Erika Bernabei Middleton was unanimously appointed by Kingston’s school board last Wednesday, August 5 to fill a seat left vacant when Jennifer Fitzgerald stepped down over a month ago.
“My name’s Erika Bernabei Middleton,” she said during a public participation session earlier during the meeting. “You may recall me from the election. I lost, but I was the fourth most vote-getter.”
Several speakers urged the board trustees to support her appointment bid.
In the May election, challenger Stephanie Kearns received 1814 votes, followed by incumbents Marie Anderson with 1675, and Steven Spicer with 1659. Bernabei Middleton received 1076 votes, and Robyn Tiano 916.
Bernabei Middleton has spent her 20-plus-year career focusing on equity in communities. For nearly a decade, she’s co-led Equity & Results, an organization, according to its website, dedicated to “advancing racial equity and liberation through institutional change.”
“Our community voted for me because I represent a very substantial portion of our community’s interests,” said Bernabei Middleton last Wednesday. “I am prepared to be a full-time member of this board. I wouldn’t have run if I wasn’t a serious person running for this board. And I’ll say that I still stand by all of the policies and perspectives that I brought to the board.”
The board had until September 28 to fill the vacant seat by a special election or to leave it empty until the next election in May 2026. The trustees initially discussed whether to appoint Bernabei Middleton a month earlier, but voted 4-3 against because Kearns hadn’t been sworn in as a trustee yet, and they wanted to give her a chance to have her say. Last week, Kearns threw her support behind Bernabei Middleton.
“Erika and I ran alongside each other in the last election cycle, and we’re aligned with many shared values, if not all shared values, and our intentions for board service,” Kearns said. “And so to that end, I feel closely aligned that it represents the voice of our community and those that are expecting the natural growth and evolution of our board to continue and the service that we do. Erika’s deep background helps move equity from intention to measurable impact, vital in our district with a diverse student population, needing culturally responsive policy and resources.”
Bernabei Middleton was sworn in during the meeting.
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