NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Former educator and North Whitehall resident Joanne Dillman is running for a seat on the Parkland School Board.
Dillman, a Democrat, is the first new candidate to announce a bid for the upcoming election, in which six seats on the board will be up for re-election.
- Joanne Dillman, a former educator and a North Whitehall resident, is running for a seat on the Parkland School Board
- Dillman’s priorities are keeping taxes low, keeping educational standards high and promoting social/emotional learning
- Dillman is the first new candidate for the school board. Incumbent directors Marisa Ziegler and Patrick Foose have announced their runs for re-election
Board Vice President Marisa Ziegler, a Democrat, and board member Patrick Foose, a Republican, both announced re-election campaigns last month.
Dillman, a former Allentown School District German teacher, said in a news release that her priorities are keeping taxes low and educational standards high as well as promoting social/emotional learning.
“As an educator, she is aware of the importance of social and emotional learning and using restorative practices to build rapport and deal with conflict,” the release read.
Dillman now works for the German American Chamber of Commerce, where she helps get students into apprenticeship programs. She said she is running because employers have told her that many high school graduates do not have the skills needed to start their careers.
"I think Parkland is on the right track," Dillman said. "But hopefully they're not going to be distracted from that by other issues that people want to talk about."
"I think the focus should be on turning out students that are career-ready and also productive and informed citizens of this country."
Dillman said in her release that the educators and administrators in the Parkland School District are doing a phenomenal job.
"The District should not rest on its laurels and keep pushing to do even better," the release reads, "making sure that all graduating seniors have a college place or a career [not a job] to go to once they receive their diploma, and that they have become compassionate and informed citizens of the world."
Dillman said that because she is not on the board, she does not have a clear sense of the transparency of the board, which has become a hotly debated subject in recent meetings.
The upcoming election
Dillman is joining what could become a crowded race for the primary election, which is on May 16. The general election is on Nov. 7.
The six seats on the school board that will be on the ballot in 2023 will be those held by board President Carol Facchiano, and directors Jay Rohatgi, Lisa Roth, Robert Bold, Ziegler and Foose.
Bold said that he did not plan to run for re-election when he was appointed in January.
Other board members have not said whether they intend to run.
