6 candidates running for 5 spots on Penn Hills School Board
Editor’s note: Penn Hills Progress is featuring candidate interviews in contested municipal and school board races only. Penn Hills council and mayoral race previews will run in a future issue.
In the race for Penn Hills School Board, six candidates are vying for five open spots on the ballot, all four-year terms. According to the Allegheny County Office of Elections unofficial candidate list, four of the candidates are cross-filed on the ballot, while Meryl Thomas is on the Republican ticket and Heather Broman is on the Democratic ticket only.
Jackie Blakey-Tate
Home municipality: Penn Hills
Political party: Cross-filed
Occupation: Retired principal from Perry Traditional Academy in Pittsburgh
Blakey-Tate, 72, is looking for reelection after spending one full term on the Penn Hills School Board. She said that she is a believer in life-long learning. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a master’s degree in counseling, a home and school social work certification and a principal certification. Blakey-Tate said that she believes that her passion for learning began early in her life, and she wants to give the students of Penn Hills the same opportunity to explore their passions.
“Penn Hill does not score very highly in reading and writing for testing statistics,” she said. “Although we are showing small steps of improvement, I think we could rise to what we are capable of.”
One way that Blakey-Tate suggested accomplishing this was striving to include more diversity in the school district’s staff.
“Our children should be able to see and learn from people who look like them,” she said. “It will help them gain confidence.”
Blakey-Tate said that if the district shows improvement, more families will move in, giving the community a healthier tax base, and helping everyone in the community. She added that community members are not only wanted but needed when it comes to the education of students.
“We need people to come out to our committee meetings, to speak, give input and have community conversations,” Blakey-Tate said.
Heather Broman
Home municipality: Penn Hills
Political party: Democrat
Occupation: Director of business operations at PEI, a Homestead manufacturing firm
Broman, 36, is a first-time candidate inspired by her daughter, who is autistic, to run for school board.
“I always find myself saying that I’m a parent, not a politician,” she said.
Broman said that the biggest issue that she wants to tackle is increasing communication between the school board and the community. A Robert Morris University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences and a master’s degree in security and assurance information technology, she believes that some solutions lie in the school district’s technology.
“We need to communicate and collaborate with each other, and be more transparent,” Broman said.
She pointed out that Penn Hills is ranked in the bottom 15% in reading and writing scores but in the top five percent for attendance issues. Broman said that the school’s website is not easy to navigate for parents or those looking to enroll their children. She wants to make parents’ resources more apparent and more accessible through the school.
“I want to make sure we get more parent participation,” Broman said. “We need more communication.”
She said that she wants to start a dialogue with parents — they are able to reach out to her on her Facebook page or her email, which can be found on her social media pages. Broman also intends to begin canvassing neighborhoods to speak with local parents and community members personally.
“I want to start a group for parents and community members to meet and discuss their different concerns,” Broman said.
Devon Goetze
Home municipality: Penn Hills
Political party: Cross-filed
Occupation: Director of housing services at nonprofit Auberle
Goetze, 45, is running her first official campaign for a school board seat while seeking reelection — she was appointed to the school board about a year ago after a previous member resigned before the end of their four-year term. She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in public administration with a focus in nonprofit work and is currently finishing her dissertation for a doctorate in business from South University.
“My biggest concern is the attendance,” Goetze said. “Everything kind of starts there. We are one of the top five school districts with attendance issues and that affects our test scores. It affects our graduation rates, our children’s mental health and wellbeing and the finances.”
Goetze said that she wants to work with teachers to see why students are missing school by evaluating what types of absences are most common. She also wants to make classes or lessons accessible from home in case a child becomes overwhelmed or just needs a break from the classroom setting.
“I want us to see if there’s a way for the child to connect in a quiet and comfortable space,” Goetze said.
If students, parents or administration struggle to find the cause of such low attendance rates, then the school can look into third-party groups that can work with students to get to the bottom of the issue.
Robert “Rock” Marra
Home municipality: Penn Hills
Political party: Cross-filed
Occupation: Retired vice president of Technology at Alcoa/Almatis Inc.
Marra, 67, is seeking a third term on the Penn Hills School Board. He is currently the chairman of the finance committee and a member of the district’s athletic committee. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and a bachelor of science in ceramic science from Alfred University, and a PhD in materials science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Marra said that since the district has reversed its negative financial situation – having turned a negative $18 million general fund balance into a positive fund balance of greater than $14 million since the state placed the district in financial recovery – the board now needs to focus on improving the district’s educational performance and the safety and security in the schools.
“We need to provide our teachers with professional development opportunities necessary to enable them to effectively educate a very diverse student population with a wide range of academic achievement by emphasizing individualized learning supported by a more rigorous curriculum,” he said.
Marra said that he wants to focus on funding the necessary security resources to uphold a safe learning environment in all three of the district’s schools. He also wants to strengthen support for the district’s special education population.
Meryl Thomas
Home municipality: Penn Hills
Political party: Republican
Occupation: Retired hospice social worker and full-time grandma
Thomas, 70, is seeking reelection for her second term on the school board. As the president of the Penn Hills Library Foundation and creator of the Penn Hills Education Foundation, she believes the success of Penn Hills School District hinges on collaboration. Thomas has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in sociology.
Thomas said that the biggest issue that needs to be addressed within the district is finding and adjusting to a new superintendent.
“They will hopefully be able to bring in experience to help with the district’s education struggles and finance struggles,” Thomas said. “Our test scores need to improve. We need to figure out how to motivate students individually.”
She said that the key to those accomplishments is being open-minded and willing to work together.
“I think there will be a lot of meetings together (with the new superintendent) and setting goals together,” Thomas said. “There will need to be a lot of sharing on our end of where we are and where we would like to be. There will need to be a lot of communication and working together – emphasis on together.”
Thomas said that she expects the board to be able to address the district’s issues with more efficiency if they are already working together smoothly.
Erin Vecchio
Home municipality: Penn Hills
Political party: Cross-filed
Occupation: Retired manager for the State Department of Revenue
Vecchio, 64, is no stranger to seeking reelection after being a member of the Penn Hills School Board for 20 years, serving as president for the last eight. She is a graduate of Penn Hills High School and has lived in the community her entire life.
“This community is my community,” Vecchio said. “This place means something to me and I’ll fight for it to the end.”
Vecchio said that the main issue that she wants to address is getting better after-school programs. She said that the district already offers tutoring and counseling programs, but she is hoping that more options can be offered. Vecchio said that programs like this may help students become more comfortable and willing to attend school.
“As long as our children feel safe in school, they are more likely to learn,” Vecchio said. “If they are safe and we engage with them, they can learn.”
Vecchio said that the district has already made some significant progress in communicating with students over the past couple of years.
“We brought in social workers to speak with the kids and things are getting a little better, but we’re doing everything that we can,” Vecchio said. “We’re making sure they have breakfast and that they feel safe and taken care of when they come into our schools.”
Haley Daugherty is a TribLive reporter covering local politics, feature stories and Allegheny County news. A native of Pittsburgh, she lived in Alabama for six years. She joined the Trib in 2022 after graduating from Chatham University. She can be reached at hdaugherty@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.