- Seven candidates are running for five open seats on the Whitehall-Coplay School Board
- The district included 4,300 students from kindergarten through high school
- Candidates said fiscal responsibility, transparency and curriculum were key issues
WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — A military veteran who also worked for the federal government, William Groller wants to use his retirement to help others.
“After retiring, I spent a couple years where I just worked on the house, worked on the yard,” he said. “But now I feel the need to do something bigger than that — work for the community somehow.
“And the school board seemed like a logical place to try to become a part of.”
Seven candidates are vying for five seats on the Whitehall-Coplay School Board in the upcoming Nov. 7 election. Each member serves a four-year term on the nine-person board. They’re staggered, with five to be elected this season and four to be elected in two years during the next municipal election.
Candidates include three candidates who won on the Republican ballot: incumbent Nichole Hartman, Groller and LoriAnn Fehnel — the latter is also running for township commissioner; one candidate who won on the Democratic ballot, incumbent board Vice President George Makhoul; and three candidates who were nominated by both parties: incumbents Patty Gaugler and Fady Salloum, and Seth Kubat.
Both newcomers and incumbents for the 4,300-student district said ensuring a high quality curriculum, communication and fiscal responsibility in the wake of three years of tax increases were key issues this election season.
Incumbents
Hartman, who is seeking her second term, said she is running to “continue to contribute to the growth and development of the children in the district for which I live.”
The most pressing issues, she said, are “fair funding solutions from the state, finding ways to support our children and staff to do the best job they can, advancing the school district into the future and preparing the district for such.”
“I want to continue to ensure that WCSD continues to provide the same quality education, facilities and opportunities to the members of the community for many years to come.”Nichole Hartman
“I work at keeping myself informed and updated on issues that are most vital to our district so I can make the best informed decisions possible,” Hartman said. “I have had children who have gone through such a great district and I give much credit and thanks to the amazing and caring teachers and staff who have had a role in guiding them to the young adults they are today.
“I want to continue to ensure that WCSD continues to provide the same quality education, facilities and opportunities to the members of the community for many years to come.”
Similarly, Gaugler said she doesn’t think her work in the district is done and is seeking another term. If re-elected, her goals include continuing to “provide the best environment for our students and staff to be successful, to make sure we provide the materials needed to keep our schools safe, and to be fiscally responsible.”
Taxes are another pressing issue, she noted.
“I trust in our financial office in the district in providing the information needed to make a decision on raising taxes,” she said. “I will always do my best in taking into consideration the financial needs of the district and my fiscal responsibility to the community.”
Bridging the gaps between school officials and parents is important, said Salloum, another incumbent seeking re-election. He organized a family event in April to help foster more communication, citing it as one of his greatest accomplishments on the board.
“It’s a bridge between the school, the community and with the parents."Fady Salloum
“It’s a bridge between the school, the community and with the parents,” he said, citing a similar effort he led to forge connections by distributing magnets with contact information for the district to help make officials easier for parents to access.
And, despite recent increases, “we are still the lowest [for] school taxes in the whole entire Valley,” he said.
Makhoul has had a seat on the board since being appointed to fill a vacant seat for Dr. Bob Kolb in 2017.
In addition to fighting for more funding, as cyber and charter schools are “breaking the budgets of public schools,” he said he hopes to continue improving students’ experiences.
“We need to continue enhancing the educational experience for students and make sure their goals are being met,” he said. “Programming needs to continue to be tailored to meet the needs of our population so they meet and exceed the state expectations and are prepared for life after graduation.”
Newcomers
It’s Kubat’s first time running for a school board member seat, catalyzed “to ensure that our district is providing a safe and secure environment for our children, and to ensure we are adjusting safety and security protocols to coincide with the world we now live in.”
Transparency is important, he said, describing himself as “someone who is like most — hard working, blue collar, and wants to ensure the district is using tax funds efficiently.”
“Schools are here to educate our children in the subjects of study, but not to overstep their boundaries and try to influence children in areas that are for the child and parent to establish, i.e. morals, values, political beliefs, etc.
“Biggest issues currently, to me, are safety, security, fiscal responsibility and the line drawn between what schools should be teaching and what they should not.”
Groller spent much of his career helping to train younger people, he said. Preparing students for the future is key.
“Right now, especially given the nature of our country, there's a lot of challenges,” he said. “The middle class is no longer the majority of the country. There's a lot of challenges for young people coming out of school, and there's a lot of challenges for our future and it seems to be the place, if I can help even a little bit, this would be a place for me to spend some time.”
Making sure teachers are paid well and schools are safe and secure are top priorities.
“Whitehall is one of the poorer districts in Lehigh County, and yet Whitehall, if you look at the millage or tax rate, it's among the highest,” he said. “And that seems to me to be a difficult situation to maintain. So I would offer, I would suggest that maybe Whitehall needs to do a zero-based review of its budget every year.”
It’s Fehnel’s second time running for the school board after an unsuccessful bid in 2021.
“I care about our community [and] care about our kids,” she said. “And I feel that things in the district are just not being handled properly. I feel like the repetitive tax hikes on struggling families and senior citizens — I feel like they don’t care about them.”
Parents, she argued, need a voice in the district. If elected, she plans to create a committee focused on parental oversight on safety and education.
“Sometimes, at these school board meetings, you only get three minutes to speak,” Fehnel said. “ … We need school board members that are gonna engage the public with the questions and concerns, and that's very important.”
