8 candidates cross-file for 4 open seats on North Allegheny School Board
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Only one of the four North Allegheny school directors whose terms expire this year are seeking reelection.
Board members Andy Chomos, Allison Minton and Scott Russell will step down at the end of the year, leaving Rick McClure as the only incumbent to seek reelection to another four-year term.
The other five members of the board won’t face reelection until 2023.
Eight candidates have cross-filed to appear on both the Republican and Democratic tickets in the primary for the four open seats.
While NA school board members are independently elected officials who serve at large, the eight candidates are split into two separate coalitions, or teams, that share a similar vision and are philosophically aligned, according to the candidates.
McClure, Greg Casten, Vidya Szmkowiak and Joe Wall are in one camp; and Sylvana Bonner, Leslie Britton Dozier, Paige Hardy and Jon Parker are in the other.
The four candidates who receive the highest number of votes on each ticket this spring will face off in the fall general election for the four open seats.
Here are the responses to questions posed to the two candidates:
Sylvana Bonner
Why did you decide to run for school board? To support a positive environment where we prioritize the needs of our students and the district while also being accountable to the community. I’m running to use my leadership skills to support the administration in planning for the future of our children and the district, actively listen to our students, parents, teachers, administrators and other community members and foster an inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels valued and respected.
What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? A main area of concern in the North Allegheny School District is ensuring that the district continues its commitment to excellence in preparing students for life.
This includes creating and maintaining safe, nurturing environments, attracting and retaining diverse, talented teachers and professionals, and offering options for sports, music, arts and other extracurricular activities that promote well-rounded students who are prepared for the next step in their journey.
While the district has experienced success in these areas, our world is more competitive and ever-evolving. Our focus should be towards the future as we continue to compete for limited resources to prepare our children for a competitive marketplace.
What should voters know about you? My parents grew up with little and did not have a chance to finish grade school. They sacrificed to ensure I graduated from high school and college. I would not be the person I am today without a quality education.
What I value most are the transferable skills that I have acquired and the opportunities I have been able to explore. I am thrilled to offer the same opportunity to my children. My children have benefited from everything NA has to offer. Two sons are NA graduates, my daughter attends North Allegheny Intermediate, and my son attends Ingomar Middle. I have enjoyed watching their growth and development as they have navigated academics and NA sports, as well as various levels of interest in the arts program. I would love to be on the school board to continue to extend those same opportunities and more to all students in the district.
Greg Casten
Why did you decide to run for school board? To make a positive impact in the community. Having two children attending North Allegheny schools, I have seen firsthand the effects of the lockdowns due to covid and want the schools to reopen as soon as possible for in-person education and extracurricular activities.
However, for those who choose to attend North Allegheny Cyber Academy — that is OK, too. I want to empower teachers to meet the needs of the students. Educate, not indoctrinate.
What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? The biggest issue is to open our schools for in-person education five days per week. A close second is the fiscal challenges North Allegheny must tackle over the next few years. There are significant infrastructure needs such as the necessary renovation and replacement of several schools, including NA Intermediate.
In addition, the district faces a substantial budget shortfall. School board members will have to develop budgets and spend taxpayer funds in a cost-effective manner to maximize return on investment and to prevent tax increases. My familiarity with financing and the municipal bond industry is an asset that I will bring to the school board.
What should voters know about you? I graduated from North Allegheny in 1983 and from Lehigh University in 1987. When my wife, Debbie, and I were married and looking for a house, we chose the North Allegheny school district for its excellent educational reputation.
I have three children — two at North Allegheny and one who graduated in 2019 (who is) in college. I have been in the financial services industry for 32 years working with corporations and individuals.
Opening the schools is a priority. Developing cost-effective budgets to protect taxpayers and giving back to the community are important matters in this election.
Leslie Britton Dozier
Why did you decide to run for school board? Our district deserves good, strong and benevolent leaders who can work together to set the strategy and tone for the district and ensure our future success. I have a passion for education and am eager to serve in this capacity. One of the main reasons that we moved into this district was the strength of our schools.
I want our district to provide premier schools to our community, and I can offer solid leadership that will focus on a long-term strategic plan, providing the support that students, teachers and administrators need to excel and thrive while making fiscally responsible decisions in the best interest of the taxpayers.
I understand that not all members of our district have children in our schools, so it is important to balance their interests with the needs of our schools.
What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? The wellness of our students, especially following the pandemic and the district’s budget. We will need to focus on the academic, physical, emotional and mental wellness of our students, as well as our teachers and administrators.
The pandemic has had an impact, with some being more affected than others. We must provide the necessary support and services to those who need our support.
We will also need to ensure that our district is in a financially strong position to have the resources to make the support and services available, while also maintaining the physical buildings and infrastructures of our schools. This will involve making smart, strategic decisions.
What should voters know about you? I am a product of public education. I know what school excellence felt like to me — feeling safe, encouraged, engaged and accepted. I want my son, an NA student, and all students to experience school excellence. Excellence comes at a cost, however, and I’ll be a careful steward of public funds.
As an executive, I understand budget constraints. I am a practicing corporate attorney, with over 20 years of experience, and serve on boards of nonprofits with no money to spare. With a master’s in public policy and management from CMU, I have the analytical tools to make good policy decisions. I’m active in our district, having served as a parent volunteer, on the Elementary Advisory Committee and the Citizens Advisory Committee.
We need leaders who will work together to provide strategic leadership, good policies and support.
Paige Hardy
Why did you decide to run for school board? It’s been a difficult year in North Allegheny, with leadership facing incredibly challenging decisions with a lot of unknowns. Unfortunately, we didn’t respond as well as I would have hoped, with an unwillingness to listen to others and a lack of transparency behind decisions, leaving our community mired in division and confusion. It’s motivated me to step up and be a voice of calm and reason in the district.
I would advocate for NA to focus on providing our students a high-quality and well-rounded education while embracing best practices.
After attending school board meetings for years, I am ready to listen to all the members of our community, to communicate clearly with the public, and to collaborate with North Allegheny administration’s expertise to make NA the premier district in the region.
What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? North Allegheny’s biggest issue is the budget, ensuring we’re meeting our students’ needs while maintaining a reasonable millage rate. NA has a proud tradition of stretching every dollar and making the most of what we have, and we’ve excelled at it.
We’re one of the most competitive districts in our region, with one of the lowest millage rates in Allegheny county. However, NA’s rankings are starting to slip, our graduation rate is not where it should be and our high school buildings are showing their age. We need board members who can use a data-driven approach to make practical student-centered decisions for our district.
I look forward to putting my analytic mind to use for NA to be a careful fiscal guardian while ensuring our district provides the excellent schools our students deserve.
What should voters know about you? I’m a data person and honestly love reading the school district’s many reports and sorting out what the tables do and don’t show. I have a master’s degree in psychology and worked for 10 years as a public health data analyst. I’m a parent in the district with twin fifth graders and a dedicated parent volunteer at Marshall Elementary. I’ve served on Marshall’s parent faculty association’s executive board and the district’s parent advisory committees for the past three years.
Our family chose to move to North Allegheny for its excellent schools, diverse student body and fantastic neighborhoods. If elected, I would work diligently to maintain NA’s excellence in academics, athletics, arts and acceptance for your children and mine.
Rick McClure
Why did you decide to run for school board? I joined the NA Board in 2015 to bring a business viewpoint to the operation of district facilities. The public record shows that I have led efforts to save millions of taxpayer dollars through improved efficiency, critical planning and aggressive purchasing.
Second only to staffing, the district’s largest expenditure is its infrastructure. An assessment of property conditions continues to reveal challenges. However, with careful planning and a long-term view, NA will be able to ensure a first-class learning environment for all students.
What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? Navigating the day-to-day issues is a critical part of the job as an elected member of the North Allegheny Board of Directors. Each year seems to bring a new “big” issue. The team of Casten, McClure, Szymkowiak and Wall share a vision of cooperative, nonpartisan efforts to address the ever-changing landscape. We are working together with clear goals, one of which is to champion education management that empowers teachers to address each child.
NA is known for its amazing programs for top students and ample opportunities for challenged learners. The large majority of students in the “middle” need to be supported and encouraged. It is important to reach all students and provide programs and tools that help to move North Allegheny toward its mission of preparing all students for success in a changing world.
What should voters know about you? Born and raised in Pittsburgh’s north suburbs, my wife and I moved to Franklin Park in 1997 so our children could attend the excellent NA schools. The McClure children are proud NA graduates and credit their teachers for preparing them for success in college and their careers.
As a commercial property manager for over 30 years, I recognized challenges at district facilities. I successfully ran for the board over five years ago to bring a new focus to the construction, operation and maintenance functions.
My peers recognized my contributions and elected me as board vice president in 2017 and president 2018-20. NA is developing a long-term vision for its facilities, and I hope to continue bringing value to the district by helping that vision become reality.
Jon Parker
Why did you decide to run for school board? I believe positive leadership creates a positive culture while divisive leadership yields divisiveness. The North Allegheny School Board should be a model in bringing our community together, and I am motivated to be part of a positive, future-focused school board that serves our students, families and community well.
All North Allegheny students, including my own three children, deserve honest leadership that listens to actual constituents over political party committees and internet disinformation specialists, as well as leadership that has a deeply held belief in the critical importance of public education. I am that kind of leader.
What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? Every school board’s biggest issue every single year is the budget. North Allegheny is no different. As a classroom teacher in the City of Pittsburgh, I have spent almost two decades living with both effective investments and wasteful spending.
I know well how to identify and eliminate programs that don’t work and how to double down on the ones that do.
Policy decisions that ensure manageable class sizes maximize taxpayer resources and provide an impactful return on investment. Too much high-stakes testing and test prep wastes taxpayer resources and costs students valuable learning time.
I believe our students and community deserve exceptional schools. Exceptional schools enrich our children’s lives and increase the value of our homes. I know what smart investment looks like in a real classroom, and I will use my experience to benefit students, empower educators and protect taxpayers.
What should voters know about you? I have made public education my life’s work. I started fighting for good public education policy a long time ago because decisions in boardrooms actually play out in classrooms and communities.
Decisions about things like class sizes and high-stakes testing aren’t theoretical for me at all, and they aren’t theoretical for our students. Also, an effective classroom teacher must listen to understand the wide-ranging perspectives of students, families, administration and the broader community.
Many of these people often have different values and goals. It is important to genuinely listen to their perspectives, ask the right questions, review relevant research and best practices and then make good decisions.
This is precisely the job of a school board member, and I have been doing this work well in the classroom for almost two decades.
Vidya Szymkowiak
Why did you decide to run for school board? As a 1990 North Allegheny graduate, I fully credit my excellent NA education for my future success. While I have always participated in district activities by volunteering, the experience of this past year cemented my conviction that NA’s direction should be guided by individuals whose primary loyalty is to NA students and the NA community.
Our children’s daily routine and their subsequent physical and emotional well-being has been heavily influenced by decisions made by local leaders, including school directors and politicians at the local level.
Simply put, local elections matter and it is our responsibility to elect individuals who will always put our children and our community first.
What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? Open our schools. A high-quality and well-rounded education is essential to a child’s growth and development and his or her long-term outcome. A generation of capable and educated citizens is essential to the functioning of society.
So why does policy-making in response to the pandemic not reflect the essential nature of schools to our children and our community? Why are our students being subjected to disruptive educational policies that hamper their access to in-person education and are not rooted in the current understanding of covid-19 transmission?
While I am grateful that this pandemic resulted in the creation of the NA Cyber Academy and I will continue to support NACA as a viable educational option for many students, we must do better for the large population of children who will thrive only with consistent in-person education.
What should voters know about you? As a primary care physician, it is my responsibility to understand the current medical evidence and apply that information in a nuanced and balanced manner for the benefit of my patients. I will take the same rational, evidence-based, flexible and responsive approach to policy-making as a school board member.
As the owner of a successful real estate business, I recognize that spending — especially given the looming NASD budget deficit — must be carefully managed to promote the best return on investment for our students and our community.
As a hardworking behind-the-scenes volunteer, I am committed to devoting the time and effort necessary to carry out my responsibilities. As a proud NA community member and a grateful NA graduate, I will always put North Allegheny first.
Joe Wall
Why did you decide to run for school board? My father was on the original faculty of North Allegheny. My family has deep roots here. I’ve been involved in both the community and the school district for many years and feel now is the most important time for me to give back to my alma mater.
What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? I believe we need to focus on education, not indoctrination. We need clarity for our professional staff. It is a school board director’s responsibility to guide the curriculum that reflects the values and priorities of the community and to provide the resources for instructional staff to execute the curriculum plan.
What should voters know about you? I’ve served on the North Allegheny Athletic Hall of Fame Board, the North Allegheny Alumni Council (class of ’83 representative), I founded a children’s charity in Pittsburgh and have served as its executive director and I’ve been active for many years in local youth sports organizations across Western Pennsylvania.
I’ve been a champion for equality and inclusion in each of these organizations. And I have a true love for North Allegheny, seeing it grow from a simple small school district to one of the largest in the Commonwealth. I bleed Black and Gold … in all aspects of the district.