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Malcolm, Kafumbe, Morse win ACSD election

MIDDLEBURY — Addison Central School District voters on Tuesday decided a five-person race for three seats on the ACSD board by choosing James Malcolm, Betty Kafumbe and Lorraine Morse to help represent Middlebury’s interests on the 13-member unified panel.
Finishing out of the running were incumbent Steve Orzech and first-time candidate Ryan Torres.
The ACSD board presides over Middlebury Union Middle and High schools, as well as the elementary schools in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge.
Malcolm, an experienced incumbent, was the top vote-getter with 1,182 tallies.
Kafumbe finished second with 1,098 votes in her first bid for the board.
Morse, who has served on multiple Middlebury school boards during the past two decades, finished a close third, with 1,076 tallies.
Torres, an East Middlebury resident and a contractor with the Vermont Blueprint for Health, finished fourth, with 810 votes.
Orzech placed fifth, with 498 votes. The former Vergennes Union High School educator had served on the ACSD board since its formation in a few years ago.
The ACSD board this month will also welcome Amy McGlashan of Ripton and Mary Cullinane of Weybridge, both of whom ran unopposed on Tuesday for those two seats.
All three Middlebury winners expressed gratitude to ACSD voters and said they’re anxious to begin working on behalf of district children. The board faces challenging work, including transitioning the district to an International Baccalaureate curriculum and preparing a master plan for how its many school buildings could be renovated and used — or not used — in the long term.
 “I’m very pleased the voters had confidence in me to continue what we’ve been doing,” Malcolm said on Wednesday. “I look forward to working with the new members.
Malcolm, a retired physician, is in his second stint as a Middlebury school director. He previously served on the UD-3 panel from 1985 to 2000, including six years as its chairman.
Kafumbe is an administrative assistant in Middlebury College’s office of finance and heads the Allegro Community Chorus at the Middlebury Community Music Center. She hails from Uganda. She and her husband Damascus Kafumbe — an assistant professor of music at Middlebury College — are the parents of three boys.
“I’m humbled, honored and excited by the news,” Kafumbe said. “I’m grateful to the entire ACSD community and I thank them for their support.”
She added she’s looking forward to working with her new colleagues.
Morse is a veteran of the Mary Hogan Elementary and UD-3 boards, and she’s served on the ACSD panel since its founding. Along with being an admired member, she’s become famous for the homemade treats she brings to board meetings.
“I was honored and gratified by the outpouring of support that people gave me,” Morse said on Wednesday.
She was also heartened by the support she got from folks who didn’t know her, but had learned about her from others.
“You were recommended to me,” was a refrain Morse said she heard at polling stations on Tuesday.
“I’m sorry to see that Steve didn’t make it, but I’m sure Betty will bring her own positive contributions to the board,” Morse added.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].

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