Four elected to Scranton School Board
Published: November 4, 2009
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share thisThe Scranton School Board race was over before it began.
With four candidates for the four open seats, there will be one new face on the board after Tuesday's election.
Newcomer Bob Sheridan joined three incumbents in winning four-year terms.
Brian Jeffers, Frank Brazill and Bob Lesh won re-election.
Mr. Sheridan replaces Todd Hartman, a three-term director who lost in May's primary election.
Republican candidate Steve Scarpetta dropped out of the race in September because he said he had not lived in the city for the state-required year before the election. Mr. Scarpetta said he was unaware of the rule during the primary election.
The incumbents ran on their records, which they said included starting and partly completing the district's $60 million construction project, passing a fair, last-minute teachers contract to avoid a strike and hiring a certified superintendent, William King.
Other issues the candidates said they wanted to tackle over the next four years were how to pay for state pension payments set to double next year and how to fund renovations at the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County.
The board voted against the current renovation plan Monday night, but directors said they are willing to consider alternative plans.
The directors also said they wanted to see district SAT scores improve, and Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores increase as 2014 approaches. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, all students must be proficient in math and reading by 2014.
Mr. Sheridan said that as a newcomer, he wants to reduce school taxes for residents 65 and older. Another priority for Mr. Sheridan is completing structural improvements to West Scranton High School.
With 48 of 48 districts reporting:
SCRANTON SCHOOL BOARD (4 seats)
â Brian Jeffers (D) 8,940
â Bob Sheridan (D/R) 8,679
â Bob Lesh (D/R) 8,539
â Frank Brazill (D/R) 8,472
Contact the writer:
shofius@timesshamrock.com
15 posted comments
voters sre sooooo stupid . the old saying is; be kind to your bad students because they may become school board members
Not one educator was elected for school board...
Only one candidate ran that was an educator...
AND
One candidate didn't even graduate from high school... PRICELESS!!!Good luck Scranton education. I guess having a clue about TEACHING isn't a good quality though. Hopefully the only educator that ran will be back in 4 years. I hope Scranton education can wait that long.