Three hopefuls seek 2 seats in Germantown

Rifenburgh said he wants to contribute in a positive way to the school board. His experience in finance will be a help to the district, he added.

“I look forward to the opportunity of running for the school board and I feel with my personal and professional experiences I feel that I can contribute to the school board,” he said.

His fiscal experience makes him responsible enough to have an input on future school board issues such as the annual district budget, he said.

“My professional experience is in budgeting, fiscal management and profitability,” Rifenburgh said. “The fact that I’m a local landowner gives me a good perspective. In addition to this, I’m the husband of a certified school teacher and attending Germantown schools and having my kids go there as well.”

Rifenburgh attributed his decision to run to his desire for students to have a high-quality education.

“The school is the focal point of the town and I think there’s a need for a high quality education for kids in the town and at the same time trying to be fiscally responsible for the landowners that live there,” Rifenburgh said.

Like the other candidates running for a board seat, Rifenburgh places huge importance on the quality of education in the district.

“It’s a really high importance,” he said. “We’re trying to provide a high level of education for our kids so they can compete in the outside world, so they can prosper, have good life and be able to afford homes in the community.”

Rifenburgh is a lifelong resident of Germantown. He is a certified financial planner and a member of the Germantown Land Use and Zoning Update Committee. He is a prior leader of the Germantown Youth Basketball Program and Southern Columbia Soccer League.

Repko is an incumbent seeking re-election. She has been a board member for the last 16 years.

“I want to continue to help making the school the best that it can be,” Repko said. “There’s a lot of regulations from the state that we have to follow, but I just want to make sure and try and be the small-town school that we need to be and focus on the children.”

If reelected, Repko said she will do what’s best for the students and everyone else who calls the Germantown School District home.

“I’m transparent and I want to do the best for every child in the school and for the community,” she said.

A well-balanced board will benefit the district as each member has his or her own sets of ideas.

“I don’t really see anything wrong with the school board,” she said. “Every person brings their own ideals with them, and I don’t want change that because that’s what makes the board the best that it can be. Everyone has their reasons for being there but everyone has to cooperate and do what’s best for the children and for the district.”

Repko is a transplant from Pennsylvania and has lived in Germantown for the last 20 years. She declined to provide a photo to accompany this story.

Del Pozzo Kaszluga credits her work as a tax assessor as a strength that the school district can use.

“When I was approached about running for the school board it took a good amount of thought due to me currently working as a real property tax assessor for four municipalities within two counties,” she said. In my position, I get numerous calls about school taxes and the burden it puts on the residents. I realize its not an easy fix.

“I have also been through the difficulties of having children in school and how every child has their strengths and weaknesses,” Del Pozzo Kaszluga said. “Not only will I cheer on the scholars, but I will also fight for the children and their parents if they find themselves in an unfair and unjust situation.”

Del Pozzo Kaszluga is a 1978 graduate of the Germantown Central School District. She has two children.