By Jim Roberts

Peekskill residents will choose two candidates among the three people running to serve on the school board when they vote on May 20. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Peekskill High School.
Here’s a closer look at the candidates:

Sean McGuinness
Sean McGuinness seeks to return to the Peekskill School Board because he believes he has something to offer the community and he would love to serve. His extensive experience includes service on the Peekskill board from 1994 through 2002 during which time he was president in 1996-97 and vice president in 1995. He has served on the Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES School Board since 2000.

His primary goals are a successful integration of the sixth grade into the middle school, completion of a study to determine how to most effectively utilize the grammar schools, and raising the standards for all students.

He was a member of the board of directors of the Northern Westchester School Boards Association from 1995 to 2005 and was appointed to the Federal Relations Network in 1996.
This year he was appointed to the state Legislative Network Board of Directors of the Hudson Valley Education Coalition, a four-county lobbying group. He has attended numerous workshops and conferences on state and national level over the last 14 years.
McGuinness, a retired stationary engineer, has lived in the Peekskill school district for 34 years. All three of his daughters went through the Peekskill school district and graduated in 1994, 1995 and 2006.

His past civic involvement includes service as High School Parents Club treasurer and president and vice president of the Middle School Parents Club. He was also an umpire in the Peekskill Lapolla Little League.

Doug Glickert
Doug Glickert is campaigning for his first term on the Peekskill School Board. His four children are in the city school system and his family has lived in the district for 12 years. His wife Yvonnett is a substitute teacher in Peekskill and he teaches in public school in the Bronx.
He was on the board of Hudson Valley Christian Academy two years ago and also has extensive public service experience in the community including director of the LifeSkills youth group, vice president of the Peekskill Lapolla Little League, deacon at Crosslands Community Church and as a member of the Peekskill Education Foundation and the Peekskill Museum.
Among his goals for the Peekskill school district is an improved environment where character education is a vital part of the life in the schools. He also wants to explore a curriculum where alternate ways of utilizing energy is studied and possibly implemented.

“Our buildings are situated in areas that promote solar or wind power. By putting more money into that upfront, we can save much more down the road and doing something positive for the community at large,” Glickert said. “I would like to see each high school senior be able to give 30 hours of community service back to the community before graduation.”

Glickert has a master’s degree in elementary education and a master’s in school administration from Mercy College. He is currently on the school quality review committee at PS 360.

Joe Urbanowicz
Peekskill native Joe Urbanowicz is seeking election to the school board in his hometown. He and his wife of 32 years, Karen, both graduated from Peekskill High School. Two of their children are PHS grads and the third is in the 11th grade there.

Urbanowicz has worked as director of facilities and transportation at the Ardsley School District for 22 years. He had had direct oversight of and managed over $50 million of successful school construction projects.

“I believe my experience as a school administrator for the last 25 years will allow me to work with the current board and staff to find creative ways to provide the resources to help increase their opportunities to be successful,” Urbanowicz said.

“The Peekskill school district will be involved with a number of construction projects over the next few years including completing the new middle school,” he said. “I believe my experience will provide assistance that will help make these projects successful.”

Urbanowicz has served on numerous Peekskill Board of Education committees including long-range planning committee, facilities committee, reorganization committee, athletic committee, facilities director search committee and others.

He and his wife have volunteered as high school youth workers at the First Baptist Church in Peekskill for the past 30 years.

“I have dedicated my life to helping the youth in Peekskill find their way on the journey of life,” Urbanowicz said. “I want to be able to do all that I can to help this and future generations not only be successful, but proud that they graduated from Peekskill High School.”