5 candidates vie for Freeport school board
No matter how the election shakes out, new faces will appear next year on the Freeport Area School board of directors.
Five candidates are running for four seats on the school board. Two are incumbents.
<b>Christine Davies</b>Spanish teacher Christine Davies of Buffalo Township has been on the Freeport school board for 12 years.She said curriculum has advanced tremendously during her time on the board and a registered mental health professional was hired through a grant.“In these times when mental health is so crucial and our children are very fragile, that has been an absolutely phenomenal asset,” Davies said.She also touted the high school's achievement of earning a national Blue Ribbon Public School award in 2020. The high school was recognized as an exemplary high performing high school in the Blue Ribbon awards, which are chosen based on academic excellence.<b>Getting back together</b>Moving forward, Davies will place emphasis on students, teachers, board members and residents getting back together face-to-face.“I like to keep good communication with the community,” she said. “I think that was hampered a little bit with the pandemic.”The district has been conducting its two monthly school board meetings on YouTube, which Davies said is not optimal.“I think people have to come to the meetings,” she said. “I think it helps us do our job better.”If reelected, Davies said she also will continue her focus on honing curriculum to fit the needs of Freeport students, including those who do not plan to attend colleges or universities. “We have curriculum pathways other than college,” Davies said. “I think it's built a lot of confidence in students' decision-making regarding what they want to do.”Another concern of Davies' is the high tax rate in the district.“I worry about taxpayers, and that's a real consideration for me,” she said. “I see this position as a very, very important position for our students and for our taxpayers.”She hopes voters will support her May 18. “I want to serve our community with honor and integrity because it's a job that affects everybody,” Davies said.
<b>John Haven</b>Incumbent John Haven is finishing his first four-year term on the board and hopes to be elected to another.Haven was a supervisor in Buffalo Township for more than 10 years before he resigned to run for school board.“I ran on taxes,” Haven said. “School taxes in Buffalo are the highest in Butler County. I wanted to try to keep that in check.”As president of the school board last year, Haven achieved a zero tax increase in Freeport and South Buffalo Township in Armstrong County and a .07% increase in Buffalo Township, Butler County.The district straddles the Butler and Armstrong county border.“I thought that was quite an accomplishment,” Haven said.He said when the board first voted on the preliminary 2021-22 budget, a 6.1% tax increase was proposed.“I was one of two dissenting votes,” Haven said.The tax increase was then whittled down to only a .07% increase in Buffalo Township.Haven also hopes to include partial payment for health care in the new contract with the district's teachers, which is being negotiated now.He said teachers do not contribute toward their health insurance or pension. “It must be nice,” Haven said.<b>Gary Risch Jr.</b>Gary Risch Jr. served on Freeport Borough Council for three years, but has not served on a school board.He said he decided to run because he disagrees with the way the coronavirus pandemic was handled in public schools.“I'll try to get the kids back to school safely and correctly,” Risch said.He has seen the effects of remote learning and a chaotic school year firsthand, as he has a son and two stepchildren who are teenagers.“I want to try to find consistency in our plan moving forward,” Risch said. “I want school open at full capacity as soon as possible.”Risch also decried the high taxes in the Freeport Area district.Risch grew up in Buffalo Township and lives with his family, which also includes a 6-year-old daughter, in South Buffalo Township, Armstrong County.He is the director of commercial sales at Diehl Automotive.
<b>Andrew Vento</b>Andrew Vento of Freeport sent a statement on the reasoning for his run for a seat on the school board.“I have decided to run because my mother's family has been in the area since the '60s,” Vento's statement said. “My siblings and I all graduated from Freeport and my three kids will also.”He said his main goal is to focus on his small-town roots “instead of them trying to turn this into Cranberry.“Since my mother went to Freeport, they have wasted money on, in my opinion, stupid stuff,” Vento said. “They constantly raise the taxes and have wasteful spending habits.”Vento advocates for equal funding for all sports teams and activities in the district.“I remember when I went, you had to pay out of pocket if you wanted to play hockey,” Vento wrote, “but football, you were treated like a god.”He said school districts should focus on teaching students the lessons they need for life “and how to learn their strengths, not just the typical run-of-the-mill crap that has failed our countries (sic) education system for years.”Vento went on to write that he believes the Freeport school board has always focused on ideas and beliefs with which he has not agreed, including its handling of the education during the pandemic.“Now I understand our knucklehead governor scared everyone,” Vento wrote. “But I was completely against lockdowns.”He said the random closing of schools “because one random person got the China virus” is “craziness.”Vento vowed to serve as the voice for residents of the district who think the school board is not listening.Vento owns a small construction and excavation company, and his family owns a golf course in Buffalo Township, he said in his statement.He did not specify the municipality in which he resides.
<b>Melanie Zembrzuski</b>Melanie Zembrzuski has a background not only as an intensive care unit nurse, but also as a current employee of a worldwide pharmaceutical company in the rare diseases unit.“I feel like I can bring some experience in the decisions that need to be made in regard to the COVID-19 health crisis,” Zembrzuski said. “Moving forward, this is an issue that we're still going to be dealing with in the next one to two years.”She also served one term as a Freeport borough councilwoman and is a member of the Freeport Volunteer Fire Company.“I have a business and clinical background, but I also understand the fiscal responsibilities that the board has,” Zembrzuski said.If elected, Zembrzuski wants to build on the technology that administrators and the school board were able to secure for students during the pandemic.Using improved technology to better communicate between the district and community members would be another priority.“During COVID, the technology used to communicate with the community was frustrating to many,” Zembrzuski said.She also wants to see the district expand mentor programs and add community volunteer opportunities for students.“We need to be able to promote more community involvement in helping students to prepare for their post-secondary schooling,” Zembrzuski said.She has two daughters who are students in the school district, in grades five and 10.“I really do believe that the schools are the backbone of this community and directly impact our future,” Zembrzuski said. “I definitely feel I can give my time, professional background and experience to help build strong, independent and motivated students.”Zembrzuski has lived in Freeport for six years and has been a resident of the Freeport area for 15 years.
