Election Q&A: Ellwood City Area School District Board of Directors Candidates

The Municipal Primary Election will take place on May 16.

We caught up with the candidates for Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors and the candidates for Ellwood City Borough Council.

This is PART ONE in a TWO-PART SERIES featuring Q&As with the candidates. Part 1 features the ECASD Board of Directors candidates. Part 2 will be published tomorrow and will feature the Ellwood City Borough Council Candidates.

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Important Dates

• Upcoming Elections – MUNICIPAL PRIMARY  – Tuesday, May 16, 2023 
  • Polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Last Day to REGISTER for the Primary Election – Monday, May 1, 2023
• Last Day to APPLY for Mail-In or Civilian Absentee ballot – Tuesday, May 9, 2023
• Mail-In and Civilian Absentee ballots MUST BE RECEIVED at the County Office by Tuesday, May 16, 2023, 8 p.m. EDT

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Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors Candidates: Jean Biehls, Gary Rozanski Sr., Kevin Boariu, Jennifer Tomon (declined to participate), Erica Gray (declined to participate)

Jean Biehls

Employment: Retired Public School Music Teacher 32 years

Former Experience, Roles, and Years Serving on Ellwood City Area School District Board: Four years serving on the Ellwood School Board. Two years as President of the board and various committees of the board such as personnel, revenue and finance, negotiations, and education and student activities. Ellwood Board representative to the joint operating committee at the Lawrence County Career and Technical Center for three years.

Why are you running for School Board? I am running for school board to make sure that our students are being prepared for their futures in a safe educational environment.

Is there a particular issue that motivates you to serve on the board? The education of the students in the Ellwood City Area School District.

What particular experiences or skills have prepared you to serve as a board member? My experience as a teacher educator has given me the skills to understand the educational needs of the administration, teachers, support personnel, and students.

In what school district or community activities/organizations have you been involved? I am a supporter of the community organizations and the Ellwood City Area School District booster organizations.

What differentiates you from the other candidates and/or board members? My years of experience as a public school teacher.

What issues do you believe your district needs to address in its academic program and offerings? What changes would you recommend? The district needs to continue to assess the curriculum and make the necessary changes to meet the standards that are required.

What should your school district do to better prepare students as citizens? The school district has many programs at all educational levels to prepare students for citizenry.

As a board member, where would you look to make budget cuts? Budget cuts are often difficult because a large percentage of the budget are fixed costs.

How does a school board balance the need to provide a quality education with the need to respond to the local taxpayer burden? A quality education is provided when communication is very open to the taxpayers regarding all the educational needs of the school district.

What attributes are essential for successful school board members? A successful school board member needs to be a good listener.

How would you handle the requests, if approached, by an individual?  Special interest groups? Thank the individual or group for the request, however explain that there is a process that is to be followed for such a request or concern.

How can you contribute to a successful board meeting? I can contribute to a successful board meeting by being a good listener and participating with shared thoughts and ideas.

What do you see as the current challenges facing public education in our state? In our country? Challenges facing public education in our state and country is the funding for the state and federal mandates on public education.

What are 2-3 strengths of which our district can be proud? Why do you see these as strengths? The strengths our our district are our teachers, administrators, support personnel, and students. These are strengths because of the many communities that make up the Ellwood City Area School District and the outstanding support of the booster organizations.

What are 2-3 needs that must be priorities for our district to address? Why do you see these as needs? Needs will always be met by continuing to make assessments and evaluations of the educational needs of our teachers and students.

If elected, what would you hope would be key accomplishments of the board during your years of service? I would hope that the Ellwood City Area School District would continue to strive to be a leader in the public school education community of which other schools in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania would want to emulate.

Gary Rozanski, Sr.

Employment: Retired auto technician and service manager

Former Experience, Roles, and Years Serving on Ellwood City Area School District Board:

• 16 years on school board
• Past president for three years
• Past vice-president for four years
• Former member of Lawrence County Career & Technical Center

Why are you running for School Board? I would like to help to maintain the overall academics and physical well being of the district

Is there a particular issue that motivates you to serve on the board? I hope to help raise the Ellwood City School District’s academic achievement levels; I would like to help to continue with the current renovations and helping to secure fair and equitable contracts with the unions.

What particular experiences or skills have prepared you to serve as a board member? Former board member and work experience as a manager of men and women

In what school district or community activities/organizations have you been involved? School board, church organizations, booster groups

What differentiates you from the other candidates and/or board members? Experience from past school board membership

As a board member, where would you look to make budget cuts? 90% of the budget is fixed; it leaves a minimum of areas to cut

How does a school board balance the need to provide a quality education with the need to respond to the local taxpayer burden? That’s the tough part of being a board member

What attributes are essential for successful school board members? Honest, loyal, knowledgeable of what is occurring in the district

How would you handle the requests, if approached, by an individual?  Special interest groups? Following the proper chain of command

How can you contribute to a successful board meeting? Must have common sense, always be open to discuss issues, and being transparent.

What do you see as the current challenges facing public education in our state? In our country? Money – state and federal funding. Ensuring the safety of our students and staff

What are 2-3 strengths of which our district can be proud? Why do you see these as strengths? Balanced budget and high academic standards

What are 2-3 needs that must be priorities for our district to address? Why do you see these as needs? Keep taxes as reasonable as possible due to the fact Ellwood City includes a high majority of senior citizens; address educational needs; insuring a safe environment for the students and staff

If elected, what would you hope would be key accomplishments of the board during your years of service? 

• Maintaining a balance budget
• Continuing renovations
• Providing a fair and equitable contract for unions

Kevin Boariu

Family: My wife Beth and I reside in Ellwood City. I have lived in the district most of my life.

Employment: Elementary Principal in the Moniteau School District

Former Experience, Roles, and Years Serving on Ellwood City Area School District Board: I have 20 years of experience in public education. This would be my first term on the School Board.

Why are you running for School Board? Our school board elections have been non-competitive for several years and we need a board that is 100% filled by those who have faced the voters. Public service is a calling and I feel that now is the time where I have been called to contribute.

Is there a particular issue that motivates you to serve on the board? I am not an issues voter and if elected I will not be an issues representative. My concern is the stability of the Ellwood City Area School District and the needs of our students.

What particular experiences or skills have prepared you to serve as a board member? With nearly 20 years in public education, I feel confident that I can bring an understanding of the processes of operating a school to the board. I am a proud numbers guy (thank you Dad) and I consider budget operations to be my strongest asset formed in my experience.

In what school district or community activities/organizations have you been involved?  I have volunteered with Councilman Caleb Cragle to operate the local roller hockey league at Stiefel Park. I also am a volunteer debate coach for several schools in the area. I am looking to get more involved in our local community.

What differentiates you from the other candidates and/or board members? On a board with many returning candidates, I will be the new guy. I hope my experience will be complimentary to the operation of the board and without an agenda to run on, I feel that I can think freely about the needs of our community.

What issues do you believe your district needs to address in its academic program and offerings? What changes would you recommend? I would like to see our academic programming centered around career interests. A high school program that is centered on a student’s career interests can be our greatest defense against apathy. I would LOVE to see our district look at adopting a true middle school concept so that we can better gear our instruction to career interests and the developmental needs of our kids. The middle school concept would go a long way in helping our school adapt to the national mental health crisis.

What should your school district do to better prepare students as citizens? Above all else we can prepare our students to be good citizens by promoting accountability. Students who are accountable for their actions becoming coachable. Coachable kids become employable adults. The goal is not to teach kids to be good citizens, it is to teach kids WHY and HOW they can be good citizens.

As a board member, where would you look to make budget cuts? The percentage of a budget that is not already determined by contracts and mandatory spending is relatively small. If a budget is to be cut, we need to look at our enrollment realities and stop the bleeding on facilities and transportation expenditures.

How does a school board balance the need to provide a quality education with the need to respond to the local taxpayer burden? Balance comes from dialogue, not from agendas. A successful school board will utilize the input of all stakeholders and be transparent with the community about the needs of the school district. If a tax increase is necessary, be honest about why, and then look for the savings necessary.

What attributes are essential for successful school board members? An effective school board member should be curious above all else. If our board is comprised of people that want to know more about the necessary operations of a school, we will be successful. Somebody has to ask the questions and those questions may not always come with easy answers.

How would you handle the requests, if approached, by an individual?  Special interest groups? Requests that involve confidential student information or discipline should always be referred back to the administrators that are paid to run our schools. I am always interested in hearing ideas for helping our school to grow and increase opportunities for students.

How can you contribute to a successful board meeting? Board Members and community members make board meetings work when we are prepared and practice appropriate decorum. I sincerely believe that if we all do our homework, ask the right questions, and respect one another, that we will be in a better place.

What do you see as the current challenges facing public education in our state? In our country? Our greatest challenge nationally is closing the gap in achievement between our students after several years of decision making that only made those gaps larger. These gaps overlap with existing gaps in mental health, food security, and parent resources to form a perfect storm.

What are 2-3 strengths of which our district can be proud? Why do you see these as strengths? We have invested in a few of our facilities responsibly and can expect a few decades of service life as a result of those investments. The strength we should be most proud of is our ability to retain our faculty and staff. People are the best investment we can make, and every successful district shows this.

What are 2-3 needs that must be priorities for our district to address? Why do you see these as needs? We, like many other districts, need to break the culture of endless meetings while empowering our faculty and staff to lead change. If we can prioritize this, every new priority will be easy.

If elected, what would you hope would be key accomplishments of the board during your years of service? I hope that our next school board is able to come up with a better plan for district facilities to reduce costs yet provide more equitable opportunities for our students. We absolutely need to be open to dialogue with our neighboring school districts to share resources and programs if we expect to keep our students competitive.