The Greensburg Salem School Board will have difficult choices to make in the years ahead.
Each of the seven candidates running for five seats are making their pitch for why he or she is the right person for the job.
Incumbents Robin Beckadic-Savage, Frank Gazze and Stephen Thomas are running on both the Republican and Democratic ballots.
Brian Conway and Jonathan O’Brien are running as Republicans, while Desmond Grace and Rich Guerrieri are on the Democratic Party ballot.
Beckadic-Savage said her priority remains curtailing the district’s almost-annual tax increases.
“(Voters say) are my taxes going to go up? I can’t afford to live here anymore,” she said.
District leaders have spent the last several months debating whether to borrow money to pay for major building repairs.
Beckadic-Savage opposes issuing a large bond. The district will be debt-free in about six years, and she thinks the board should dip into its reserve fund and find other ways to pay for repairs rather than going deeper in debt.
Conway said he’d be willing to consider a small loan for facilities repairs but wants to find ways to pay for most of the work without borrowing.
“We need to get our schools fixed,” he said. “I think it comes from years of neglect, but unfortunately we have to deal with it.”
He also opposed tax increases.
Conway is the president of the Greensburg Salem Band Parents Association. If elected, he said, he’d balance the budget, stop tax increases and promote arts programs.
Gazze said tax increases have been necessary to preserve quality education.
“We always have to provide the finest education for our students, and I believe at Greensburg we do that,” he said.
He agrees the district should avoid a large bond for facilities repairs.
The district should focus on short-term fixes until it’s debt free, at which point it will have about $3 million a year for major renovation projects, he said.
“You’re running a marathon, and you’re six miles from the finish. Don’t quit,” he said.
Grace said the school board needs a clean slate.
“Why does Greensburg continue to double down on people who are politicians … they’ve been on the board forever,” he said.
He condemned the board for letting the facilities fall into disrepair and not controlling taxes.
“The taxes have gone up consistently,” he said. “Are there any problems that have been solved?”
He said he’d work to identify the root of the district’s problems and find novel solutions.
“There are many issues that are intertwined, that need to be unraveled,” he said.
Guerrieri did not return calls seeking comment.
O’Brien has made preventing further tax increases the primary focus of his campaign.
“I’m just a local resident, looking out for the interests of the taxpayers in the district,” he said.
He said he needs to take a look at studies the district’s done on its facilities before deciding what to do about building repairs, but does not support a bond.
He said the board needs to curtail salaries and benefits for district staff.
The board is in the midst of negotiations with the district’s teacher’s union.
Thomas has been on the board 40 years and said his experience makes him a “mature, steady influence” on the discussion.
He said the school buildings are in dire shape and should be repaired quickly, even if it means borrowing money.
“We’re responsible for the facilities, and we should do whatever is needed to maintain them,” he said.
He said he tries to separate himself from political disputes.
“I’ve learned that things will work out if cooler heads prevail,” he said.
