Political divide in Norwin separates factions vying for control of school board

Ten candidates — five each on the Republican and Democratic ballots — have formed competing factions in the race for five seats on the Norwin School Board.

The board has been divided into two factions for 22 months and voters likely will determine Nov. 7 which slate of candidates will control the board.

Robert Wayman, the lone incumbent running for reelection, is joined by Lynda Funk, Tammy Moreno, Tom Ryan and Dale Weisensee on the Republican ticket under the Norwin4Change slate. They are opposed by Bill Bojalad, Tim Kotch Sr., Heath Shrum, Matt Thomas and Nina Totin on the Democratic ticket, running on the We aRe Norwin slate.

The district covers North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin in Westmoreland County and just 18 residences in White Oak and South Versailles in Allegheny County. Totin and Wayman live in Irwin, while all other candidates live in North Huntingdon.

Changes to the board’s composition were guaranteed this year when four incumbents — Darlene Ciocca, William Essay, Joanna Jordan and Patrick Lynn — did not run for reelection. After Jordan died in August and the divided board was unable to give five votes to any of four candidates. Thomas was appointed by the Westmoreland County judges in October to serve the remainder of Jordan’s term that expires in December.

The cultural and political battles on the board emerged when Alex Detschelt, Shawna Ilagan and Christine Baverso took office, joining with Wayman. That faction has often clashed with Ciocca, Essay, Jordan, Lynn and Ray Kocak. The board has been deadlocked at 4-4 on several issues since February, when Jordan stopped attending the meetings.

The minority faction scored political victories in removing CNN 10, a digital news and entertainment program that was shown to students in their homeroom before classes began. Despite support from several teachers, Wayman, Detschelt, Ilagan, Baverso and Ray Kocak, voted to pull the plug on the program amid complaints by political supporters that the news from that cable company was one-sided.

The book-banning controversy did not rise to the same level as it has at Hempfield Area School District, but Wayman, Detschelt, Baverso and Ilagan tried to ban the book, “Al Capone Does My Shirts,” on the grounds it used a derogatory term and had sexual references.

Detschelt did not get support to ban “All Are Welcome,” a book about an inclusive school environment with same-sex couples, interracial couples and immigrants.

The faction also complained last year that critical race theory was being taught at the high school, a charge that was denied by the administration.

The newly-elected board will decide whether to renew Superintendent Jeff Taylor’s contract, which expires in June 2024.

Both Moreno and Funk said they believe the superintendent’s position should be declared open for other candidates, as well as Taylor, to apply.

“I think we should re-evaluate all the candidates,” for the superintendent’s job.

Wayman said it would be inappropriate for him, in his position on the board, to discuss the employment status of any employee.

Taylor and the administration have been frequent targets of criticism from Detschelt, Ilagan and Wayman. Wayman, Detschelt, Ilagan and Baverso sued fellow directors Kocak, Ciocca and Essay in Westmoreland County Court this year on the grounds that the three directors did not include the faction’s low marks of the superintendent’ s performance last year. That case has yet to be resolved.

Detschelt also sued Taylor and the school district in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh for violating his First Amendment rights to free speech when Taylor’s criticized Detschelt for a social media meme that he posted on a private Norwin Facebook page in October 2022. Detschelt posted a Halloween costume meme targeting then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, referring to him with expletives. That case remains unresolved.

Change4Norwin

While candidates on both factions talked about the need to end the political and cultural battles that have fractured the board, the campaign platform publicized by Change4Norwin targets the opposing slate in stark political terms, depicting the other side as a “cabal” and “self-serving Leftist” and enslaving children in their “beloved socialist system.”

Funk, 61, a retired retail manager, said the district needs to keep out of the classroom, “activist ideas” that focus on the students’ race, religion and sexual identity.

A common sense approach is needed to reduce the polarization on the board, to keep the disagreements from becoming disrespectful, Funk said.

Moreno, 46, said she believes that the current Norwin board is “going in the wrong direction.”

Moreno, a real estate agent and notary public, said she has concerns that critical race theory is still part of the curriculum, despite the administration’s claims that it is not a part of the instruction.

Norwin also needs a policy governing the use of school restrooms, based on a person’s gender at birth. Those who are transgender also should have a designated place to use the restroom, Moreno said.

Addressing the polarization on the current school board, Ryan, 47, of North Huntingdon, a jewelry store owner, said that common sense should prevail. Ryan said he is not a political person.

“They should focus on what is important — the children — and there should be transparency,” on the board, Ryan said.

Wayman, 70, who retired as a Norwin teacher in 2019, is seeking his second term.

He said Norwin needs to ensure all children receive a relevant and skill-based education, while being prudent in its financial decisions. There is a need for fiscal and educational transparency.

The polarization on the board reflects the polarization of the community, Wayman said.

Rules governing meetings anticipate conflict, so following those rules will reduce tension and disagreement and ensure ethical behavior and respect for diversity of opinion and each other, Wayman said.

Weisensee, a project manager, could not be reached for comment.

We aRe Norwin slate

Candidates on the We aRe Norwin slate pointed to the distinct’s most pressing issues as being the projected budget shortfalls, addressing the deficiencies in the infrastructure and improving school safety at all the buildings.

Bojalad, 55, a senior director of global logistics for scrap metal processor TMS International, said he wants to bring his range of experience and expertise to the board. The students, educators and staff “deserve to have a supportive school board,” he said.

The bipartisan slate of candidates on which he is running believes that politics has no place on school board, Bojalad said.

Kotch, 67, who was a math teacher, assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent at Norwin in a 25-year career, said he is running on a bipartisan slate “that will work with the district administration not against the district administration in order to move our district forward.”

Kotch, who unsuccessfully sought the board’s nomination to fill the remainder of Jordan’s term, said he believes that “personal politics and political agendas must not enter into the decision-making process.” Ensuring students get a quality education can only be done through respectful and reasonable discourse that puts children’s needs first, Kotch said.

Kotch declined to comment on whether the superintendent’s position should be declared open.

Shrum, 54, a Gateway School District middle school teacher, said he is running “basically to keep the politics out of the school board and do what’s right for the Norwin community.”

On the issue of banning books, Shrum has said that those parents objecting to a books in the curriculum can have their children opt out of participating in those lessons.

Thomas, 49, student services director for the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit, has been a teacher, technology coordinator, high school principal and curriculum development specialist for three school districts.

The most pressing issue to overcome is the environment on the board that has created a stalemate, Thomas said. He said he would seek to build a consensus to ensure addressing the most pressing matters, including school safety and security, mental health support for children and services for students with disabilities.

“Creating a board environment where leadership and common sense prevail over partisan matters is essential,” Thomas said.

Thomas said he believed some people believe that polarizing and politicizing their position on the school board is a duty to their political party and do not view polarizing and political agendas as “a problem” to be reduced or solved.

Totin, 31, a stay-at-home mom, said she believes the most pressing issue is balancing the district’s budget.

Putting a stop to “the bullying and fighting in the district needs to be made a top priority. Kids need to feel safe when they go to school,” Totin said.

Totin, the youngest candidate running for the board, said she believes it is important to have people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and ages on the board who can communicate with civility and respect.