On Tuesday, May 21 voters will elect two people to the Schuylerville Central School District Board of Education. The two candidates with the highest number of votes will each fulfill a five-year term beginning on July 1, 2019 and expiring on June 30, 2024. The four candidates, along with their profiles, are listed here in the order they will appear on the ballot.
Bernard Buff, Jr. is running for his first term on the Schuylerville Board of Education. He currently works as a construction engineer for Verizon Wireless in North Greenbush.
Buff graduated from New Lebanon High School, earned an associate’s degree from Hudson Valley Community College and a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Buff has been involved in a variety of volunteer activities throughout his children’s school careers, including chaperoning field trips, assisting with PEP events and fundraisers during his wife’s tenure on the executive board and volunteering for his daughters’ girl scout troop activities. He and his family have also opened their home to several visiting coaches from Challenger Sports British Soccer Camps.
Buff and his wife, Cathleen, have lived in the district since 2009 and have two daughters. Maeve is a freshman at Schuylerville High School and Anika is in seventh grade at Schuylerville Middle School. The family lives at 171 Southard Road in Saratoga Springs.
Joanna Crowley is running for her first term on the Schuylerville Board of Education. She is currently a stay at home mom of two children in the district. She was previously employed as a senior accountant at AngioDynamics and an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Crowley graduated from Saratoga Springs High School, earned a bachelor’s in biology from Syracuse University and a master’s in accounting from the University at Albany.
Crowley has been involved in a variety of volunteer activities throughout her daughters’ school careers, including being active in both of their classes, chairing the Fifth Grade Finale in 2018 and coaching OSAA soccer and softball teams. She also recently served as a member of the finance committee for Wellspring in Saratoga.
Crowley and her husband, Brian, live at 1 Seymour Drive in Saratoga Springs with their two daughters. Olivia is in sixth grade at Schuylerville Middle School and Lilah is in fourth grade at Schuylerville Elementary School.
Jack Macica is running for his eighth term on the Schuylerville Board of Education, where he’s served as president (9 years), vice president (20 years), legislative liaison (2 years) and Board auditor (3 years). He retired in November 2018 from State Farm Insurance, where he worked as a project manager for agency system distributions.
Macica graduated from Schuylerville High School and earned a degree in business management through the SUNY system.
Macica has been active with both the Schuylerville music and athletic departments throughout his time on the Board. He also currently volunteers as a music minister at his church, and has served as Parish Council President, as well as a member on the Schuylerville Community Theater Board of Directors.
Macica and his wife, Jamie, live at 844 Rt. 29 in Saratoga Springs. They have two daughters – Danielle Bailey and Elizabeth Macica – who both graduated from Schuylerville High School, as well as two grandchildren – Ian Bailey and Campbell Bailey – who are currently in grades eight and six, respectively, at Schuylerville Middle School.
Jessica Schwerd is running for her first term on the Schuylerville Board of Education. She currently works as a preschool teacher for Saratoga Independent School and as a park educator for Hudson Crossing Park.
Schwerd graduated from Greenwich High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and mathematics from SUNY Cortland and a master’s degree in elementary reading and literacy from Walden University.
Schwerd has volunteered her time on-campus with the Green Ribbon School Project, the first and fifth grade incubation project and has served as a parent representative for Effective Schools. She is a Sunday school teacher and Board member at Bacon Hill Reformed Church and is a camp leader at Vacation Bible School Camp. She has also coached OSAA soccer and assisted softball coaches.
Schwerd and her husband, Rick, have lived in the district for 14 years. They have four children: Ted is a freshman at Schuylerville High School, Kevin is in seventh grade at Schuylerville Middle School, Anna is in fifth grade at Schuylerville Elementary School and Nora is in second grade at Schuylerville Elementary School. The family lives at 200 Hanehan Road in Schuylerville.