These are the candidates that the WCT is endorsing:

John C. LUMIA

My name is John Lumia.  I have a BA degree from Marist College and a MA degree from St. John’s University. I taught mathematics at Marist, Dutchess Community College, and RCK for 32 years.   

As a Board Member, I served as Chairman of the Capital Improvement, Policy, Personnel, and Curriculum Committees. I am presently the acting Board President.

While on the Board, our internal and external infrastructures have improved tremendously. With the elimination of rentals, we bought a building which houses both the administration and the alternative high school. The construction vestibules have made our schools safer. We have eliminated the overcrowding in our schools and created a consistent K-6 grade configuration in all but two sister schools.  Budgets have always been within the tax cap. Continuing to provide the best education and being mindful of our taxpayers' burden will always be my focus. I hope to have your vote.     

Keith ODUMS:

I’m currently the Vice-President and proud Board Member running for re-election of the School Board.  I will continue to be directly involved in the numerous important academic and fiscal decisions WCSD will encounter. Decisions that will have a direct impact on, the quality of education offered to all students within the WCSD.

I believe, “Good partnerships are essential for a community to thrive.”  I have a broad and varied community service background.  As an active volunteer serving on a non-for-profit board and volunteer leadership roles, I will engage strong partnerships amongst the community.

My aim is to leverage my professional experiences, commit to listen to the WCSD community, investigate the issues and study the data to achieve the WCSD mission.

Education should not be a line item on the school board’s agenda – it should be the only item. On June 9th, cast your vote for KEITH ODUMS. 

Peggy KELLAND:

In my six years on the Board, I have served on all the committees, including four years as President. We have eliminated overcrowding, rentals, and the maintenance backlog, while enhancing instruction and security, all without exceeding the tax cap. We need to preserve these gains during the educational and financial challenges of the Covid-19 crisis.

I earned my BA from Smith College and my MA from Teachers College. After training teachers as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras, I taught high school social studies, elementary school, reading improvement, and math remediation. I worked as a full time or substitute teacher in all Wappingers school buildings.

Our children and grandson attended Wappingers schools. I served as a PTA room mother, Girl Scout and Cub Scout Leader, and on the Site Leadership Team at RCK. I have forty years of experience on non-profit and community boards, including many leadership positions.