Updated: Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
Voters have an opportunity to choose school directors in five open seats on the Central Bucks School Board May 16.
Eleven candidates are vying for spots in Regions 1, 2, 3, 6 and 8, after three incumbents – two Republican and one Democrat – chose not to run again.
The primary election has garnered much interest, as the school district has been in the national spotlight, finding itself embroiled in controversies around masking and school closures, LGBTQ+ rights, a library policy and other issues over the past two years.
Six of the candidates responded to email requests for information about why they are running and what they consider to be the district’s top issues. Karen Smith (Region 1), School Board President Dana Hunter (Region 2), Pamela Carmen, Glenn Schloeffel (Region 3) and Susan Gibson (Region 8) did not respond. All but Hunter responded to the Bucks County Voters Education Guide questions. The guide was published in the April 27 Herald, and is available online.
Dr. Stephen Mass
A physician and surgeon at Doylestown Hospital, Dr. Mass said he decided to run for the school board after seeing “the needs of our children were not being addressed” by the school district. While the pandemic and lockdowns were “devastating in terms of learning loss and mental health,” Mass said, those issues were overlooked and instead the district is “locked in a strange new culture war.” The “bickering at school board meetings gets tremendous coverage in the press,” he said, which “feeds (students) the unease.”
With degrees in medicine and English literature, the doctor said he appreciates “the importance of both science and the written word, especially how it relates to the curriculum.” He said he will bring his abilities as a physician to listen and his understanding to “be as certain as possible about the data before coming to a diagnosis or treatment recommendation” to his position on the school board. Mass added, doctors sometimes have to “change course” and take in the “holistic picture” to best serve a patient.
The learning loss from the pandemic and lockdown is the biggest issue facing CBSD, said Mass. “Playing catch-up was going to be difficult in any circumstance, but it is near impossible while adults are launching accusations. The school district, he said, was “accused of permitting a hostile environment by turning a blind eye on bullying. The Federal government was called in. The accusations were hurtful, and disruptive to students, teachers, administrators, staff and our entire community.”
Parents, said Mass, need to have opportunities to engage “on the many facets” affecting mental health, including nutrition, sleep, exercise, stigma and family dynamics. It’s “engagement with parents and community experts that will help rebuild trust and open communications…we need to maximize supportive structure in the schools, while not expecting that the school will have all the answers.”
Heather Reynolds
A 43-year-old mother of two Central Bucks students, Reynolds said her family chose to move to Doylestown “specifically for the school district and its prestigious reputation.” But, she, said, “over the past two years, I have witnessed with a heavy heart, those who are in positions of power sow the seeds of division, create chaos, and ignore the needs of our students, teachers and community, in an attempt to further their personal agendas and positions.”
“It’s time,” said Reynolds, “we have a school board majority which is focused on solving the real problems our students, teachers and staff are facing, rather than creating division among friends and neighbors.”
Reynolds, a communications professional, certified professional trainer and coach, and owner and operator of a wellness-focused business, said she’ll bring a range of skills to the school board, including pragmatic problem-solving, time and budget management, negotiation expertise, time and budget management, and an ability to “listen, hear and connect deeply.”
Within the community, Reynolds has volunteered in a variety of ways, including as blood drive coordinator, DAA basketball coach and board member for Run4Life. She co-founded the Stand Up For Justice Educator Grant awarded to “innovative educators.”
The top issue facing the district, said Reynolds, is “to restore civility and stability, calm the chaos the current board majority has thrust our district into and restore the reputation of Central Bucks.”
Dana Foley
Aarati Martino
Aarati Martino said in her online campaign biography, to which she referred this news organization for her responses, she wants to “teach kids grit, compassion, respect and responsibility.”
“I am running for school board to focus the community on educational excellence,” said the Google software engineer, homeroom mom and Cub Scout den leader. “Education helped bring my family out of poverty in India and live the American dream.” She’d like to share how she achieved so much with her community, said Martino, “so that our kids can do the same; whether it is learning a trade, going to college, or starting a business…the sky is the limit.”
As the Central Bucks School District has confronted several contentious issues over the last two years, Martino said, “Nineteen years of engineering experience have shown me that you can find solutions to even the most complicated problems, you just need to get all the stakeholders to talk to each other and not at each other. People will differ on how that should be done and that is OK, in fact it is a strength,” said Martino.
Rick Haring
Rick Haring is a candidate for the Central Bucks School Board’s Region 6. Haring said running for a school board seat is “kinda personal.” A tough childhood, he explained, made him realize that “schools need to be there for kids when they’re not getting (support) at home. For a lot of kids, school is maybe the only place they feel safe and nurtured and understood.”
Central Bucks has done that, the senior marketing executive said, “until we started creating policies that disrupt how we operate and sending messages to our teachers and support staff that they are no longer trusted or capable of doing their jobs.”
Among the top issues facing the district, Haring said, are “reckless spending,” including “close to $144,000 on a PR agency to address public outcry and spent well over $1M on a politically connected law firm to defend their actions on bad policy decisions. That is money that could have been spent on students.”
He also cited, “policies being created to push a political agenda vs. to improve students’ experience,” and “teacher and staff shortages,” as challenges the district is facing. “Teachers are leaving our district at an alarming rate,” Haring said. “It’s time to turn the tide and make CBSD an appealing environment for skilled educators.”
Tony Arjona
A U.S. Navy veteran, Arjona, 54, said he served in Desert Storm and Desert Shield and responded to Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael in 2018. “I am big on giving back to the community,” he said.
In his campaign video, to which he referred this news organization for his responses, Arjona said he spent more than 30 years in the research and development side of engineering. He now works as a real estate agent for Weichert Real Estate in Doylestown.
“I love Central Bucks,” said Arjona. “I want to lower the tone and elevate the dialogue.” Often, he added, “things on the periphery can be a distraction.” He wants to offer students a wide range of opportunities to express themselves with “some guidelines and guardrails.”
“Kids should feel safe, included and similarly, parents should feel like a part of the entire process, not outsiders looking in,” said Arjona.
“I am a Christian, he noted. “I’m open and accepting. I want people to feel heard.”
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