Primary election 2023 voters guide: Candidates for school board in State College & Bellefonte
Bellefonte Area Board of School Directors
Jennifer Barnhart
Party: Dem, Rep
Campaign website: win4bellefonte.com
Education: B.A. communication arts and sciences Pennsylvania State University
Facebook: Win4bellefonte
Email: jbarnhart.w4b@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: Ensuring students are exposed to all paths of success, educating the whole student, and teaching HOW over WHAT to think are my focus. All are important and start with redefining success whether it’s through careers, postsecondary education or volunteer work. As a public school district, it’s important to realize the values of each student and support their strengths and interests to help shape our community’s character.
The policies and personnel that we surround our children with are examples of what we hope for them to become and surpass. We empower administrators, teachers and staff to advocate for courses, field trips, speakers, college visits, job shadowing and extracurricular activities to educate the whole student.
As a board member, I will continue to serve our community to inspire personality, ethics, positivity and individual success. I encourage my community to get involved and make an impact on the continued success of our district.
Patrick Vincent Buck
Party: Dem, Rep
Campaign website: win4bellefonte.com
Education: B.S. in mechanical engineering
Facebook: Win4bellefonte
Email: pbuck.w4b@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: 1. Ensure the district is focused on the safety and security of the students and staff with a goal of one SRO per building. The district should be evaluating how to leverage technology, as well as allocating the necessary funds with safety as a top priority.
2. Focus on preparing students for life after graduation. Ensure students have the necessary life skills to be successful as adults. This includes providing them with multiple paths to success, including postsecondary education, technical skills and exposure to opportunities in the trades. Work with local businesses to foster relationships with the students prior to graduation that can be used as a jump off for future opportunities (co-ops).
3. Prioritize improved academics by using data analysis to drive results and track progress. Ensure the district is using clear and defined metrics to drive success and allocating the resources necessary to achieve those goals. Prioritize critical thinking and STEM initiatives.
Nate Campbell
Party: Dem, Rep
Education: Pittsburgh Technical College
Facebook: Nate Campbell for Bellefonte School Board
Email: nccampbell01@aol.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: My top priorities will be to continue the work that I have been involved with while on the board.
New Bellefonte elementary: While serving on the building committee I have been involved in working to get to the design phase of the project that we are now in. It has taken many meetings and lots of consideration to get to this point and will take even more to get to the finish line. This is such a needed project that I want to see it to the finish.
Test scores: While on the board for only a year I have been part of the push to use all of the testing data that we have to identify where the districts strengths and weaknesses are. Using this data will help the board decide where to spend resources for the best education possible.
Students: As a board member it is my duty to make sure that all students have the same opportunities and support that they need. I will continue to listen to students, parents and district employees to help direct my decisions.
Paul Dombrowski
Party: Dem, Rep
Education: Ph.D. communication and rhetoric, RPI; M.Ed. counselor education; M.A. English; B.A. mathematics
Facebook: Paul Dombrowski
Email: pdombrowski@bellsouth.net
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: 1. Student safety – Students must feel safe in order to learn. Seek state and national best practices and funding; offer anonymous, open reporting of threats and concerns by students and parents; foster sense of safety and peace rather than a fortress mentality. Cultivate cooperative activities. Train trauma identification and intervention for teachers and staff.
2. Funding equity, state and federal – Deploy existing advocacy mechanisms, public service messages; flyers and emails to parents and civic organizations. Grow teacher salaries for happier teachers. Make equity a theme throughout the school system including interpersonally.
3. Curricular truthfulness and honesty – Require non-selective, fact-based, science-based history, civics, sciences, reading and library, and other courses. Screen curricular changes to ensure curriculum and instructional materials are not conditional on individual or local preferences, but on established facts.
Julie Fitzgerald
Party: Rep, Dem
Education: B.S. psychology, Ursinus College; M.S. educational leadership, Central Connecticut State University
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: 1) Continue to focus on student learning by setting high standards for achievement that prepare students for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Provide the necessary staffing, curriculum and technologies for all levels and types of learners.
2) Ensure healthy educational environments by providing the staffing, training, resources, technologies and mental health supports that enable the district to maintain safety and security in school buildings. Address the aging elementary schools to ensure that facilities are conducive to learning. Promote a positive school climate through policies that effectively address bullying and harassment.
3) Engage, communicate and seek input from the community on district priorities while maintaining fiscal accountability and transparency. Develop long term budget plans that address facility needs, building maintenance and other major expenditures to preclude spikes in property taxes.
Timothy D. Kessling
Party: Rep, Dem
Did not respond
Denelle Korin
Party: Rep, Dem
Did not respond
Darrell Sharp
Party: Rep, Dem
Campaign website: win4bellefonte.com
Education: B.S. electro-mechanical engineering, Penn State
Facebook: Win4bellefonte
Email: dsharp.w4b@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: A successful completion of the new Bellefonte elementary school building is essential. This will occur through very open communication with the community and ensuring the new building meets the educational needs for many generations of BASD students.
Equally important is ensuring students are taught how to think and not what to think. We must keep indoctrination and ideologies out of our schools. Teach our students critical thinking skills so that as adults they can form their own opinions and values. This in turn leads to good citizens and strong communities.
Lastly, ensure students are exposed to the various paths of post-graduation success available to them. Too much emphasis tends to be placed on attending college. That is the correct path for some, but not all of our students. The military might be the best option for some while others should seek certification in a skilled trade field. Discuss all of those options fairly and informed families can make the best decision.
Donna Smith
Party: Rep, Dem
Campaign website: re-elect-donnasmith.org
Education: B.S. education; master’s equivalency
Facebook: Donna Smith for Bellefonte School Board
Email: dlsmith251@yahoo.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: Priority one as a current board member is continued support of the district’s proposal for a new elementary building. After assisting with evaluations and early decision-making, I am well equipped to use this information, along with community input, to usher this project through to completion. I will continue to advocate that deferred maintenance projects be addressed.
I am passionate about responsible funding of cyber-charter schools, as our work exposes a straight line from excessive charter tuition to increased local taxes. I will not stop until this issue — one that can save Bellefonte $1 million in tuition costs a year — is corrected and students are unharmed from subpar for-profit cyber charter schools.
Finally, our students’ future is an uncertain one. Their workforce will surely look different from ours. I support and encourage measures to ensure our graduates are future ready for a 21st century world. After all, this is our ultimate responsibility.
Kimberly Weaver
Party: Dem, Rep
Campaign website: win4bellefonte.com
Education: Bachelor’s degree in education
Facebook: Win4bellefonte
Email: kweaver.w4b@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: As a school board member since 2015, one of my top priorities is to ensure the continued success of addressing learning gaps across the district. Constant review of assessments and the steps that we are taking for growth in all areas is a must. We need to continue to seek better strategies to help our students learn. The next priority is open and honest communication across the district. Transparency is critical when it comes to effective decision-making. Providing students, parents and teachers with available information regarding the topic at hand will instill trust in the board and the district. Last but not least, strengthening the district’s partnership with CPI will provide our students with several options for success after graduation. CPI has proven itself to be a champion of student success after high school, and providing resources to continue this is of the utmost importance.
Joe Yech
Party: Dem, Rep
Education: Western Michigan University, Frostburg State University
Facebook: Joseph Yech
Email: jmyech@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: Our educational system should be focused on providing the best for all our students. Three of my focus areas are:
Educators: Kids are the most important part of the educational system. Educators deliver that education, directly engaging our students. I will always ask myself how decisions we make as a school board will affect educators. My personal objective will be to not make their jobs more difficult. I believe in our teachers and staff!
Schools: We are building a new elementary school. I want to be involved in the decisions ensuring this is a viable school for our students and community for the long-term future.
Fiscal responsibility: As a taxpayer in the school district, I will be cost conscious when decisions are made. Expenditures should benefit the students and community in a tangible way by helping our educators deliver the educational experience that ALL our children deserve.
It’s about KIDS!
State College Area Board of School Directors
Amy Bader
Party: Dem, Rep
Campaign website: slateforstate.com
Education: B.A. in biology Temple University, M.A. biology Temple University, VMD School of Veterinary Medicine at University of Pennsylvania
Facebook: Amy Bader, School Director SCASD
Email: amybader.scasd@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: Given the opportunity to serve another term, my focus would be to support and expand upon SCASD’s Strategic Plan. Stakeholders from throughout the community came together to set goals and a roadmap to achieve them in the coming years. The most recent plan embeds equity work throughout and places it at the foundation of the district’s work. Within this plan are other important issues to address, such as greater supports and improved outcomes for various groups, such as students receiving special education.
Additionally, I would continue my support of facility replacement and maintenance. The district has achieved tremendous gains in addressing deteriorating buildings, but has still to tackle Park Forest Middle School, which will be a major project to complete in the near future.
Finally, related to the strategic plan, I want to see SCASD continue to grow in its ability to support the WHOLE student and make each one feel a sense of safety and belonging.
Nathan Bish
Party: Rep, Dem
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: These are not listed in any particular order but first I will start with school security. We need to ensure that our buildings and grounds are 100% secure. I will work with local law-enforcement to ensure options are available both at the school districts expense but more importantly at the expense of local law-enforcement, with taxes that have already been paid. Parent involvement is another issue. I will focus on. We need to get back to where school districts and parents are a 50-50 partnership. No decision should be made for a child unless a parent is aware of them we need to stop the secrets. Complete fiscal responsibility will be my last subject to focus on. We need to not only make sure that monies are being spent wisely, but also focus on ways to cut taxes and not just have a spend first attitude for every issue that arises.
Gretchen Brandt
Party: Dem, Rep
Campaign Website: slateforstate.com
Education: B.A. University of Colorado, Boulder, international affairs and Germanic studies; M.A. Central Michigan University, public administration; Ph.D. (ABD), Penn State University, political science
Facebook: Gretchen Brandt SCASD Board Member
Twitter: @gsb125
Email: gsb125@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: I would like to continue to serve on the board and strive for equitable academic excellence for all students. I assess priorities and votes based on my principles and the district’s Strategic Plan. Second, to maintain trust and transparency so that all families in the district feel included and valued. This is achieved by prioritizing good process. I would like to continue my work with SCASD and the surrounding local governments through my work with the Council of Governments. Having served as the chair of the Solar Power Purchase Agreement Working Group, I have the knowledge and experience to help bring this consortium together to pool electricity and find a grid-tied utility solar project that can meet our current and future demand. Additionally, I would like to continue to champion the adoption of inclusive design, renewable energy, prioritize the sustainable design and construction of Park Forest Middle School, and to be a leader in the district’s transition to electric school buses.
Anne Demo
Party: Dem, Rep
Campaign website: slateforstate.com
Education: Ph.D. in speech communication, Pennsylvania State University (2000)
Facebook: Anne Demo for SCASD School Board
Twitter: @atDemolition
Email: annedemo4scasd@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: My first priority is supporting the well-being of all students as they pursue academic success and the foundation for fulfilling lives. Because I provided learning support in SCASD classrooms during the pandemic, I know what district policies feel like for teachers and learners. That experience well-prepares me to address relevant but overlooked stakeholders and issues.
My second priority is developing smart budgets that retain and support our expert teachers without overburdening taxpayers. Pennsylvania ranks 45th in educational spending nationally. I welcome the opportunity to support advocacy efforts for fair public education funding in Pennsylvania.
Finally, I will prioritize communication with the community. In my 25+ years teaching and supporting learners, I’ve developed a practice of deep listening. It’s the difference between sharing information and finding the “just right” resource for a struggling student, overwhelmed parents or concerned community members.
Barry Fenchak
Party: Rep, Dem
Did not respond
Daniel Kolbe
Party: Rep, Dem
Campaign website: slateforstate.com
Education: Philipsburg-Osceola Area High School, Penn State
Facebook: Dan Kolbe for SCASD School Board
Email: dwk5000@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: My primary focus is on promoting inclusivity, supporting the strategic plan and advancing the curriculum. Inclusive school environments are crucial for the academic and emotional well-being of all students, especially those who encounter identity-related barriers. Policies and curricula that prioritize inclusivity have positive effects on mental health, academic outcomes and reduce obstacles to success. To achieve district goals and priorities, it is essential to support SCASD’s current strategic plan, which serves as a roadmap for the district’s mission and ensures proper resource allocation. In addition, it is imperative to implement research-supported curricula that are relevant, engaging and aligned with the latest educational standards, preparing students for college and career success. These priorities will enable the SCASD board to ensure equitable access to a high-quality education in a safe, inclusive learning environment, empowering students to succeed.
John Krajcovic
Party: Rep, Dem
Did not respond
Megan Layng
Party: Rep, Dem
Campaign website: layng4scasd.com
Education: M.A. applied linguistics/TESOL B.A. Spanish and English
Email: layng4scasd@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: 1. Parents. I would advocate for school board office hours where board members would be available for conversations with parents. For all the “listening” that happens in board meetings, many parents don’t feel very heard. There is a kind of expertise that cannot be taught and cannot be replaced. It is positional authority, by virtue of being a parent. This domain must be respected.
2. Teachers. Teachers should be trusted to teach their subject matter according to their conscience and their training, and in recognition of a common humanity. Teachers should not be burdened with the responsibility of creating group think in the arena of values. To build relationships, I would like to see the board having meaningful conversations with teachers.
3. Students. Students are individuals first, with individual value, needs and with common humanity. Cultivating mutual respect and civility is essential to a safe and trusted environment where kids can be kids again.
Aaron Miller
Party: Dem, Rep
Campaign website: slateforstate.com
Education: Ph.D. in human development and family studies
Facebook: Slate for State
Email: amm371@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: I will focus on academic success for all students, building trust and transparency with teachers and the community, and exercising good fiscal stewardship of district resources. As a member of the school board, I intend to work collaboratively to promote education and provide the necessary guidance for our administration to move forward. I will also emphasize the importance of social emotional learning in our schools, mental health, and promote new opportunities for students to succeed outside in our Career and Technical Center.
Michelle Young
Party: Dem, Rep
Campaign website: united4scasd.org
Education: M.S. in systems technology, M.S. in military science and international relations, B.A. in political science
Facebook: Michelle Young for SCASD School Director
Email: young4scasd2023@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: 1. Advocating for an environment, particularly among students, where our commonalities are celebrated and eliminate the “us vs them” mentality. Rather than approaching relationships between individuals or groups thinking about all the potential ways they are different; it is more beneficial to gravitate to similarities, building relationships that will often supersede our differences or make them irrelevant.
2. Increasing opportunities for formal partnerships between the school board and families, the community and teachers. Partnerships to resolve the inadequate communication and a lack of transparency contributing to an ongoing distrust between these entities.
3. Increasing viewpoint diversity. Though the board represents the viewpoints and opinions of much of the SCASD population, it is an ideologically homogenous group in danger of operating in an echo chamber and is lacking representation of the viewpoints of at least a third of the SCASD community.
Laurel Zydney
Party: Rep, Dem
Campaign website: LaurelForSCASD.com
Education: Public schools K-12; 1978 Skyline HS, Dallas, Texas; 1982 B.A. in History, Yale.
Facebook: Re-elect Laurel for SCASD School Board
Email: LaurelForSCASD@gmail.com
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities, and how will you address them?
A: 1) SCASD must provide every child with an excellent foundation of academic experiences, skills and knowledge as well as opportunities in athletics, the arts, career education and leadership. This requires recognizing student needs, thoughtfully evaluating curriculum and programs, respecting staff and teacher experiences and expertise, and strengthening school/family partnerships.
2) The board should encourage community involvement and support by sharing timely, clear, easily accessible information about what’s happening in SCASD; ensuring opportunities to ask questions and give input; and fully considering options before making decisions.
3) It’s absolutely critical to maintain SCASD’s financial stability while keeping the State College area affordable for young families and those on fixed incomes. Fiscal responsibility means budgeting based on identified needs and resources, monitoring and evaluating expenses, and strategic planning to determine and provide for future needs.
