Norwin school board candidates emphasize mental health, budget, transparency

Keeping students safe, physically and mentally, during the pandemic and the budget are among issues raised by the nine candidates seeking nominations for four seats on the Norwin School Board in the May 18 primary.

The race features two incumbents, two separate teams of candidates and two candidates running independently of the others. All of the candidates have cross-filed in their bids for the nominations and all are from North Huntingdon.

Brian Carlton, 41, board president, and Raymond Kocak, 57, are the incumbents running for re-election to second terms. Kocak previously served on the board. Two other incumbents decided not to run — Tony Corsa, who was appointed to the board in December 2019, and Donald Rhodes, who opted not to seek a fifth term.

All of the challengers are running for the school board for the first time. Three candidates formed a slate called “Norwin4Change” — Christine Baverso, 44, Alex Detschelt, 44, and Michael LeRoy, 40. Dana Barvinchak Williams, 41, and Carrie McConell Muniz, 47, are running as a team under the “Keep the Knights Bright” slogan. Two other candidates, Robert Bunovich, 43, and Dawn Lewandowski, 45, are running independently. Lewandowski is the only candidate who did not cross-file to appear on both ballots.

Six of the candidates are registered Republican, with only Bunovich, Muniz and Williams registered as Democrats.

Carlton, a Penn-Trafford teacher, said he wants to see a reduction in the size of classes for students in kindergarten through fourth grade.

He sees the need for a long-range plan to upgrade facilities and opposes cutting programs to cut costs, believing the district can increase outside revenue through sponsorships and advertisements, in addition to continuing to seek grants. He said he would want to work with the teachers’ union to give teachers an incentive to acquire grants, such as possibly permitting a day off work on an in-service day.

He hopes the district can hire a curriculum director. There may be retirements among the administrators, which would allow a restructuring of the administration, Carlton said.

Kocak, who oversees Webster’s Gift which assists with guide dogs for the blind and visually impaired, said he also is concerned about the size of classes in the elementary grades as well as the budget and the district’s increase in real estates taxes in recent years.

“The low-hanging fruit,” he said, has been picked and the budget remains tight. He believes the administration’s decisions to hold the line on real estate taxes, which the board adopted in a tentative budget, was based on “politics.”

Muniz, who conducts clinical research for a pharmaceutical company, wants to see more data on how the pandemic has affected the children.

Williams, a research manager for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, wants the availability of more mental health screening for students who may be suffering because of the covid pandemic and the disruption in the learning environment.

They both want data-driven, transparent decisions by the district.

The two candidates said that the school board would benefit from having people “from all different walks of life.” They said they have both worked on multi-disciplinary teams.

Detschelt, a patent attorney, became involved in school politics over the issue of students not returning to the classroom full-time when school began in August. Detschelt was a leader of a protest last August against Norwin’s plans to offer instruction in a hybrid manner.

“I felt the school board could have been a little more innovative,” Detschelt said.

He believes many of the problems over whether students would return to in-school instruction resulted from the teacher’s union members on the school board. Carlton and another director, Patrick Lynn, are teachers and incumbents William Essay and Robert Wayman, are retired teachers from Franklin Regional and Norwin, respectively.

“I feel there has to be equal representation from the community,” Detschelt said.

Baverso, a project manager at a major bank, believes the district could have returned students to school safely, rather than implementing a hybrid form of education as was done. She was a member of the district’s return-to-school committee last summer, but said the group’s proposals were not implemented.

“I want to make sure there is transparency” and that the district listens to the parents, Baverso said. “I don’t feel they are as responsive as they should be.”

LeRoy, a social worker, could not be reached for comment.

Bunovich, a voice telecom analyst with UPMC, wants to see the curriculum updated and money earmarked for STEM programs — Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

He believes the district needs to be both fiscally responsible and flexible.

Bunovich, vice president of the Norwin Soccer Club, wants to see more of the school district’s many fields made available to students in community athletic groups. He said he realizes that was not possible this past year because of the covid pandemic-related restrictions.

Lewandowski, who operates a pet grooming business in North Huntingdon, believes there is a need for tending to the students’ mental health issues created by the pandemic and how it impacted the children’s education this year.

The school district needs to be both fiscally responsible and more transparent. She also is concerned about the curriculum being presented.

“Every child has to be set up for success,” Lewandowski said.