Allegheny Valley School Board primary features 7 candidates for 5 seats, with 1 seat open to write in

A total of six seats on the nine-member Allegheny Valley School Board are up for election this year.

Seven people are vying in the May 16 primary for ballot spots for five seats. Those seats are for four-year terms.

There are no candidates on the ballot for the sixth seat, which carries a two-year term, leaving it open for write-ins.

All seven candidates are cross-filed, so they all will appear on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots.

Five board members — Colleen Crumb, Kathleen “Jeanne” Haas, Paula Jean Moretti, Glenna Renaldi and Amy Sarno — are running for reelection or election. Newcomers on the ballot are Nicole Paulovich and James Schiemer.

David Buchman, who was elected in 2019, is not seeking another term.

Colleen Crumb, 51, of Springdale was appointed to the board in December to replace Andrew Parker. A registered Republican, she works as a paralegal at a law firm in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Active in the PTA with a daughter in sixth grade, Crumb said she sought the appointment to be part of her child’s education. She said she has learned a lot in her time on the board.

“It’s a learning curve,” she said. “I want to continue working with the administration and teachers.”

In a full term, Crumb said a goal of hers would be to get a new playground built at Acmetonia Elementary School and address concerns raised by parents about bullying and vaping.

“I’m a working parent who listens to the parents and listens to the students,” she said. “I’m willing to listen to all taxpayers’ thoughts and see what I can do to voice their concerns to the board.”

Kathleen “Jeanne” Haas, 78, of Springdale Township has been on the board for 12 years. A registered Republican, she drives a school bus for W.L. Roenigk.

Haas said she wants to stay on the board because she enjoys it.

“There’s a lot of things that I want to see done that hasn’t been done and things that I remember we were going to do and didn’t do,” she said. “There’s things we’re going to start that I want to see finished.”

Because not every student goes to college, Haas said she wants to see the district push technical schools more. With a graduating class this year of only 52 students, she said the district needs to do more to bring people in and get students back from charter schools.

“I have never missed a meeting,” she said. “If you’re going to be on the school board, you need to come to everything. You can’t vote on something if you don’t know the facts.”

Paula Jean Moretti, 66, of Springdale first was elected to the board in 2019. Her daughter, Beth Moretti, had served two terms on the board.

A registered Democrat, Moretti worked for the district for 30 years as a secretary.

“I knew a lot about it,” she said. “I felt I could contribute.”

Moretti said her first term has been challenging and enlightening about what a school board does and how it does it. She chairs the emergency management committee, is a member of the finance and operations committee and is board treasurer.

“I want to stay on the board to continue the work that I have started, to see how the programs and policies that I was part of instituting are working out,” she said. “Since being on the board, I’ve learned a lot. I feel my first four years prepared me now for the second term.”

Nicole Paulovich, 43, of Springdale is a registered Democrat and seeking elected office for the first time. She works for Trying Together, an early childhood advocacy agency.

She and her husband graduated from the district and their daughter is in sixth grade.

“We chose to stay and raise our family here,” she said. “We really care about the future of our children. I found my passion and my life’s work by helping improve the quality of early learning programs. I’d like the opportunity to do that for the kids in my school district as well.”

Paulovich said she is most passionate about safety and against bullying.

“Our kids should feel safe when they are in school,” she said. “Parents should not be worrying if their kids are safe while at school.”

Glenna Renaldi, 72, of Springdale has been on the board a total of 24 years. A registered Democrat and retired x-ray technician, she lost her seat in 2019. She returned through an appointment in 2021, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of James Gaschler Jr.

“I love it. I like being involved with the kids. I like being involved with what’s going on in the school,” she said. “It’s good to have an older person on to represent the senior citizens in the district.”

Renaldi said she wants to try to keep taxes down.

“We haven’t raised taxes in quite a few years. I’d like to be able to say that in four years from now,” she said. “I’m realistic enough to know that sooner or later we’re going to have to.”

Amy Sarno, 39, of Springdale was appointed to the board in November to replace Stephen Puskar. A registered Democrat, she teaches middle school language arts for Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School.

Sarno said she had been following the district since her son, now in kindergarten, enrolled in pre-kindergarten last year. She also started attending and speaking at board meetings during the pandemic, saying she supported the district’s safety plan.

“I really supported their efforts in following all of the CDC guidelines and doing their best to keep the kids safe,” she said.

She described her time on the board so far as “thrilling,” saying it has been “exciting to learn all the ins and outs.”

“As a teacher, I know a lot about education and state mandates and testing and all of that,” she said. “I’ve been getting to see behind the scenes and gaining a huge appreciation for all the work done by the administration, the staff and the principals, all that goes on you don’t get to see as a parent.

“I never thought I would learn so much about roofs and the grounds and the buildings, and the care and keeping of that is a huge part of what we do.”

James Schiemer could not be reached for comment.