Three Wyoming Area incumbents are in a race with two challengers for four open seats on the Wyoming school board. Below are profiles of the candidates:
David Alberigi
David Alberigi was first elected to the Wyoming Area Board of Education in 2021, is a Wyoming Area graduate, has two children who are Wyoming Area graduates, and nieces still in the district. He won nominations to the Democratic and Republican party tickets in the May 20 Wyoming Area school board primary election.
A business owner, Alberigi said he values building strong community connections and making himself available to everybody in Wyoming Area.
“I like giving back to the community, I enjoy helping people,” Alberigi said. “People know me and they’re not afraid to come up to me and I always want to listen.”
Alberigi said he ran in 2021 with an emphasis on strengthening school security, arguing the school district needed to be proactive in wake of the then recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. In recent years, Wyoming Area has installed a baggage scanner in the secondary center to check student backpacks before they enter school.
David Alberigi (Chris Doyle/Staff Photo)
Erica Gazda (courtesy Erica Gazda)
Joseph Kopko (Chris Doyle/Staff Photo)
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David Alberigi (Chris Doyle/Staff Photo)
“When I was running, and I talked to a lot of people…the number-one concern was the safety and security of their kids,” Alberigi said. “When you send your kids out in the morning, you want to be sure your child comes home safely at the end of the day.”
During his time on the school board, Alberigi has been vocal in his calls for the commonwealth to cap the tuition school districts pay to cyber charter schools. Alberigi said he also wanted to keep working to help draw in new development and ratable properties to grow the school district’s tax base.
“We got to take the burden off our taxpayers, that’s number one,” Alberigi said.
John Bonin
John Bonin, who would be a newcomer to the school board, finished first among Republicans and last among Democrats in the primary, winning himself a nomination onto the G.O.P. ticket. According to campaign materials posted on his Facebook page, Bonin is a father of two recent Wyoming Area graduates and works as a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association basketball referee. He is the former head coach of the Wyoming Area girls volleyball team, the former president of the local Little League, and a former president of the Wyoming Area Lacrosse Parents Association. Branching out from athletics, Bonin is also the former treasurer of the Wyoming Area Parents Drama Booster Board.
In the community, Bonin is a former board member of the Harding/Mt. Zion Ambulance Association, and the Luzerne County Children & Youth organization. According to his Facebook and LinkedIn, he currently works as the vice president of sales for bio365. He did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday by press time.
Anthony Burke
Winning nominations to the Democratic and Republican party tickets in the primary, Anthony Burke is another newcomer running for the Wyoming Area school board. According to his Facebook page, Burke said Wyoming Area has fallen short in protecting students from bullying, promoting student achievement, and offering families relief after years of tax hikes.
“We need someone who will fight for you – the parents and the students,” Burke said Monday on Facebook. “If elected, I will work tirelessly to make Wyoming Area a place where students feel safe, supported, and successful – and where families can afford to stay and thrive.”
Burke, who graduated from the Wyoming Area class of 2005, is an Army veteran, having served 3 1⁄2 years in active duty, including a tour in Iraq from 2007 to 2008. He also did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday by press time.
Erica Gazda
Erica Gazda was first appointed to the Wyoming Area Board of Education in 2024 to fill the seat left vacated by the resignation of Rebecca Rutkoski. In the May 20 primary race, Gazda cross-filed and finished first among Democratic voters in Wyoming Area and last among Republicans, winning herself a nomination to the Democratic Party ticket.
Gazda, a Wyoming Area alumna and homeowner in the district, said Tuesday that she wanted to run for a full-term now to further her involvement with the Wyoming Area community. She said her son is a student at the Wyoming Area Intermediate Center and she has frequently volunteered with the West Pittston Little League and local food banks and also helped coach with the Pittston Stoners youth soccer program.
“I (strive) to continue to be a great and strong positive voice for our community, administration and most importantly, our children,” Gazda said in a text message. “I feel very strongly and compassionately about my hard work ethic, my dedication and drive to a voice in making this school district a better place.”
Joseph Kopko
Wyoming Area voters first elected Joseph Kopko to the Wyoming Area Board of Education in 2021 and this year has won nominations to the Democratic and Republican party tickets.
Kopko, a Wyoming Area graduate and former Wyoming Area teacher, said he worked as a Wyoming police officer for 41 years and is a lifelong member of Wyoming Hose Company No. 1. He is also president of the local fireman’s relief association, and Wyoming borough EMA coordinator.
Citing his public-safety experience, Kopko said he decided to run for the school board, because he believed the district could do more to strengthen public safety. Kopko said he was proud of how the school board has worked to increase the presence of school resource officers, or SRO and other security personnel at the Wyoming Area buildings while also installing new security measures.
“I decided I wanted to change some things at the school that I thought could need improvement, and that’s why I ran,” Kopko said.
With another term, Kopko said he would focus on investments to improve student performance, as gauged by standardized test scores and other metrics. Kopko said he hoped to see Wyoming Area needed to do what it can to help draw in new development and ratable properties to grow the school district’s tax base, helping alleviate what has been serial tax hikes on residents; and press its delegation to the General Assembly for a more equitable allotment of state education funding.