9 seek 5 seats on Perkiomen Valley School Board
The race for five open seats on the Perkiomen Valley School Board boasts nine candidates for the Nov. 5 election.
Only one of them, incumbent Matthew Dorr, secured a line on both the Republican and Democratic ballot lines.
The other Republican candidates are Marian P. Ellis, Phillip Owens, Richard Bouher and Richard Flynn.
The other Democratic candidates are Kim Mares, Sarah Evans-Brockett, Laura R. White and Reena Kolar.
Only two candidates responded to The Mercury’s online candidate qustionnaire. Here are their responses in the order they were received.
Saran Evans-Brockett
Evans-Brockett, 44, is one of two other incumbents in the race. She was appointed to an open seat in November 2017 and has been the board vice president since June, 2018.
In her responses, she wrote she is running because “I have attended school board meetings since 2014 and saw the huge role that the board plays in determining the future of our students. As a parent of two children in the district and a regular volunteer, I feel I have an insight and knowledge that can continue to
move the district forward while also making sure that we are fiscally responsible. I believe if we work together as a community, including our students, our teachers, our parents, and our senior citizens, we can make sure we are using our tax dollars wisely without sacrificing the education of our children.”
Evans-Brockett wrote that she considers funding to be the biggest issue facing Perkiomen Valley schools.
“Pennsylvania ranks among the bottom in the nation for state funding for education, placing the burden on local taxpayers.
Because PV has Phoenix (Graterford), Ursinus, and Evansburg, we have large amounts of land that can’t be taxed. We also have very little business in our district, which makes the majority of our taxes fall to our homeowners,” EvansBrockett wrote.
“This is an unfair burden and not sustainable. I have been working with our state representatives to address this issue and will continue to do so if elected. I will also continue to look at creative ways to fund initiatives, including partnering with Ursinus and local businesses,” wrote EvansBrockett. “I will also continue to make sure we are held accountable for every dollar spent and that we are using taxpayer dollars wisely.”
Reena Kolar
Kolar, 47, is a clinical psychologist who was appointed in February 2018 to fill the seat occupied by Richard Flynn when he resigned.
She currently serves on the Education Committee, Wellness Committee, and the PVSD Educational Foundation.
In her responses, Kolar wrote that she is running because “as a parent of three PV students, I want to make sure that our district is fiscally responsible while enhancing education. I think it is important that school directors spend time in our schools and work collaboratively with administration to ensure that we provide the best educational programs and spend every dollar wisely.”
Kolar wrote that “I believe our greatest challenge is remaining a top-notch school district without burdening our taxpayers. PV is unique in that we do not have large businesses and large areas of our district are not taxable (SCI Phoenix, Ursinus, Evansburg Park) so our funding relies on residents. I have been working with local and state legislators to discuss how we can advocate for more funding.”