Four incumbents and one newcomer are facing off to fill the four seats on Butler Area School District’s school board in the upcoming general election on Nov. 4.

The school district, currently made up of over 5,000 students, serves families in Butler, Center, Clearfield, Connoquenessing, Oakland and Summit townships; and East Butler, Connoquenessing and Butler city.

Current school board members — John Conrad, Gary Shingleton, Nina Teff and Al Vavro — will seek to defend their seats against Eric Reffert.

Since school board candidates can cross-file, Shingleton, Teff and Vavro made the November ballot with nods from both the Republican and Democratic parties. Conrad is running in the November election listed as a Republican, and Reffert is running listed as a Democrat.

John Conrad

Conrad was born and raised in the Butler area and currently lives in Butler Township. He is running for reelection as a Republican.

He was originally elected to the school board in 2005 and has served five terms. He has also served on Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School’s Joint Operating Committee for that same period.

He is a graduate of Butler High School, Butler County Community College and the University of Pittsburgh. He retired in March after 44 years as a mechanical engineer for Westinghouse Electric.

He said his time growing up and living in the area gave him a fundamental understanding of local needs and desires that are reflective of values and priorities of longtime residents. With that understanding, he said he can make decisions consistent with constituents.

Some of his greatest accomplishments were advocating for metal detectors in the elementary schools, for arming school police and for listening to voters and parents during the 2014 school building consolidation.

Gary Shingleton

Shingleton, a Butler high alumnus, parent of two graduates and retired district high school teacher and coach, is running for his third term on the board.

According to past Butler Eagle reports, he has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education in social studies from Slippery Rock University and a master’s degree in labor relations and personnel administration from St. Francis University.

He was a teacher from 1979 to 2013, including eight years as a department chairman; coached boys and girls basketball, baseball and golf; has worked as an NCAA college baseball umpire since 1985; and is a past president of the Chesapeake Basin College Baseball Umpires Association.

Shingleton said he also worked in collective bargaining with the Butler Education Association when he was a teacher. He has been married for 38 years and has three grown children.

Shingleton did not reply to the following Q&A, which was sent to all candidates.

Nina Teff

Teff is originally from New Orleans but moved to Butler Township in 2010 due to a work transfer. She is cross-filed for both parties for her reelection bid.

She said she worked as a petroleum engineer for 16 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom in 2014. She first ran for school board in 2015 and has served two terms.

Outside of the school board, she works part-time as an internal process consultant and participates in the Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School’s Joint Operating Committee and Butler Football’s booster board.

She said with her experience, she understands the role and has proven she can make impactful change. She said she intends to be analytical in nature, willing to help others and willing to understand and listen.

Some of her greatest accomplishments during her terms includes leading the district out of the Summit Township Elementary School lead crisis and in the hiring of Brian White to superintendent.

Alvin Vavro

Al Vavro has been president of the Butler school board since 2019. He is cross-filed for both parties in his reelection bid.

As a lifelong area resident who has made his home in Butler township since 1979, he has served on the board for the past 12 years. He works as a substitute teacher in the Freeport Area School District, and was a teacher and an elementary principal in the Butler district for 37 years.

He is also a member of the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation Board, which supports various projects and programs in the district.

Some of Vavro’s greatest accomplishments during his term include the consolidation of the district and the approval of the renovation of the senior high school while providing resources to implement numerous curriculum initiatives, all with minimal millage increases.

Eric Reffert

Reffert said he grew up in North Hills but moved to Summit Township at age 26 for its low taxes and strong, family-oriented community.

He said he has worked 11 years in food service in different roles, such as delivery driver, before becoming a DoorDash driver.

Though he is running in the November election after securing a nod from the Democratic party in May, he volunteers to help Republicans get elected across Butler County.

He said his experience has given him the ability to solve problems under pressure, connect with people and operate on a budget. He said as a fiscal conservative, he will prioritize the students and cutting wasteful spending.

Conrad said he was originally prompted in 2005 to run against a former board director who he believed had no understanding of the community. He’s continued to run to support the community.

Teff said she was inspired to run because she believed the district could provide an excellent experience for students, staff and leaders alike. She said she attended meetings and saw an opportunity to help transform the Butler area through the board.

Vavro said as an educator of 40 years, he’s seen the positive influence adults can have on students. He said he hopes to provide his point of view as a lifelong learner when making decisions regarding resources for the students.

Reffert said his nephew and niece are in the district, which makes him worry about proficiency scores and potential fiscal instability from rising costs and funding delays. He said he hopes to be a different voice and focus on providing resources to students with minimal spending and bureaucracy.

Conrad said his goals would be to listen to voters and parents and keep the area’s values and priorities in mind when making decisions for the district. He said he would also like to maintain the standard of excellence offered at the Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School.

Teff said to continue improving educational outcomes and experiences for students, she will continue to support efforts to create high school curriculum that supports the newly developed “Portrait of the Graduate” to prepare students for life after high school.

She also said she wants to advocate for our student athletes with WPIAL in this next term. She said she witnessed the negative impact that decisions made by committees have had on some student athletes.

Vavro said if he is reelected, he hopes to continue being part of the decision-making process in providing the necessary resources to meet the ever-growing needs of students while being fiscally responsible to taxpayers.

Reffert said some of his top goals would be to cut administrative overhead by 5% in an effort to fund classroom resources and expand vocational programs with local businesses. He said he would aim to do this while opposing tax increases, instead relying on grants and efficiencies.

Conrad said there are three factors to an effective education: a motivated student, engaged parents and a quality education from the school. He said he has seen a growing number of parents disengaged from their child’s education, causing poor performance. He said he would focus on reengaging parents so they know the importance of education.

He said another issue is funding, as he said Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court determined the way the state funds school needs reformation. He said legislators fail to understand the importance of approving a state budget by June 30, as financial obligations of the district continue even without funding, causing districts to consider loans.

Lastly, Conrad said legislators are micromanaging districts by implementing mandatory requirements without compensation, increasing costs without giving local residents or even school board officials a voice. He said legislators commonly overlook how it affects districts.

Teff said she would look to chip away at the backlog of capital projects the district has by allocating funds annually and utilizing grant funds as much as possible whenever eligible.

She said she would also continue to support an environment aiming to foster excellence and the fundamental idea that children and people raise to the expectations set for them.

Lastly, Teff said she would try to stay abreast of the retirement burden on the district by allocating funds to account for that future burden.

Vavro said one constant issue is walking the tightrope of finding funding to provide necessary resources while maintaining a fiscally responsible budget. He said it requires difficult decisions to walk this tightrope successfully.

Another issue he highlighted was security, which is a continuous concern. He said the district needs to continue to stay current with reasonable safety initiatives.

Lastly, he said he has noticed growing mental health concerns that students bring with them to the school. He said it requires the district to find therapeutic resources to address those needs so that academic learning is the highest priority.

Reffert said he’s concerned about the current state budget impasse. He said he would advocate for local control and lobby for stable state funding while building a 10% reserve for the district.

He said he would also look to address bus driver shortages by seeking to offer cost-neutral incentives like flexible schedules and to partner with local business for recruitment.

Lastly, Reffert said administrative costs are draining the budget. To amend this, he said he would audit line items to cut five to seven percent of non-classroom expenses to teachers and facilities. He said he would use zero-based budgeting and private-sector partnerships to prioritize students over bureaucracy while also not increasing taxes.

Conrad said while it would take time for the dust to settle, the United States survived without a Department of Education for the first 204 years, as it was part of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Teff said the impact remains unseen, but noted she likes the concept of eliminating extra layers of control that come from the top-down, as she believes federal regulations minimize a community’s ability to set direction for their own district. She said she is in favor of regulatory reform and giving community members and school boards more say at a federal and state level.

Vavro said it depends on a number of factors, but he believes it would ultimately be negative. He said he thinks the department serves as a voice for education in government and presents factual information necessary for legislators to make the right decisions.

Reffert said the elimination would cut around $4 million in federal funding for the district, such as from Title I. He would offset any losses by cutting administrative costs, pursuing private grants, and pushing the state for block grants to ensure local control and no tax hikes.

Conrad said he personally has a nose for cost-efficiency which he applies to help the district save money. He said when compared to other districts, he found the district’s tax rate to be below average while providing above-average education — a trend he hopes to continue.

Teff said she dislikes taxing residents but recognizes a depreciating tax base and the need in the past to raise taxes. However, she believes the Butler area is steady at its current tax rate, and that the district should not add more burden, especially with the state of the economy.

Vavro said the current board is well aware of the fiscal climate of its tax base, but decisions are always made by the board with the goal of never incurring a tax increase or minimizing tax increases whenever possible.

Reffert said he would fight to cut five percent from nonessential contracts. He also said he would fight any tax increase, instead using reserves and state advocacy to stay fiscally disciplined, regardless of enrollment or inflation.

Conrad said he believes the current budget is very efficient and is reasonable when considering the scope of what Butler Area School District does.

Teff said the administration plans ahead several years with upcoming costs for the budget, leaving the district secure in having a balanced budget. She said the district is able to maintain this through prioritization, and considers a balanced budget a key focus of hers.

Vavro said administration maintains a high level of fiscal responsibility in allocating and prioritizing budgetary funds. He said that the administrative team has also utilized grants and supplemental funding from philanthropic organizations, such as the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, to help maintain a balanced budget.

Reffert said while the current budget was able to avoid tax hikes, it is still bloated with administration costs.

Conrad said the current construction projects are focused on maintaining existing facilities and are very necessary to keeping our facilities warm, safe and dry.

Teff said the district is currently working to add air conditioning to the senior high school’s cafeteria. She said the district performed a study to estimate costs of expanding air conditioning throughout the district and is now working on prioritized spaces, such as the cafeteria.

Vavro said the construction work done by the district in recent years has been positive for both students and the tax base, as it consolidated much of the district’s facilities.

Reffert said he supports the proposed football annex project as it would boost the football team while fostering school pride and community engagement.

Conrad said the district’s bussing contractor, like many others, is struggling to hire reliable drivers. He said he believes this will eventually smooth out as wages go up and more people are attracted to drive school buses.

Teff said the district just switched to AJ Myers, and that she is looking forward to seeing how the partnership grows over time. She said the shortages and competition is in every school district, but AJ Myers and the district are working to iron out any issues.

Vavro said the district covers a 150 square-mile zone and is doing the best it can to keep up with the needs of students. He said AJ Myers has been doing an admirable job since taking over, and hopes that will continue.

Reffert said he sees the need to hire 15 drivers through private-sector partnerships and avoid union contracts. He said he would explore route optimization software in hopes of cutting fuel costs.