Falling federal funding and school security are among the top issues school director candidates say are facing in the Riverside School District.
Barbara Arens, Carol Armstrong, Bob Bennie, Michael Duda, Barbara Fedor and Charles Maurer Jr. are competing for four-year terms. Four seats are available.
Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. Fedor and Stanley Kania are also competing for one two-year unexpired term. The unexpired seat opened when former Riverside school director Timothy Lavelle resigned in November. Mr. Kania was appointed after an interview process in December but needs to run if he wants to keep that seat.
All seven candidates are cross-filing on Republican and Democratic tickets.
When interviewed, all candidates said the loss of state money has dramatically impacted their school district and they must all buckle down to come up with an answer. Future school directors will also have to contend with teacher contract negotiations; the current contract expires in June. Preliminary contract negotiations have begun, according to members of the negotiation committee.
Mrs. Armstrong, a 16-year incumbent, said the board needs a chance to collaborate, not only among themselves, but with other members of the school district, such as teachers.
"People who provide the service often have good ideas," Mrs. Armstrong said.
Mr. Bennie, currently in his second year as board president, said he's had to make difficult decisions for the district before and likely will face difficult decisions ahead, in terms of potential cuts. He said being able to parse through the budget and cut what can be cut without compromising the overall efficacy of the district is something he's been through.
"We have to continue to look at how every single dollar is spent," Mr. Bennie said. "We have to continue to make sure the programming is effective."
Chief Maurer, in his first term as a school director and the current Moosic police chief, said balancing tight budget constraints with maintaining school security would be a top priority.
"We're probably going to have to play it by ear," Chief Maurer said. "We'll have to see what sort of funding is going to be cut."
Mr. Duda said $3 million in cuts over two years left them in a predicament and agreed that parsing through the budget is a top priority.
"We need to save," Mr. Duda said. "Look throughout our budget and try to save the taxpayers as much money as we can."
Mr. Kania said he has enjoyed the challenges he's faced since he became a school director in November and wants to continue to serve the district from which his children graduated. His priority would be to scour for grants to help fill out the budget.
"We try to make sure we get every dollar available, every possible grant, anything we can get our hands on," Mr. Kania said. "It's trying to use those funds in the best way we can while keeping taxpayers in mind."
Mrs. Arens, a newcomer, said she wanted to run after she experienced frustration with her child's curriculum back in September. Her son had enrolled in Spanish I but was later transferred to a German class due to space restrictions. It frustrated her then, so she wants to take a more hands-on approach with the district by bringing her ideas to the table. Her focus would be on enhancing the curriculum to focus on life skills.
"What good is to go and complain while I am not trying to be part of the solution," Mrs. Arens said.
Mrs. Fedor, a 12-year veteran as a Riverside School director, is choosing to run again after losing two years ago.
She wants to foster group cohesion among the board to best manage a functional budget. When the board had to furlough eight teachers in June, they let go district guidance counselor John Yarem, according to Times-Tribune archives. While she admits that the furloughs were likely unavoidable, she would have worked to avoid losing a guidance counselor.
"That cutback really hurt our district," Mrs. Fedor said.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on TwitterBarbara Hall Arens
Age: 48
Party: Democrat and Republican
Family: Married to W. Thomas Arens Jr., son Dakota Arens, 15
Education: 1982 graduate of Riverside High School, 1984 graduate of Lackawanna Junior College, associate degree in business science
Employment: Legal secretary in the Lackawanna County public defender's office for more than 2 years; legal assistant for several private attorneys for the past 10 years
Municipality: Taylor
Experience: current member of the Riverside Touchdown Club, past member of Riverside Elementary East and West PTAs
Top issue: Budget balancing
Carol Kaminski Armstrong
Age: 64
Party: Democrat and Republican
Family: Married to Harry Armstrong Jr., children Abbey Armstrong, Judge Harry Armstrong III
Education: Taylor-Moosic High School; nursing diploma from Geisinger Medical Center, School of Nursing; Bachelor of Science, Wilkes University; board certified-nursing education; board certified-neuroscience nursing
Municipality: Taylor
Top issue: Funding/Superintendent search
Bob Bennie
Age: 51
Family: Married to Maryann Bennie, children, Kathleen and Sean
Education: King's College, Bachelor of Arts, criminal justice
Employment: Transportation
Municipality: Moosic
Experience: Currently serving in second year as Riverside school board president, also served 2 years Riverside school board secretary. Previous community involvement, Moosic Little League, Taylor and Moosic teener leagues, Moosic Youth Center Basketball. Also active at St. Mary's Church Avoca, now Queen of the Apostle's Parish
Top issue: Financial challenges
Michael Duda
Age: 64
Party: Democrat and Republican
Family: Wife and daughter
Education: Former Taylor-Moosic High School. Johnson College for carpentry, Penn State Worthington Scranton for technology courses and Luzerne County Community College for engineering courses
Employment: 45-year professional carpenter
Municipality: Moosic
Experience: 10 year member of Moosic Borough Planning Commission; retired member of Moosic Hose Company; combat veteran in the Vietnam War; Veterans of Foreign Wars; Disabled American Veterans; American Legion; Vietnam Veterans of America, Pocono chapter; eight year member of the Riverside School Board
Top issue: Finances
Barbara Fedor*
Age: 59
Party: Democrat and Republican
Family: Married to George Fedor; children, Brad, Amanda and Ashlie; grandchildren, Olivia and Cameron
Education: Riverside High School
Municipality: Moosic
Experience: 12 years' experience as Riverside board member
Top issue: State school budget cuts
*Ms. Fedor did not provide The Times-Tribune with a photo.
Charles Maurer Jr.
Age: 62
Party: Democrat and Republican
Family: Wife, three daughters and a granddaughter
Education: Taylor-Moosic High School graduate, police training
Employment: Moosic police chief, 22 years, 40 years total as an officer
Municipality: Moosic
Experience: Life member of the Moosic Hose Company for more than 20 years, fire chief for 10 years, one term as a Riverside school director.
Top issue: Budget cuts
Stanley Kania
Age: 54
Family: Wife, Janet, and two sons, Stan (S.J.) and Paul
Education: Bishop Klonowski High School; degree in Business Management, Lackawanna College
Employment: Claims manager, state Department of Labor and Industry
Municipality: Moosic
Experience: School board director, Riverside School District (current); eight-year member of Moosic Borough Planning Commission in current term.
Top issues: High quality of education, safety of our schools, low taxes