Wrightstown Residents to Vie for School Board Seat

Wrightstown residents Kyle McKessy and Le Sheppard will face off in the primary this month to represent region 9 on the Council Rock School Board. Region 9 includes all of Wrightstown and Newtown Township districts 1 and 2.

The primary will be held May 21. Both candidates have cross filed.

McKessy, the incumbent who has been endorsed by both the local Republicans and Democrats, has served on the board since 2008. She moved to Newtown in 1993 and became a Wrightstown resident in 1998.

She is married with three children in the district. McKessy received a Bachelor’s degree from Elizabethtown College and a Masters degree from Temple University. She is a marketing and communications manager for Advanced Living Communities in Landsdale.

"During my tenure, I have been driven, dedicated, and have served my term with integrity and focus. I have embraced the opportunity to both lead and work collaboratively with members of our current board andadministration and have partnered with members of our community to facilitate dialogue and enact positivechange," McKessy said in a letter to constituents.

"In addition to experience, I have a unique opportunity to observe our schools at all levels of education as a mother of three children currently enrolled at CR North, Newtown Middle and Wrightstown Elementary School. I am also a taxpayer who is acutely aware of the financial impact of school and real estate tax bills," the letter continued.

McKessy served as board vice president in 2010 and president in 2011 and 2012. This year, she was again elected as vice president

Sheppard, a business owner and digital artist, has lived in Wrightstown for 15 years with wife Mary Jane and daughter Maggie, a Council Rock High School North student. (Click here to read previous coverage of Sheppard's candidacy.)

Sheppard, an open government activist, said since school taxes are the biggest part of residents' property tax burden, we need "everything on the table and everyone invited to the table." 

"The school board governing process has become very internal with communication to the public controlled," he said. "I strongly believe in public education and believe we must work cooperatively as a community of parents and empty nesters to maintain our excellent school district."