John Kluck is running for change.

Kluck, who earned the Democratic nomination for the state House of Representatives from the 64th District with write-in votes, wants to make a difference in the way things are done.

“Anytime there’s a vote in Harrisburg, our current representative votes with his party and does not vote in the best interest of the 64th District,” Kluck said, referencing incumbent Republican candidate R. Lee James. “Our senate and house candidates vote opposite many times, and that’s because our senator is looking out for the 64th District but our current representative is looking out for his party.”

Kluck, a third-grade teacher at Seventh Street Elementary School in Oil City, is primarily concerned with education issues.

“I’m looking at the votes not just with funding but with education policy, and we need people in Harrisburg who know education before they start voting in policies that they’re sending down mandates for school districts to comply with,” he said.

Kluck wants to amend the recently enacted fair funding formula to create equity in funding for school districts.

“The problem with it is the formula is only for new education funding, so the extra $250 million would be allocated using that fair funding formula, but all that education fund that was already in place is still going to be distributed the same way that they did it before,” he said. “In that way, there are districts who are receiving more money than they need, where we have districts like ours that are receiving less money than they need.”

Kluck also wants to make changes to standardized testing, including the state’s Keystone Exam and the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment.

“Everything is so regimented and everyone thinks they have to get all of this material covered before the PSSA test, and they’re actually a detriment to education,” he said. “Too much standardized testing is hurting our schools.”

Kluck also said changes can be made to help the education budget.

“When you get to the Keystone Exam, and a student doesn’t pass, they have to provide a project-based assessment for that student,” he said. “Across the state that’s costing over $300 million for that. That’s $300 million that could be used for regular education.”

Common Core is another program to which Kluck wants to make changes. He said the program creates standards that don’t allow for individual differences in students, and also causes some things to be taught too early.

“We’re teaching things in third grade that used to be in ninth-grade algebra,” he said. “It’s not really developmentally appropriate for these kids to be doing that in third grade.”

Kluck said his education background, including a master’s degree from Edinboro University in school administration, will be an asset if he’s elected.

“Working with groups of people in school, it’s not just working with the kids; it’s working with adults and parents,” he said. “So I do have experience working with groups similar to working with a group of legislators in Harrisburg,” he said.

Education issues are not Kluck’s only interest. He also wants to create family-sustaining jobs in the area. He said this can be done by meeting monthly with community leaders to stay active, rather than leaving municipalities to deal with the aftermath of departing companies.

He cited as an example Joy Global, the mining equipment manufacturing company that closed its location in Franklin, Venango County, this year.

“The handwriting was on the wall for quite a few years that (Joy Global) was downsizing, so we need to be more proactive than reactive,” he said.

Kluck also mentioned having satellite offices in southern Venango County and northern Butler County open two days a week to the public.

“When I’ve been going door to door in Emlenton and Scrubgrass (Township) and that area, they say, ‘We only see the state representatives at election time and when we have a parade,’” he said. “They want to see somebody and be able to talk to people throughout the year. This is going to give them that opportunity.”

Another issue he wants to address is the opioid problem in Butler and Venango counties.

He said that Venango County has a task force that has been effective in fighting the issue, and mentioned Gov. Tom Wolf’s Centers of Excellence for treating opioid addiction.

“Rather than just trying to send everybody to these Centers of Excellence, we need to look at what the counties have been doing already,” he said.

Kluck elaborated.

“Let’s face it; we’re in a rural area here and our issues are going to be different from say, Allegheny County’s issues or Philadelphia’s issues,” he said. “That’s why these issues need to be taken care of at a local level where people have a better grasp on it, but make sure the resources are coming from the state for help.”