MILL HALL — With quality education at the forefront of efforts to empower our youth, retain and attract new residents, meet employers’ manpower needs with family-sustaining jobs and improve the quality of life, The Express community newspaper has been previewing candidates for area school boards prior to the upcoming May 16 Primary Election.
Today it is the Keystone Central School Board’s turn.
Over the past two weeks, The Express’ Emily Wright contacted candidates for Keystone Central and posed the following questions to them:
1. The Keystone Central School Board is currently considering a recommended (by the administration) 3.83% property tax increase in order to pay for higher health insurance, more school security, to match grants, pay for building maintenance, preserve the district’s $17 million reserve and keep up with overall rising costs. How would you vote if you were a member of the board?
2. What ideas would you bring to membership on the Keystone Central School Board?
3. What do you like about what KCSD is doing?
4. What don’t you like about what KCSD is doing, or, what do you think KCSD could improve on?
5. What other school-related issues would you like to address in order to compel voters in your region to vote for you?
Candidates Tom Cannon and Bill Bladino did not respond to The Express.
Ms. Moyer refused to provide answers to the questions.
Here are the answers of those candidates who chose to respond:
REGION I
Greene, Logan and Porter Townships; Loganton Borough
MARY ANN CLARKE, Challenger
1. No one likes to pay taxes, especially those of us on a fixed income. Our district has not seen a school tax increase in three years. Part of that is due to Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, aka ESSER, funds allocated by the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to sustain schools through the pandemic. With this program expiring, the District will lose almost $4.5 million. Insurance rates are up, utility rates are up and every commodity from copy paper to maintenance supplies has seen a price hike. Delaying needed projects only increases costs.
If I would be voting on the budget, I believe I would have to go with the 2.55% increase, even if that means tapping into the reserve. It’s unrealistic to believe that prices will ever go down on anything and that is what living in a capitalistic society means. But the education of our children must be adequately funded.
In February, a Pa. Commonwealth Judge, ruled that the Pennsylvania’s school funding system underfunds schools in poor districts to the extent that it is a violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer stated “It is now the obligation of our Legislators, Executive Branch and educators to make the constitutional promise a reality in this Commonwealth.” If our Legislators would start working on this CRITICAL issue, they could FINALLY remove some of the burden of property owners for funding our schools at the local level, and utilize a system that would cause Keystone Central School District and other districts like ours to receive more state funding.
2. We have some very seasoned and astute board members. I have brought some ideas on school safety, but learned that most were already being implemented. There are SO MANY facets to running a school district of this size and I have a diverse administrative support background that will afford me the opportunity to bring at least some actionable ideas to the table.
3. I recently had the opportunity to visit Central Mountain and was surprised to learn just how many Career and Technology Education opportunities they offer. Programs that can set students up for family sustaining jobs in the future like Agriculture Mechanics, Precision Machining and Natural Resource Management, just to name a few. They have a Co-op program that has students learning valuable on-the-job training with local companies, in professions that are ALWAYS in demand. They also offer a dual enrollment program with the Pennsylvania College of Technology. This type of real-world experience offers students a chance to “hit the workforce running”, once they have graduated and many are hired through the Co-op program by the company that they interned with.
4. I think that KCSD needs to improve transparency. I hear that from a lot of people. Many of those same people aren’t aware that they can attend school board meetings and work sessions. The public can attend in person or via Zoom. Much of the information people are seeking is available at those meetings. The dates and times are posted on the KCSD website and each January in the Lock Haven Express under the Legal Notices column in the classified section. So, perhaps KCSD simply needs to promote their already existing transparency. There are definitely issues that cannot be discussed in public like certain personnel issues and anything that would identify a student (minor) who is being adjudicated or has charges pending. Discussing a possible criminal case could also jeopardized the case.
5. A big part of KCSD is the Sugar Valley Rural Charter School. I am proud to be running to represent it’s core communities of Greene, Logan and Porter Township and Loganton Borough. The SVRCS provides a truly community based, quality education for students from those communities and throughout the district. One of my sons went there and it was a great fit for him. I have had the opportunity to tour the facility recently and attended one of their community centric programs, a luncheon for seniors. We were treated to poetry style readings from first graders and my faith in student’s ability to learn and thrive at SVRCS was refreshed! I DO support the Sugar Valley Rural Charter School. It delivers a valuable service to approximately 475 students with innovative programs and immersive community support. For this reason and those answers to the previous questions, I respectfully ask for your vote on May 16. I am cross-filed, as I feel the school board should be less a reflection of political party and more a reflection of the community that brings strength to the table from both sides and by working together to move forward. Thank you.
CHRIS SCAFF,
Challenger
1. I am NOT in favor of a tax increase at this time whatsoever. To continually hire more people and raise taxes right before an election is NOT fair to the taxpayers to start. After all, they are the ones paying the bills! The people of our county simply cannot afford it! There are ways to cut unnecessary spending in a budget and save the taxpayers money. With student population declining, there’s NO reason to hire more staff and raise more costs to taxpayers especially when test scores are at the current level they are !!! It’s easy to keep overspending when you don’t have to be responsible for it. Getting costs under control needs to happen and immediately!!! Just to raise taxes so you can spend more with NO responsibilities or accountability is just crazy.
2. I will fight for transparency and accountability to start off. Taxpayers need insight into how things are being done on all accounts to what’s happening in their school and with their School Board. School safety is a top priority.
3. I like the Career and Technical Training Center. Hands-on training and certifications to jobs is important to not only our community, but our country!! I am totally in favor of Hands-on Certification Training to get students into high paying careers like welding, plumbing, mechanics, etc. Not all high paying jobs require a college degree, which can be extremely costly. We need a manufacturing and hands-on workforce also to be a successful community and country !!!
4. Everywhere I go I hear our current school administrator referred to as “Boss Martin.” The people of the county and the KCSD Board need to realize she is NOT the boss — (members of) the KCSD School Board are “The Bosses” and they need to act as such. The Superintendent should be held responsible for what’s going on “IN” the school and NOT be writing the rules for the School Board. Parents are an integral part of a child’s learning process and need listened to also.
5. Control unnecessary spending, a hiring freeze, no unnecessary conferences, NO expensive trips should be done when they can be completed and accomplished via an online “zoom meeting”.
An absolutely NO Bullying or Harassment policy that will TRULY hold both students, parents and School Staff Personnel responsible for any and all actions against policy via detentions, fines, suspensions or job losses, and/or more, if required.
Improve school safety and re-vamp security issues as needed. School students having to come to KCSD Board meetings to beg for help regarding students safety is ridiculous!!! There is NO reason that should even be an issue! I am a registered Republican but I cross-filed as I will personally guarantee I will represent everyone as a whole, not just because of an affiliation to a certain party. I will represent everyone equally.
REGION IV
Dunnstable and Wayne Township; Pine Creek II Township
KAREN POORMAN, Challenger
1. I would vote no for the proposed budget for the following reasons:
a. The additional staffing for CTC for Homeland Security Education — To work for Homeland Security you must have a bachelor’s degree. So, they need to go to college, not a vo-tech school. Vo-tech schools are for the trades like auto, wood, cosmetology, culinary, plumbing, etc.
b. More “school safety support” — we should be getting stricter with the children. Go back to after school detention, suspension and expulsion. Stop giving little taps on the hands and saying, “Now don’t do that.” Of all the items in the budget, this is one I am for, but it is just a band-aid on the problem, not a solution.
c. To maintain the district’s $17 million budget reserve — I would want to see what the reserves are for. The law says that the reserves may not be more than 8% of their budget. There were some school districts that were moving money into reserves to give them a reason to raise real estate taxes.
d. Health Insurance — I feel that the people should start paying more for their health insurance. People working in other industries and retirees have to pay 100% of their health insurance, the school employees should also pay more for theirs.
e. Renew America Schools — if this money is our share to pay to improve the schools, I am for that. We have a tendency to wait until the schools cost too much to repair instead of keeping up with maintenance.
f. Bond obligation — if we have a loan, then we should be paying our bills
2. We need to get back to education. We spend too much money on sports and not enough on education. The children are not taught cursive or the basics. Go to a check out and watch them try to make change. The one child I know asked their dad to show them how to do fractions. He asked if they asked their teacher. They said yes, but the teacher told them that fractions were not important they just need to know how to add and subtract. If that is the attitude of the teachers, then why are we paying them to teach. Also, we need to stop Critical Race Theory (CRT) and indoctrination. Children are boys or girls, not being trained to become another sex that they were not born as. Right now, we have to deal with PA House Bill 300 that wants the ability to arrest parents that don’t let their children change sex. Also, in this bill, it will allow transgender males to play on women’s teams. This is a no. Women fought to hard to have equal rights for sports and males are built different than females and give them an advantage. Also, with this bill it will allow males, who say they are female, to go into women’s bathrooms and locker rooms. So, a pedophile could say at that time he associates as a female and enter these rooms with women and little girls.
3. At this point, not a lot. There are a lot of changes that need to be made.
4. The same as I mentioned in #2. We don’t need people telling little girls they are boys or little boys that they are girls. Telling them they can have a surgery to change. If the parents disagree with that then they could go to jail. Schools are meant to teach science, math, history, English, writing, etc. They need to stay out of CRT and indoctrination.
5. We need to reign in real estate taxes. Seniors and people on a fixed income cannot continue to be the main people to fund the school district. We need to make some cuts instead of people may be losing their homes because they cannot afford the taxes. Again, we don’t need CRT or indoctrination, we need to teach the children and let them learn. Don’t teach them just enough to pass the state tests so KCSD can get a good rating.
JEFF JOHNSTON,
Incumbent
1. Anyone who has purchased groceries, gasoline or paid electric bills knows how much the price of these and just about everything else has jumped dramatically in the past year. Our school district has also had to absorb all of the increases. Prices for energy, health care and materials to properly maintain our facilities have also drastically increased. As a former school district superintendent who has worked creating balanced school district budgets, I know that asking members of the community for an increase in their taxes is never popular, but due to the historic inflation of the past year, we are faced with taking that unpopular step. We have been very fortunate the last three years to not have to ask our property owners for an increase. Any increase will not only impact the 23-24 budget, but will impact the subsequent years as well, which is a fact that the board always must take into account when looking at the overall financial picture. We were aware that the COVID years took a financial toll on many, and as a result didn’t ask for any increases during that time period. As for how I’ll vote, I will always vote to do whatever will keep our district financially sound and provide the best education for our students in a safe, up to date, educational environment. To accomplish this end, I will support whatever the majority of our board feels is the most prudent action in order to make that happen. We never want to wait until the district is in a precarious financial situation when far more drastic measures need to be employed. As a member of this board for the past four years, I believe we have done a good job of making sound decisions in all areas which has, I strongly believe, made our district one of which we all can be proud.
2. As chairperson of the Board’s Facilities Committee, I am excited about the projects that we have been able to see to completion, and others that are still on tap in the district’s 10-year facilities plan. There are many projects on that plan for which we will need continued funding. I strongly support searching for as many grant sources that will help to pay for some of these projects. We already have applied for one in particular that, if successful, will be used to help pay for HVAC upgrades at Central Mountain High School and create solar fields at three of our buildings, helping to further reduce our energy costs. The grant funding would also create opportunities for CTE students to become knowledgeable in solar technology. We also have applied for other grants that will help fund some of the safety initiatives the board is exploring. We need to further research grants such as these in the future, which if successful, would take some pressure off of future budget costs.
We also must increase our efforts to provide additional mental health services for our students. The need in that area is great. That, along with increased safety measures, are a high priority for me as we move into the remainder of this year and beyond.
3. I am very proud of where our district is right now. I believe we have made great strides in our curriculum and instruction and especially with the data driven portion of the instruction. Our administrators and teachers base their instruction on data gathered using researched based tools designed for measuring a students strengths and weaknesses in academic instructional subjects such as Language Arts and Math. Using this data allows teachers to meet students at their individual instructional level and provides the necessary supports in order for them to experience success. Our revised comprehensive plan for the district does an excellent job in outlining these different levels of support for students.
I am proud of the job our teaching staff has done during the challenging time of the past three years. They did an outstanding job of quickly shifting to the online instructional platform and have continued to successfully meet our children’s needs now that we’ve returned to the classroom.
I’m also very excited with what is happening in our CTE program. I am convinced that this is the wave of the future. Students are learning skills in the trades that will serve them well and allow them to earn a good living. Our CTE program is one of the best in the state and student participation is increasing each year.
I am also proud of our administrators who, along with the teachers and support staff, have done a wonderful job leading our schools and central office during these past few very atypical years. We need to recognize all of them for a job well done. All jobs in the education field today are very difficult and we are fortunate to have excellence in the classroom and in leadership roles as well.
4. I believe we need to constantly strive for excellence in all we do as a district. We have many great things happening in Keystone Central, and we need to continue to get word of these good things out to the public. We have made some great strides in this area, but need to continue increasing our avenues of communication. We need to continue to find ways to get parents more involved in their child’s education and to support what is going on in their child’s school. Instead of always focusing on what’s wrong with our schools, I would love to see people in the community be a positive voice for that. We need to find ways to make that happen. Too many times misinformation becomes perceived as the truth and we need to pull together as a community to help make our district one in which people want to work and live. I plan to continue to work to improve the image of Keystone Central, because I truly believe that we do have a district of which we should be proud. Together this can be achieved.
5. Adequate funding is always an issue for many school districts, especially rural districts like ours. If two areas were to see changes at the state level, it would result in significant increases in revenue for our district and many others across the state. This in turn would produce much needed relief for local taxpayers. The first is having the state legislature appropriately and fairly fund education through an equitable distribution of resources. A court case decision was recently handed down ruling that the state had failed to fairly fund school districts, particularly rural ones. It is now up to the legislature to remedy that situation. Should, and when, that happens, that will mean greater funding for ours and many other districts across the Commonwealth. We need to keep the pressure on our legislators to get this done.
Secondly, changes need to be made in the state’s antiquated Charter School law. I am not at all opposed to charter schools, which provide educational choice for parents for their child, but charter schools — both brick and mortar and cybers — are funded by local taxpayer dollars. The funding formula needs to be changed in the law. Tuition rates for charter schools vary and are not based on a flat rate. Also, charter schools receive higher rates of funding for special education students than do school districts. If only the special education funding portion of the law was changed it would mean a savings to KCSD of around $1 million. This amount of savings would have covered the district’s health care cost increase for this year which is a part of this year’s budget. The law needs to be changed, because of the unfair playing field it has created for school districts who pay the bills. Charter school costs account for a significant portion of Keystone Central’s overall school budget spending. I am in strong support of getting at least some change in the charter school law and will continue to push our state lawmakers to make them.
I also strongly back the continued, ongoing efforts for strengthening safety measures in all of our schools. The proposed budget includes funding for additional personnel that will monitor hallways and restrooms, and be properly trained to respond to problematic situations. I also support this and other measures, such as technological ones that would provide better ways to monitor potential problem areas in the buildings. Our students deserve to attend school in a safe, secure environment.
REGION VI
Lock Haven 2nd and 3rd Wards and Allison Township
DAVID DIETRICH,
Incumbent
1. I do not plan to vote for a tax increase. With no tax increase the forecast for next year shows a budget shortfall of approximately $800k. The forecast for next year includes approximately $2.1 million to match grants that the district does not know for sure it will receive. If this is removed from the forecast, the numbers would show there is a surplus, or leftover amount, of $1.3 million for next year. Also, it should be noted that while the cost of the grants, the grant match, is included in the forecast, but the grant awards are not included. If these grants are received the district’s savings dollars, also called reserve funds, can be used to cover the matching portions. This is precisely the sort of thing the savings should be used for. At past public meetings both the interim and current business manager have stated that a healthy savings for a school district of our size is about $7 million. This district currently has approximately $17 million in savings/reserves, giving the district approximately $10 million more than is considered to be healthy. Using $2.1 million for grant matches, if the grants are received, would leave the district with approximately $15 million in savings/reserves, or more than twice what is considered to be a healthy amount.
2. I’m a newer board member but now have some experience: I’ve completed the state mandated board member training. I’ve seen first hand the problems faced by our school district as well as the good things being accomplished by our teachers and students. If re-elected, I’d bring along with me my experience and working knowledge. And, I bring with me a new perspective because, if re-elected, this will be my first full term.
3. I like that we have students who have shown a willingness to attend school board meetings to bring problems to the attention of the board and to bring to the board’s attention their positive activities and accomplishments.
4. At one of our recent board meetings we learned that our student achievement data is below average in many areas. There have also been problems with school safety as concerns have been brought forward in regard to violence, vaping, drugs, alcohol and bullying. The school district needs to improve in both of these areas.
5. I believe a school district with a good reputation, above average student achievement data and a solid set of safety related policies and programs will help to attract new residents to our community. I also believe transparency is important. And, I would like the board to enforce through accountability the school district’s policies. I am pushing forward to represent my region and push for these ideas the best way I know how. If the residents of my region would like me to continue my efforts, I’d ask that they please vote for me.
REGION VIII
Castanea and Bald Eagle Townships; Flemington Borough
RICK SCHULZE,
Incumbent
1. I have not made my decision regarding a tax hike, yet. I still am interpreting the anticipated revenue and the amount of funding necessary to operate KCSD. It is obvious we have some major expenses including safety and security, higher health insurance costs, building maintenance and other issues. However, the district needs to explore additional grant opportunities that may offset some costs. It does appear some level of tax increase is necessary but I need to further evaluate this issue.
2. I have numerous ideas to bring the KCSD, including increasing community collaboration, to address root causes of safety and security issues including exploring community development grants for comprehensive after-school programs as well as increasing access to mental health and substance abuse services. The district has to become an active partner in the county in order to facilitate economic and social development opportunities for our families and students. I also would like to see the district examine the lack of a librarian at the high school level, as well as how the schools may further strengthen and expand literacy opportunities for our students and communities. Other ideas include adding a monthly teacher and staff person recognition award, and increasing opportunities for teachers and student groups to provide direct feedback to board members.
3. KCSD offers students highly qualified teachers who are incredibly dedicated to their profession. I strongly support the teachers and the many opportunities available for our students including the Career and Technical Center expanded programs, and articulation agreements with universities and technical schools. I also appreciate the expanded efforts of utilizing Facebook and social media to showcase student and classroom efforts although I would like to see this expanded.
4. KCSD has numerous strengths and challenges. However, many of the challenges are rooted in a combination of community and school issues such as poverty, unemployment, underemployment, substance abuse and family concerns. The school district needs to emphasize strengthening and encouraging community partnerships and collaboration with state, county and local entities to address economic development in Clinton County. Reducing poverty in Clinton County will strengthen our district. Further, the district needs to emphasize and expand the use of social media in order to promote the excellent work of teachers, staff, students, clubs and sport teams throughout all of the buildings.
5. Many issues are relevant to voters including charter and cyber school reform on the state level, focusing upon rural schools and making funding our rural school more equitable, and making all students feel welcome and reinforced in our classrooms. Regardless of your residence in the district, you should have equal access to opportunities. Lastly, it is obvious our voters have major concerns about safety and security in our schools. We need to address this issue immediately and closely with creative and innovative efforts that have worked throughout the country.
I live in Castanea. I am a registered Democrat. I have cross-filed on both Republican and Democratic tickets. I am a professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science, Lock Haven University. I hold a doctorate in health education.
