Letters: Recorder of Deeds has commitment to residents; Understanding school district budgets is critical
Editor’s note: The CDT welcomes letters endorsing candidates in the Nov. 7 election and will accept letters that are received by Oct. 30. Letters are subject to editing, must be based on facts and should avoid attacks on other candidates.
Recorder of Deeds has commitment to residents
I would like to offer this letter of support for the reelection of Joe Davidson as Centre County Recorder of Deeds. As many of you know, Joe has been serving the county’s needs of the Recorder’s Office for over 20 years and has developed a reputation for service, timeliness and accuracy. What may be less well known is Joe’s role leading the modernization of the county’s land records recording systems and processes. During his time in the Recorder’s Office has started the process to restore, repair, preserve and ultimately digitize all county records back to 1800. Of greater value today, his office has instituted web-based access to property records and most significantly, a property recording and notification system that allows property owners to be more vigilant about any recorded changes that might affect them. For these reasons and others, Joe’s leadership and depth of experience makes him a valuable asset to our county’s operations.
In an evermore complex and challenging environment, including the very real threat of property fraud, now is certainly not the time for on-the-job training for new officials, especially Centre County Recorder of Deeds. Joe’s commitment to county residents deserves our vote.
David Wise, State College
Understanding school district budgets is critical
School district budgets are like no other, with fluctuating revenue and federal/state mandated costs, often unfunded. Districts must educate, maintain facilities and meet mandates — or suffer financial consequences, impacting taxpayers. It seems this is unclear to some school board candidates who charge SCASD budgets should have only grown by the rate of inflation in the last decade.
Assertions about budgeting require doing one’s homework. Eighty percent of SCASD costs are salaries and benefits — which includes health care and required contributions to the state retirement fund (PSERS). What have those costs looked like the past decade?
Health care rates nationally have escalated at average rates of 5.5-9% per year, some years SCASD experienced higher. After gross mismanagement of PSERS by the state, school districts were forced to take on drastically increasing contributions — from 5% of total salaries in 2011 to 34% in 2022 — increasing costs by many millions.
So what has inflation looked like over this time period? Pre-pandemic annual federal averages ranged under 3%.
How could SCASD have maintained adequate teachers and staff while also handling double-the-rate-of-inflation health care increases and skyrocketing retirement contributions all while budgeting solely on the rate of inflation? Only by massive cuts significantly impacting the quality of education.
It would be interesting to see how five capital projects could have been completed while maintaining the caliber of SCASD education AND keep budget increases to the rate of inflation. I don’t think that would be a SCASD any of us would recognize.
Amy Bader, State College. The author is a candidate for State College Area School District’s board of directors.
Love for education evident in school board member
When considering your candidate choices for the upcoming election, we encourage you to vote for our mother, Donna Smith, for Bellefonte Area School Board. Our mom has worn many hats in her life; dedicated mother, grandmother, protector, wife, friend, and educator, to name a few. For our mom, being an educator was more than a job, it was something she was meant to do. As an educator, our mother Donna made a tremendous impact on her students, providing them with some of the tools necessary for success. Now, as a member of the Bellefonte School Board of Directors, we again see our mother’s remarkable passion for community service and love for education. She spends countless hours researching and learning to ensure she’s well-informed on school board topics. As the Pennsylvania School Boards Association liaison, she has demonstrated that she will passionately and selflessly advocate for the students and teachers in the Bellefonte Area School District. She has forged and maintained meaningful, collaborative relationships with stakeholders and community members. Above all, we see the pride our mother feels for BASD. She has taken her lifelong love for education and applied that to her position on the board. We’ve witnessed her pour her heart and soul into this role. Fair, level-headed, unbiased, and kind, we see no candidate more fit for a position on the school board of directors. Donna’s vast understanding of education, the district, and our community makes her an invaluable asset to the board, our teachers, and students.
Alison Brown (Smith) and Mitchell Smith, Mingoville
School board members shouldn’t support book bans
As I reach the time in my life for reflection, I like to think that in part, my personal success was because I was fortunate to grow up in State College and be a graduate of its excellent public school system. Since my father worked at the Patee library, I spent many hours reading books, magazines and watching movies in the film library. Books and reading were emphasized and encouraged at home. Never once was I told I couldn’t read something. And I turned out OK.
Now we are faced with a candidate for the school board who brings in her personal agenda of banning books. Not only does this person, Megan Layng, endorse banning books, she also trespassed (a crime) at the State High library. There is no way I could vote for Ms. Layng and I hope other thinking citizens will follow suit. Our future depends on it.
Mary Jeanette Mannino, State College
