Democrats had a strong showing in Tuesday’s competitive school board races, as a slate of newcomers unseated two Republican incumbents in Southern Lehigh. Democratic candidates also finished atop the table in Allentown, with cross-filed Republican Dianne Michels taking the final spot ahead of teachers-union-endorsed Republican and former board member Robert E Smith.
Here’s a look at the most competitive of those races. Results are unofficial.
Southern Lehigh
The Democratic slate of Kimberly Jaramillo, Luis Melecio, Josh Rager and Chris Sykora were successful in their quests for four board seats. The four had aligned their campaigns, identifying increased transparency and improved teacher retention as key issues.
The slate’s lowest vote earner finished 527 votes ahead of incumbent Stephen Maund, the best-performing Republican candidate, with incumbent Christopher Wayock another 20 votes behind.
The current school board has been mired in infighting as the district has navigated investigations estimated to have cost nearly $200,000 in legal bills and reached costly separation agreements with its former superintendent and human resources director.
“I’m proud of the positive, issues-focused campaign we ran. My hope now is that we can move past the election and work together for everyone in Southern Lehigh. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing: strong schools and a thriving community,” Jaramillo posted on her Facebook campaign page.
Jaramillo also thanked voters for turning out, saying, “The people of Southern Lehigh showed up in big numbers, not just to vote, but to believe in something bigger than any one person or campaign. You believed in community, in the strength of our public schools, and in the idea that when we listen, collaborate, and care for one another, everyone benefits.”
In a follow-up email on Thursday, Jaramillo said “our neighbors sent a clear message that it’s time for collaboration, respect, and transparency on the school board” and added that her focus moving forward will be on “restoring trust, robustly supporting our beloved teachers and staff, and ensuring a smooth rollout of important initiatives like full-day kindergarten and the third-grade transition.”
Tuesday was “an amazing day for start to finish,” Sykora said in a Wednesday email, adding that he’s excited to assist district administration in problem solving.
“I’ll make mistakes. I’ll probably say something that makes you shake your head. But just know that I’ll be listening and continually trying to improve myself and our district,” Sykora said.
Wayock sent gratitude to voters and his family in a Wednesday email.
“I ran a positive campaign, focusing on the positive things that we accomplished over the past four years,” Wayock said. “We have invested heavily in improving the learning environment for our students. We have a great school district and I hope that the future board continues to move things in a positive direction while being good stewards of tax dollars.”
Maund said it has been an honor to serve on the board the past four years.
“We accomplished a great deal, including updating our curriculum, upgrading facilities, maintaining balanced budgets, and, most recently, rebuilding our administrative team,” he said in a Thursday email. “Moving forward, I will continue my commitment to our community, both personally and through my company. Promoting career awareness for students, educators, and parents, offering STEM internships, and partnering with workforce development initiatives in our region are ongoing priorities.”
Allentown
Allentown’s school board will see an influx of new directors with diverse experiences. Democrats Evette D’Amore, Cereta Johnson and Denzel Morris were the top vote winners.
D’Amore is an office manager and advocate for students with special needs. Johnson manages a child care and early childhood education center, and Morris is a software engineer.
Johnson went live on Facebook Wednesday morning to thank voters. “Allentown, I know we got work to do,” Johnson said, “and for those of you that know me, know that I love children and providing a quality education to all children is my No. 1 purpose.”
After thanking her voters, new colleagues and family in a Wednesday Facebook post, D’Amore sent Johnson an extra note of gratitude, saying, “When I couldn’t be out, you offered me assistance and combined we rocked.”
Cross-filed Republican Dianne Michels took the fourth and final spot for the open four-year terms. Michels is a licensed professional counselor with special education teaching experience.
Nick Nicholoff, a Democrat, earned the right to finish out the two-year term created by the July resignation of Daysell Ramirez. Robert E. Smith Jr. challenged in that race, as well as running for a four-year term.
D’Amore and Smith earned endorsements from the Allentown teachers union. On Election Night, Smith said via text that he was proud of running a positive campaign despite confronting negative mailers. “My support spanned all the political parties,” Smith said. “The school district, education affects us all — the future of our city and county.”
In a Wednesday Facebook post, Smith said he’s glad to see a Republican on the board and also shouted out D’Amore and Johnson, calling them “two nice new members.”
“I got into this race to help our school district, help keep costs down as spending is out of control,” said Smith, who previously served on the board. “I will still be going to public meetings, and exposing corruption and unjust behavior to employees in the school district, city taxes going up, trash fee going up, and future county taxes going up. I will be fighting for all people, all the time.”
Parkland
Cross-filing proved a successful strategy for Parkland school board candidates. Challenger Alyssa Beckwith and three-term incumbent David Hein earned spots on both parties’ ballots and took in the most total votes Tuesday night. Beckwith is a registered Democrat; Hein is registered Republican.
Beckwith noted the strong voter turnout — Lehigh County reached nearly 38% — in a Wednesday Facebook post.
“Thank you to the Parkland community for coming out in huge numbers to vote yesterday!,” Beckwith said. “I’m excited to join the Parkland School Board and continue a tradition of academic, arts and athletics excellence while working with my fellow Directors on how we can further improve our service to the district. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!”
Rounding out the other two winning slots were Democrats Matthew Weimann and Jon Macklin.
Beckwith supports clinical trials at Johnson & Johnson. Weimann is a teacher in the East Penn School District and Macklin is a stay-at-home dad who previously worked in health insurance.
During voter forum discussion, candidates endorsed the district’s expansion plans while focusing on how to effectively provide oversight of contracts.
East Penn
New Democratic faces also won the night in East Penn, led by challengers Christine Price, Melissa Stiavelli and Rita Perez.
Price is the director for the Women’s Center and the LGBTQ+ Resource Center at Kutztown University. Stiavelli is a former teacher who is now a managing director of an electronics company. Perez worked as a teacher and principal before moving into district-level and state-level educational leadership roles.
Perez thanked her fellow candidates, family members and local Democratic groups for their support in a Wednesday Facebook post.
“Throughout this campaign, I’ve talked about listening, planning with care, being fiscally responsible, and making sure every child feels seen and supported,” Perez said. “I’m excited to bring that same energy to the board working together as a Team of 10, asking good questions, and keeping our schools strong and welcoming for all.”
Cross-filed incumbent William Whitney won the final spot for the open four-year terms, ahead of Republican incumbent Michael Felegy. Whitney will now enter his second term on the board.
The district’s proposed middle-school realignment and high school renovation plans drew skepticism from the candidates with voter forum discussion centering on project costs and taxpayer burden.
Other contested school board races
A number of other districts also saw contested school board races. Here’s a look at the winners:
Bangor Area: Dave DeNardo, Annamarie Robertone, Thomas Mort and Olivia Fraunfelter finished ahead of Ashley Mort for the district’s four open slots.
Bethlehem Area: Silagh White, Michael Faccinetto and Shannon Patrick won at-large seats ahead of Heather Christein. Winston Alozie defeated Michael Kastelnik in Region 1.
Nazareth Area: Wayne Simpson defeated Samantha Ondilla in Region 1. Brandon Faust and Wendy Whiteash finished ahead of Melissa Kalinoski in Region 2. Christine Stofko and Linda Stubits topped Kathryn Roberts in Region 3.
Northampton Area: Zachary Kromer defeated Douglas Vaughn in a close Region 1 contest. Frances Shehab finished first in Region 2, with Ross Makary narrowly edging out Nathan Lichtenwalner. Jamie Marchiano topped Parker Flamisch in Region 3.
Pen Argyl: Ethan Habrial won a tight race against Christopher Dubbs for a two-year term in Region 1. James Frey and Thomas Knorr bested Christopher Dubbs in Region 1’s four-year term race.
Salisbury: Rebecca Glenister won a two-year seat over Laura McKelvey.
Saucon Valley: Meghan Lomangino, Cedric Dettmar, J. Tatu and Shamim Pakzad won the district’s four seats over J. Geyer and Lynn Kasper.
Whitehall-Coplay: William Fonzone Sr., George Williams, Joseph Shields and LoriAnn Fehnel bested Robert Falkenstein to earn the district’s four seats.
See below for detailed results.
