Candidates running for the Jim Thorpe Area School District gathered for a public forum Wednesday evening. The forum was held at Penn-Kidder Campus and was designed to inform the public about the different candidates and why they are running. The Jim Thorpe Council PTA hosted the event.

There are 16 school board candidates and 14 attended the forum. The two candidates that could not make the forum were represented by Jim Thorpe Council PTA President, Kathy Saxon.Each candidate had three timed minutes to introduce themselves and discuss their stances. Afterwards the audience was given the opportunity to make public comments to the candidates. After all comments, the candidates were available to talk one-on-one with the public and hand out information about their candidacy.Many taxpayers, parents, teachers, and administrators attended the forum.The candidates thanked the PTA for presenting the forum and thanked the public for attending.The candidates remarked:Bill Allison:Allison helped to implement the Jim Thorpe Reads program at Penn-Kidder Campus. He also works with Jim Thorpe Area students by serving as President of the Jim Thorpe Rotary Club.Allison states that public education can inspire and prepare citizenship in students. He feels that all students can have a world-class education that prepares them for the future."This depends on teacher professionalism. Which means we hire the best qualified not those with personal connections and that will happen with new faces on the board," he stated.Danielle Condly:Condly is a teacher for the Parkland school district and she feels she can bring a lot to the school district as an educator."We can create a unified school district where we are bringing together not just teachers, not just administrators, not just board members, but the community as a whole," she said.Condly continued, "We can work together to create a strong and successful school but also a strong and successful community."She served as a liaison for the Race Street renovation project and is a volunteer soccer coach. She is also a member of the 8th grade parents committee.Glenn Confer Sr:Confer served 22 years on the school board until 2003 and has decided to run gain. He feels that new leadership is needed."My issue is Fiscal responsibility. We say it but we don't do. Fiscal management is very important," he stated.Confer also discussed how current budget cuts will affect taxes and class sizes. He feels class sizes are too large and the taxes need to stop being raised.Pearl Downs-Sheckler:Downs-Sheckler volunteers in many organizations such as the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce and the Jim Thorpe Community Athletic Association.She feels that supporting and volunteering in the schools and community is essential."The more support you give our schools, the more you get out of it," she said.She wishes to inspire positive actions within the schools. If elected, she will be open minded and listen to any suggestions.Michael Huber:Huber currently serves as President of the Jim Thorpe School Board.Huber has volunteered for the American Cancer Society and Booster Club. He has coached Little League, softball, and basketball.He has a high regard for the teachers in the district, as well as the education programs. He wishes to not eliminate these programs."We need to have quality education and with these hard economic times it's going to be difficult. We need to tighten our strings," he said.Richard Karper:Saxon presented information about Karper.Karper is a present member of the school board and has been a member for almost 16 years. As a member he has worked hard to keep the taxes as low as possible"His goal is to continue to give every child the best education a school district can provide. He plans to work with the decreasing state funding to try to keep beneficial programs available for the students of Jim Thorpe. He will strive to keep class sizes down and taxes low," stated Saxon.Ellen Kattner:"The government doesn't want to give us money and the only way to get money is to tax the taxpayers," stated Kattner.She stressed that she doesn't want to raise taxes. She also stressed that funding for education in the school district is important but unnecessary expenses she would like to do away with.Kattner volunteers her time working with first graders at L.B. Morris and she finds it very rewarding.John Marchione:Marchione has worked as a teacher in subjects ranging from U.S History, U.S. Government, and Sociology. He currently works as a substitute in the Jim Thorpe district and he prepares his students for what life is like after high school.Marchione believes unity and respect is important and will make for a better school and better community."My goal is for all to realize we are a diverse community," he said.Dr. Clem McGinley, MD:McGinley serves as a present member of the school board."Our Primary focus is to provide quality education for and be responsive to the needs of our students and their families," he said.As a board member he has tried to compromise on issues by adopting a 'middle of the road position.' One of his biggest issues is keeping the taxes as low as possibleHe has introduced the Board Advisory Committee which will aid the board in dealing with issues.McGinley feels that all areas of the district need to be respected; students, families, teachers, and taxpayers.Jeremy Melber:Saxon presented information about Melber.Melber works for the Northern Lehigh School District."His vision for Jim Thorpe School District is to create a fully functioning and economically stable district with increasing PSSA and PVAAS scores, while eliminating wasteful spending and making sure everyone in the district is held accountable for their perspective department. At Northern Lehigh, I see an economically distressed district that thrives in academics and is still able to create sustainable budgets, and I have that same vision for Jim Thorpe," stated Saxon.At Northern Lehigh, Melber has increased the districts financial rating, created energy savings, reduced the districts audit liabilities, and balanced the budget with no tax increase.John Partenio:Partenio enjoys working with youth. He has volunteered as a youth pastor and an umpire.The big issue he wishes to work on is taxes. He wishes to limit taxes by looking line by line at the expenditures and eliminate unneeded expenses."I know the board is working diligently to resolve the issue but over the last 10 years taxes have gone up over 33% and last year was 6.7%," he said.He would also like to see more vocational training and anti-bullying programs in the school district.Dirk Pompa:Pompa works a lot with youth, especially in sports. He is a member of the Olympian Booster Club. He has served as a Little League coach and a Director of the Carbon County Babe Ruth League."I will work hard to maintain and improve the quality of education provided by Jim Thorpe Area School District," he said. "I want to properly staff our schools to meet the needs of our students, and our ever increasing enrollment."Pompa wishes to work with state and federal legislators to help fund education. He also wishes to keep all extracurricular activities.Debra Pope:Pope stated she is running for school board because she is a concerned parent."I want to have a voice in the education decisions that are affecting my kids and your kids. We need to make sure we keep that focus because that's what we are all here to do. We are here to provide a good quality education for the kids."Walter Schulz:Schultz wishes to get the taxes down because he feels they are two high. He will look into alternative funding to help lower taxes.He feels that the funding issue isn't just about money but about the leadership in the district lacking.He feels that the best way to help the district is to work together."We have to work together because the federal government and Harrisburg won't do it for us," he said.Gerald Strubinger:Strubinger serves as a present board member"The board's main job is to facilitate funds and personnel," he saidHe stated that the district has great educators and they are important to the district. He feels the teachers need to be involved in the budget process.He also discussed how possible changes in transportation could help save money. Strubinger suggested utilizing two-tier busing. Instead of having 46 buses, have 23 buses and split the pick up and drop off times.Patricia Zovak:Zovak feels the most important thing is to focus on the students' education. However, hard decisions need to be made in these hard times.The district needs to balance the budget to work on the education programs but also to work with the taxpayers. Zovak plans to work on balancing the budget while also working with the taxpayers."I am proud of this district," she said. "We are a good district. We have good teachers and good administration. We need to keep them."