Politics & Government

School Board Candidates Discuss IB at Streams, Taxes

Five school board candidates are running unopposed in Tuesday's election.

There are five open Upper St. Clair School Board seats this year and five candidates are running unopposed.

Louis Oliverio is the only new candidate running for school board. The other four candidates are incumbents.

Upper St. Clair Patch caught up with each candidate to hear their thoughts on the most important issues in the .

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Billerbeck said the board is in the middle of the process and she still needs more information.

"I don't have any pre-conceived notions," Billerbeck said. "I've always been a strong IB supporter...I'm going to look at the demand for IB, how it affects the overall budget...and how it will affect home values in Upper St. Clair."

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On taxes and
"It's important for us to remember the ," Billerbeck said.

The board voted to raise taxes by .4 mills over four years. .

"We already, because of Act 1 and actions in Harrisburg, we don't have the revenues we expected to have," she said.

In addition, PSERS (Public Schools' Employee Retirement System) has a huge increase that the school district is going to have to cover, Billerbeck said.

She said the board has tried to be proactive by and by refinancing its debt.

"It's going to be a difficult decision," she said.


"I'm concerned that vouchers shrink the pool of money to fund Pennsylvania public education," Billerbeck said.

On possibly making an all-IB school
"I'm still waiting to have more information," Bolas said. "I believe IB is an important program and that it's nice we offer it as a choice."

On taxes and the district's projected budget shortfall
Bolas said the board is still responsible to pay back the money it borrowed for the middle school renovations.

She also said the board will continue to think creatively to save money. The board will be taking a close look at how the district is implementing technology and programming opportunities.

Bolas added that the board position in the district and that the board is looking for more ways to be efficient.

She is pleased with the grant money and funds the new advancement office has brought into the district.

On Gov. Corbett's plan to create vouchers
"It's a very complicated issue," Bolas said. "If we're going to spend the money on vouchers, private education needs to be held to the same standards as public education."

On possibly making Streams Elementary an all-IB school
Oliverio said he attended the open microphone meeting in the fall and has been paying close attention to the issue. One of his main concerns is the busing of children.

The decision is scheduled to be made in January. He said he needs to get more information and plans on asking a lot of questions.

On taxes and the district's projected budget shortfall
"We have to roll up our sleeves and face a significant deficits," Oliverio said.

He said new requirements from the state will make things difficult and it's going to take "a lot of hours to balance the budget."

"It won't be an easy process," he said. "I'm not generally in favor of raising taxes, but we will have to look at options and fixed costs. And we'll have to ultimately look at the quality of the product that draws so many to Upper St. Clair."

On Gov. Corbett's plan to create vouchers
"I'm not sure what impact it would have on Upper St. Clair so it's hard to say how we would react. I would want to continue to give the best opportunities to Upper St. Clair children," Oliverio said.

On possibly making Streams Elementary an all-IB school
Petersen said she still needs more information and she has not made her mind up yet.

However she did note that she was a proponent of the IB program and the district has taken a lot of practices from IB to help students in the traditional program.

She said the board knew the day would come that they would have to make this decision because having only one tradititional classroom at each grade level at Streams was causing social concerns.

On taxes and the district's projected budget shortfall
"Unfortunately it's going to fall on the back of the taxpayer one way or another," Petersen said.

"PSERS is a problem that has to be solved legislatively...it's out of local control," she said. "We (the board) is looking into exceptions to tax more than the Act 1 index.

"We are hoping taxpayers will understand," she said. "We are cutting as much as we can. And teachers know we're asking them to do a lot more with less.

"No one as a magic solution."

On Gov. Corbett's plan to create vouchers
"Vouchers are going to have a larger impact on poorer school districts. Because of our quality it won't affect us (the Upper St. Clair School District) as much," Petersen said.

"I don't think that it's (vouchers) a solution to our education problems in Pennsylvania or the nation," she said. "Ten or 12 years ago charter schools were going to solve everything and it hasn't. I don't think vouchers will solve the problem either."

"I think there should be studies of the high-performing schools like our's and develop ways to teach our best practices in other districts," she said.

On possibly making Streams Elementary an all-IB school
"The bottom line is the capacity issue and utilizing our resources at the elementary level," Stern said.

Stern believes the decision is not an assessment of the value of the IB program, but a quesion of how the district can maximize its buildings.

On taxes and the district's projected budget shortfall
"Taxes probably will go up," Stern said.

Stern said the board will have to "raise taxes some" to finish paying for the middle school renovations.

She assured voters it's "not about mismanagement of money." In fact, the district has tried to be proactive, she said. For example, the district created the office of advancement to raise funds.

On Gov. Corbett's plan to create vouchers
"It sounds great, but I'm not sure how much choice people will actually have," Stern said. "I'd like to keep an open mind (about vouchers), but I am concerned."

 

What is your take on the issues facing the Upper St. Clair School District? Tell us in the comments.


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