Three Candidates in Race for Two Trustee Seats
Three candidates are in the race for two seats on the Huntington School Board. Each of the local residents submitted petitions signed by at least 31 qualified by the 5 p.m. deadline on Monday, April 18.
The winning candidates will serve three-year terms commencing July 1, 2016 and running through June 30, 2019. The final line-up of candidates includes (in alphabetical order) Bill Dwyer, Bari Fehrs and Carmen Kasper.
A drawing of lots to determine the candidate’s order on the ballot was held on Tuesday, April 19 at 10 a.m. Conducted by District Clerk Joanne Miranda, the drawing produced the following results: 1. Bari Fehrs; 2. Bill Dwyer; 3. Carmen Kasper.
Voting will take place May 17 in the Huntington High School lobby from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. To be eligible to vote an individual must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years of age or older, a resident of Huntington School District for at least 30 days and be registered to vote in a general election or with the school district.
Applications for absentee ballots may be applied for at the District Clerk’s office at the district’s administrative offices located at 50 Tower Street, Huntington Station, at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter or up to the day before the election if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter. Absentee ballots must be returned by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17 for them to be counted in the 2016 election and budget vote.
The following are snapshot profiles of the three candidates:
Bill Dwyer
Elected to terms on the Huntington School Board in 2008 and 2013, Bill Dwyer and his wife, Karen have resided in Huntington for the past 18 years. They are the parents of three sons; Ethan, a twelfth grader at Huntington High School, Brendan, a freshman at SUNY Old Westbury and Bradley, a senior at Syracuse University.
Mr. Dwyer earned a B.S. degree in mathematics at Providence College and a second B.S. degree in mechanical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He obtained a Master of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Currently employed as an account executive for an educational technology company based in Hauppauge, Mr. Dwyer works with school districts throughout the Northeast to help them maximize their investment in software to benefit their operations.
As a participating member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Huntington Village Lacrosse Club, Mr. Dwyer has been active in the community. In his free time, he enjoys family outings to the games of New York’s professional sports teams.
Bari Fehrs
Bari Fehrs is seeking her second term on the Huntington School Board. A 27-year resident of Huntington, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at New York Institute of Technology.
A past three–year president of the district’s PTA Council as well as the Southdown Primary School and J. Taylor Finley Middle School PTAs, Mrs. Fehrs has been involved in the Huntington School District for 14 years. She also served as a volunteer coach for the Huntington Sports League.
Mrs. Fehrs has been a member of the district’s Comprehensive Health Advisory Committee, District Shared Decision Making Committee and District Safety Committee and has served as a Board member/volunteer for the Booster Club.
Employed as an office manager of a local medical practice, Ms. Fehrs leads an active lifestyle and enjoys running and reading in her free time. She has two children currently attending Huntington High School, a daughter who is a freshman and a son who is a senior and who will be attending the University of Tampa in the fall. She has another son who graduated with Huntington’s Class of 2013 and is studying at Nassau Community College.
Carmen Kasper
A longtime educator, Carmen Kasper has resided in the district for the past 10 years.
She obtained an undergraduate degree from Federico Villarreal National University in Lima, Peru and later studied education at SUNY College at Old Westbury before earning a master’s degree at Hofstra University in Teaching English as a Second Language. She obtained her administrative certification at Long Island University-C.W. Post College.
During her career, Ms. Kasper taught English, kindergarten, first, second and seventh grades in Peru, served as a bilingual resource specialist at Western Suffolk BOCES, as a Spanish teacher at Eastern Suffolk BOCES and worked as a BOCES regional summer school coordinator. She has also worked as a fourth and fifth grade Spanish teacher in the Copiague school district’s Saturday Institute.
Ms. Kasper was the Huntington School District’s director of world languages, ESL and dual language programs for 14 years before retiring last June. She now enjoys teaching, spending time with her friends and two sons and three grandchildren, traveling, reading and physical training.
Contact District Clerk Joanne Miranda at 673-2126 for more information about the May 17 budget vote and trustee election.