Quakertown area voters have many issues on their minds, but the top concerns of potential voters who took part in a recent Facebook poll are overcrowding at Strayer Middle School and at the high school, as well as more tax increases.
Ranked below these issues in the poll were the fate of Quakertown Elementary and the district’s persistent aide shortage.
While the four issues come up regularly at board meetings, the fate of QE has generated the most passion, with some board members accusing others of advocating for its closure and trying to shut down discussion.
Incumbent Chris Spear is running on both ballots in Region 2, which includes Milford Township and Trumbauersville. He would oppose any changes at Quakertown Elementary School or the 6th grade center that would add students at Strayer or the high school. In fact, he stressed that Quakertown Elementary School ought to remain an elementary school and, instead, be renovated.
“The borough of Quakertown needs this school, and if it were removed, Quakertown Community School District should just remove the “Community” from its name,” Spear said.
He also decried the district’s track record of 50 straight years with a tax increase and challenged the state to step up efforts to fund its schools.
Efforts to reach the other board candidates in various Quakertown Community School Board regions were unsuccessful.
Spear will be opposed on Nov. 7 by candidates Amanda Hahn and Jonathan Kern, another incumbent.
Kern previously characterized himself as a steady hand during the tumultuous years of the pandemic. Kern said that during his tenure, the board has largely avoided last-minute votes because a process was put in place in which an issue would first go through committees to give the public and directors time to digest the material and ask questions.
If reelected, Kern said he would attempt to make progress on long-standing issues facing the district, including the drop in standardized test scores since the pandemic.
“From the academic perspective, it is critical that we redouble our efforts to focus on learning the basics,” he said. “Somehow, over the years, we spend more money, hire more teachers, have reduced class sizes, yet our kids still fall further behind on standardized tests. While tests are not the ‘be all, end all’ metrics, we have to face this conundrum as a district. What is the root cause? What can we do to change the trajectory?”
Kern said he has no hidden agenda other than trying to get directors and the community to have some options to consider.
Amanda Hahn, a librarian and educator, is passionate about educating “the whole child” and a vigorous opponent of other Bucks districts’ so-called book bans. On her website, she advocates hiring additional staff to keep schools at full capacity and is committed to keeping QE and the 6th grade center open in their current configurations.
In Region 1, which includes Haycock Township, Richland Township and Richlandtown, David O’Donnell is running unopposed.
In Region 3, which includes Quakertown Borough and Richland Township, board members Brian Reimers and Mike Post face a challenge from second-time candidate Joe Lyons, a former teacher and journalist.
Reimers, a longtime educator, said he never voted for a tax increase and kept the schools open for in-person learning during the pandemic. He opposed big-ticket projects such as the proposed $6 million baseball field, voting eventually for a less costly plan. He favors the restoration of elementary Spanish and digital literacy and retaining staff to keep class sizes at the state-recommended level of 20 students.
Post advocates holding the line on taxes and stresses safety and security of students and the “responsible use” of existing buildings.
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