ORANGE — There are four candidates on the ballot for two Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District School Committee seats with three-year terms in Monday’s town election.
Crystal Clarke is seeking reelection while competing with Amber Dupell and Miguel Guerra. The Greenfield Recorder also interviewed Katie Hunkler, who is on the ballot for reelection, but she has since said she is not sure she would be able to serve in the role due to recent life circumstances.
Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Orange Town Hall’s second-floor Ruth B. Smith Auditorium.
Crystal Clarke
Attempts to contact Clarke were unsuccessful, but she was appointed to the School Committee in 2023 after a member’s resignation. She was elected in her own right in 2024.
She previously told the Greenfield Recorder that she has four children, some of whom have IEPs (Individualized Education Program) and have been diagnosed with epilepsy and autism.
“I enjoy being a voice of parents,” she said in advance of her 2024 election. “I feel it’s important for special education parents to have a voice, because they don’t get heard as well. I just wanted to see some changes in the school itself. I just felt I wasn’t being heard enough.”
Clarke said she is an advocate for anti-bullying initiatives and ensuring all students get the same opportunities. She also said she would like to foster a mutual respect between administrations and families, and represent taxpayers’ needs.
She previously said that she grew up in Lynn. She moved to Orange eight years ago, after she and her late husband bought a house in town.
Amber Dupell
The town’s former accountant said she wants to use her financial expertise and experience to help Orange in a different way.
“I guess a big thing for me is, I like to help people work together and help people understand how municipalities work,” she said in an interview. “Obviously, I understand finances and municipal finances, but I try to see all different sides of a situation.”
Dupell, 40, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Stonehill College in 2007 and has worked in accounting roles ever since. She also earned a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Phoenix online in 2012.
When Dupell resigned as Orange’s town accountant in August to take an identical job in Templeton, she became determined to help Orange in another way. She mentioned she has two children in the school district.
“There is always room for improvement,” she said.
Dupell was Orange’s town accountant for 3½ years.
Miguel Guerra
Guerra, 69, and his family moved from Florida to Orange in 2002 so his three children could receive a better education. He was thrilled with their experience at Mahar, but has decided to run for School Committee because he feels the quality has declined significantly since.
“We’re spending too much money and we’re not getting the bang for the money,” he said in an interview. “Now, my three kids are doing well in life. They got an excellent education, and I don’t think the standards are like they were 20 years ago.”
Guerra said his grandson attends Mahar and he wants him to have a quality education.
Guerra was born in Cuba and lived there until he was 13, when his family immigrated to California in 1970. He said he got a “horrible education” and could barely read when he graduated high school. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served four years.
Guerra said he has been a truck driver for 45 years and enjoys “the peace and quiet being out on the road.”
If elected, he said he wants to get Mahar’s budget under control, as it is known to put a financial strain on the town.
“The money’s being spent and the people in town are not happy with the way the money’s being spent. We need to find another way. The resources are there, but I think they’re not being managed correctly, in my opinion,” he said. “I’m good at working with people. I’m a team player. I learned that in the Marine Corps. We were always a unit. We don’t have to agree on everything in order to get the job done.”
Elementary School Committee
Outside of the positions that are up for grabs on the Mahar School Committee, Abigail Bilbrey and Maria Bull are running for a pair of three-year seats on the Orange Elementary School Committee. These seats are currently held by Frank Hains and Jessica Reske, who are not seeking reelection.
Attempts to contact Bull were unsuccessful.
Bilbrey, 37, grew up in Ohio until she was 16, when she moved to Uxbridge, where she graduated from high school in 2006. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2010.
From 2010 to 2022, Bilbrey worked in Japan as an assistant language teacher for multiple boards of education. She spent her first two years in Okinawa, teaching English to elementary and middle school students. During that time, she said, she organized a monthly cultural exchange program across more than a dozen schools, introducing students to American and Massachusetts culture.
Bilbrey then served six years in Gifu, teaching at six different elementary and middle schools. In addition to her classroom work, she volunteered with after-school clubs, supported an English-as-a-second-language workshop for mothers and young children, and helped run an annual summer English camp. She also assisted with the monthly Kid’s Cafeteria, a program providing low-cost, home-cooked meals and homework support for students in need of a safe, welcoming space after school.
Bilbrey has lived in Orange for three years and now works for Point32Health, a nonprofit health and well-being organization. She said she believes she can bring a fresh set of eyes to the School Committee and she hopes to address reported issues of bullying.
“People are always asking for a breath of fresh air,” she said.
Bilbrey said her main focus will be learning about the town and formulating plans.