MEET THE CANDIDATES
School board hopefuls meet the public at Tuesday night forum
WATERVLIET, N.Y. >> When residents go to the polls Tuesday to vote on the Watervliet City School District’s proposed 201718 budget, they will also be asked to choose from four candidates for two open seats on the district’s Board of Education.
With less than a week before the vote, the district hosted a meet the candidates program Tuesday night to introduce voters to Christine Sutherland, Steven Hoffman, Shawn Smeltzer and Mary Beth Whited, the four newcomers looking to fill seats.
“I wish you all well, and I look forward to working with whoever is sitting up here in July,” District Superintendent Lori Caplan said to kick off the forum.
The two candidates who receive the highest number of votes will be elected to the board and will be sworn in during the July Board of Education meeting. Each candidate is elected to serve a threeyear, unpaid term that will expire June 30, 2020.
Judy Ethier came out to hear from the candidates and said she looks for certain characteristics and qualities in the candidates she will vote for next week.
“I look for someone who has the school district’s best interest at heart, for the children and for education,” Ethier said after the event.
Sutherland has been a district resident for 37 years and is employed as an accounts receivable specialist for Rifenburg Construction. A graduate of Troy’s Catholic Central High School, Sutherland has been involved in Watervliet’s junior varsity and varsity football programs and previously volunteered with the Pop Warner Football program. After undergoing a lifesaving blood transfusion, she has donated blood regularly to the American Red Cross since 2000. She has also helped to raise funds for many years for the Leukemia Lymphoma So- ciety with co-workers and friends and recently participated with a team in the American Cancer Society’s Bark for Life event.
Sutherland has t wo sons, one of whom is a junior at Watervliet Junior/ Senior High School.
“I wanted to run for the school board because our kids are our future,” said Sutherland. “I am not going anywhere, I’ve been in this city my whole life, instead of being a part of the outsiders looking in and criticizing, I really have no room to criticize unless I am going to take action. I would rather be
part of a solution and to help bridge the gap between the administration, the community and the school board.”
Hof fman has been a district resident for the past 47 years and works as a code enforcement officer for the city. He holds an associate degree in accounting and business administration from Albany Business College and also graduated from the Watervliet Arsenal’s Machinist Apprentice Program. He previously volunteered as a junior varsity and varsity baseball coach for Watervliet High School, served as coach, manager and vice president of Watervliet Little League; coached and served as president of Watervliet Pop Warner Football and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Watervliet Civic Center, where he is a past board president.
Hoffman and his wife, Grace, a 1976 Watervliet graduate, have one son, Graig, a 2004 Watervliet graduate of WHS,.
“I’ve been involved in numerous activities in the community, and when it was brought to my attention that a position was open on the school board, I said why not run,” said Hof fman. “If elected, I hope to work together with the administration and the taxpayers to try to provide a quality education for the students in the district.”
Smeltzer, a community relations specialist for Fidelis Care, has lived in the district for 13 years. A graduate of Devils Lake Central High School in North Dakota, Smeltzer earned a bachelor’s degree in communications f rom Minot State University. He is a past member and served on the Board of Directors for the Albany Community Action Partnership, is a past member of Spring Youth Baseball in Troy, past president of the Head Start Policy Council in Albany County and a volunteer at the South End Children’s Cafe in Albany.
He and his wife, Kristin, have twin sons, Nathan and Evan, who attend Watervliet Junior/ Senior High School and a daughter, Peytan, who attends Watervliet Elementary School.
“It’s important … the board of education not only takes care of the schools, but also the city, because new families coming into Watervliet will be looking at the school district, so that helps the city as well,” said Smeltzer.
Whited has lived in the district for 32 years and is employed as a telecommunications technician for Verizon. A graduate of Troy High School, she earned an associate degree in early childhood education from Hudson Valley Community College in 1985 and another in telecommunications in 2008. Whited has served as a member of the PTA and the Dads’ Club, was a class advisor helper in 2005, has chaperoned school events and served as an academic probation monitor. She was a statistician for the Watervliet varsity football team for 15 years and has also been a community volunteer for Pop Warner Football, Watervliet Little League, Girl Scouts and the Watervliet Civic Center.
She and her husband, Darryl, a 1980 Watervliet graduate, have a son and daughter, both of whom are graduates of Watervliet High School.
“I’ve done a lot of volunteering here in the past, and I kind of miss being in the school atmosphere,” said Whited. “I would like to see better community ties between the district and the city.”
Polls will be open from 11 a. m. to 8 p. m. Tuesday at the Watervliet Elks Club, 501 4th Ave., and Watervliet Elementary School, 2557 10th Ave.