment during her first three-year term was her involvement in getting the Science Wing project completed. She values her work on behalf of the Board as the representative to the Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association. “I’ve played a role in keeping our local board plugged into educational issues that go beyond Rye’s borders,” she said.

Voting for the Board Candidates and the District’s 2015-16 Budget will take place at the Rye Middle School Multipurpose Room May 19 from 7 a.m.-9 p.m.