BERNE — There are three seats up for election on the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Board, and so far, at least three candidates — two incumbents and a former long-time board member — have confirmed that they are running.

Two three-year terms from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2020 are up for election; the seats are currently held by Nathan Elble and Russell Chauvot, according to district clerk Denise Robinson. A two-year term from May 17, 2017, to June 30, 2019, is also up for election; this seat is currently being held by Kim Lovell, who was last month appointed after Susan Kendall-Schanz stepped down.

A special election was held in February 2016 to fill two school board seats left vacant by men who were elected to seats in Knox town government. In a five-way race, Elble came in first and so won the seat with the longer tenure, expiring June 30. Matt Tedeschi came in second, and had to run again last May. He kept his seat, winning another term. Schanz ran for the first time in that election, ousting then-president Joan Adriance, but resigned this past January for undisclosed reasons. Lovell was appointed in her place this February.

Lovell intends to run to keep her seat.

“The same reason I wanted to try this short-term position,” she told The Enterprise, of her intentions to run. “Just to be involved with the community and the school; and really be able to make decisions that have the students’ interest, most importantly.”

Lovell said she has attended only a few board of education meetings so far, but likes the way they are run and also enjoys being a part of the community in this way.

Lovell added the board shares her goals of promoting students’ needs first and using grants and other forms of funding for programs for them, as well as building off current resources.

Lovell is a literacy specialist in the special-education department in the Middleburgh School District. She has three children, one of whom is enrolled at BKW, and two who she says will be attending at BKW as well.

She noted that her passion as a teacher to help others can now be realized in her community with this position.

She also hopes her time on the board has helped the community to get to know her as elections approach.

Elble also confirmed that he will be running to keep his seat.

“I feel like the school’s headed in a good direction,” he said. “I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last few months.”

He noted the work that has been done to move forward with the school’s capital projects. He said he has also been approached by the Parent-Teacher Association about assisting with the school’s community garden. He hopes the garden could correlate with agricultural science course and clubs like the proposed Future Farmers of America.

Elble, who works as a union electrician, is a graduate of BKW and has children who attend the school.

Helen Lounsbury, a former board member and retired teacher from BKW, recently announced her intention to run for school board (see related letter to the editor). She told The Enterprise she had heard district Superintendent Timothy Mundell speak of the school budget as well as other planned programs.

“And I thought to myself,” she said. “I just want to be a part of that.”

Lounsbury is also a BKW alumna, as are her children.

“It is a special place for me,” she said.

She served on the board from 1996 until 2012, occasionally as board president (at the time a board member served as president during his or her fourth year of a five-year term). She also worked for the State University of New York, and has a master’s degree in curriculum development, which she said would help her serve the board.

Lounsbury emphasized supporting school faculty as well as other staff members.

“A lot of students in our school, the first person they come in contact with is their driver,” she said, of the district’s bus drivers.

Lounsbury said, were she elected, she would attempt to make board meetings more open and transparent by making all documents referenced visible on a projector, and broadcasting the meetings. For example, she suggested the capital project receive input from local people working in construction, as well as school staff and other community members. She’d also like to see more student involvement.

She said she is not as concerned about her position as an aspirant.

“I was on the board for so long, many people know my philosophy and outlook,” she said.

Chauvot did not return calls from The Enterprise. He is an Army veteran and works for SUNY, training workers on using computer applications. He is a BKW alumnus. In 2014, as he was running for his first term, Chauvot said he hoped his military background would help him weigh district decisions.

Petitions, which were recently made available by the school, are due by April 17 in order to run for election.