Friday, April 29, 2011
Sponsored by East Penn Invested Citizens and East Penn Chamber of Commerce, the event got less friendly when candidates questioned each other.
For the most part Thursday night, candidates for the East Penn School Board agreed to agree. At a forum held at the Eyer Middle School the 11 candidates for five open seats were asked about taxes, the district’s budget crisis, program cuts, the teachers union wage-freeze offer, teacher’s pay and benefits, charter schools, vouchers and the state education budget. Most of the candidates agreed they would not cut vital educational programs or valued extracurricular programs. Kenneth Bacher said he would not support cuts to programs that “contribute to a well-rounded education,” like art, music or athletics. John F. Belin, School Board President Charles H. Ballard, Lynn Donches, Jennifer Gilbert, Phillip Garrett Rhoades and Waldemar R. …
40.516236
-75.543296
Eyer Middle School
5616 Buckeye Rd, Macungie, PA
/articles/east-penn-school-board-candidates-meet-at-public-forum
1647302
/locations/4178638
Monday, March 28, 2011
Patch Exclusive: Get to know the candidates for East Penn School Board by reading their answers to 10 basic questions.
On March 14, Patch began contacting all 12 candidates running for East Penn School Board. Each candidate was sent the same 10 questions and were given until March 27 to respond. Today, in a Patch exclusive, their answers are presented in full. The answers are limited to no more than 150 words. And those responses are unedited and appear here as they were sent to us. Ten of the 12 original candidates cross-filed as both Democrats and Republicans. That means they will appear on both ballots in the primary, May 17. One candidate, Fawn Strunk, recently withdrew from the race. To learn about each candidate, click on the links below. If a candidate did not return the questionnaire, "Declined to Participate" will appear next to the name. Samuel …
40.537169
-75.506229
East Penn School District Administrative Offices
800 Pine St, Emmaus, PA
/articles/meet-the-candidates-east-penn-school-board
1760508
/locations/3823352
Monday, March 14, 2011
School board candidate; current school board member
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Return to Candidate List 1. What motivates you to want to become a board member? Education is the most important service that our government offers. It is more than a privilege. It is more than a right. It is the requirement of a democratic society. I am a parent of three children. I have coached children for 25 years. I served on 2 different school boards. I now teach Social Studies to 7th grade students. Education is my passion. It has been at the center of my life and I want to be involved in the present profound debate on the future of education. As a stakeholder on many levels: resident, neighbor, citizen, taxpayer, property owner, parent, mentor, and teacher, I want to represent students, who are the future leaders of …
School board candidate
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Return to Candidate List 1. What motivates you to want to become a board member? Want to make east penn school district have the most educational opportunties for our students. want to think creativity so our students get the skills they need to succeed. the most important thing to me is give our students the best educational opportunties to succeed without burdening our taxpayers. 2. What do you see as the board’s roles and responsibilities? Making important decisions that will affect our students and taxpayers, while maintaining financial security. 3. What is your vision for education in this community? Education is very important and it will educate our students to make them viable leaders in the future. 4. What do you see as the …
School board candidate
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Return to Candidate List 1. What motivates you to want to become a board member? I view education as fundamental to our community’s and our country’s future success and want to make sure we, as taxpayers, get the best value for our tax dollars. I have the education and business experience to make a difference. 2. What do you see as the board’s roles and responsibilities? The board’s responsibilities are to set policy, adopt a budget, plan for the future and evaluate results. School boards were established to fulfill the state’s constitutional mandate to provide “a thorough and efficient system of public education.” To accomplish this, school boards must be good stewards of taxpayer dollars as they provide high quality schools. Board …
School board candidate
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Return to Candidate List 1. What motivates you to want to become a board member? Change in education is needed and is already in progress. I would like to be instrumental in planning for the future of education and ensuring that every child has the opportunity for a first-rate education. I am motivated by the need for fiscal responsibility since it is important that future educational plans fit into the economic realities of local, state and federal government. The need for transparency of board activities motivates me. It should be easier for citizens to be apprised of board activities and to communicate with the board. I believe board meetings need to be webcast, that meeting agendas and check registers be posted three working days …
School board candidate; current school board member
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Return to Candidate List 1. What motivates you to want to become a board member? I feel that the School Board needs to be more transparent with the public. I take issue with raising taxes year after year when the district has expressed an unwillingness to take even basic steps towards transparency- such as webcasting Board meetings, responding to concerns expressed at the public comment portions of meetings, and posting the check register online. The Board also needs to advocate for taxpayers and children when at the bargaining table with the Unions; not be just an extension of the Unions. For example, why does the school district collect dues for the Teacher’s Union, the single most powerful political entity in the state of …
School board candidate
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Return to Candidate List 1. What motivates you to want to become a board member? I am a parent in the East Penn School District (EPSD) and I am a taxpayer. I believe in these difficult economic times we need responsible, concerned and engaged citizens to oversee and guide the operations of our school district. Since 2003, I have been actively involved in the EPSD including the parent organizations at Eyer Middle School (Eyer Connection) and Emmaus High School (CORE), the Superintendent’s Parents’ Advisory Committee (PAC), the Coordinated School Health Committee, the Take Back Our Children Community Task Force, the Act 1 Tax Study Commission, the Steering Committee for the EPSD 2008-2014 Strategic Plan and the Emmaus High School Middle…
School board candidate
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Return to Candidates 1. What motivates you to want to become a board member? I am interested in serving the citizens of the East Penn School District because I feel I present a well rounded and balanced set of skills and abilities based on my education, work experience and life experience. All three experiences have allowed me to foster strong communication, problem solving and decision making abilities. I decided to run for East Penn School Board because I am aware of the challenges that the school board, the institutions themselves, as well as, us the tax payers are going to face in the coming years and I believe I can help in navigating these challenges to ensure a quality and affordable education that my children, our children …
School board candidate
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Return to Candidate List 1. What motivates you to want to become a board member? I have a degree in education, but have been an active volunteer in the schools and community as a stay-at-home mom for the last 13 years. Preparing our youth for the future seems to be an inescapable desire and focus of mine. Overall, I have been pleased with the education my three children are currently receiving in East Penn, but I feel I can give a unique perspective to ideas for improvements as well as priorities. It is important for the various demographics of a community to be represented on the school board, so I’d like to see at least a couple more spots on the board be filled by parents with students currently in the district. It’s important to …
Rob Hamill
6:59 pm on Thursday, November 3, 2011
Ballard did accept money from the Teacher's union, but he doesn't consider this "outside money", as his union buddies and he, are the true insiders. Us taxpayers are the outsiders here. more ›