Hempfield Area School Board primary slate includes 9 candidates

Unlike the 2019 primary, when several Hempfield Area School Board candidates seemingly formed a unified front in a desire to end property tax assessment appeals, the nine candidates hoping to clinch one of the four open seats this year are running for a variety of reasons.

The pool is made up of three incumbents and six newcomers, all of whom are cross-filed with both major political parties. Board member Sonya Brajdic is not seeking reelection.

“I think the number one issue on my mind is just being a good public servant,” said candidate Dana Smith, a retired lieutenant colonel with the Army. “I think, through my pedigree, I’ve been charged with this sense of duty to a lifetime of service, and this is just where I happen to feel like I’m needed at the moment.”

In his first bid for office, Smith, 48, an engineering manager, said his priorities are to look at what projects are viable for the future as the current school board looks to determine whether they should remodel or rebuild the high school. Smith also hopes to look at whether students are prepared to enter the workforce after graduation.

“I, personally, don’t believe everybody needs a classical four-year degree, and I also believe that the high school education, while a good start, is not the end of the story,” he said. “So I’d really like to see us really put a lot more effort into making sure those kids don’t get left behind the day they graduate.”

Improving the relationship between Hempfield Area and the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center has been a key point during Scott Learn’s four-and-a-half years on Hempfield’s school board. Learn, 52, a general dentist in Latrobe, has been a Hempfield representative at the New Stanton-based tech school during his time on the board.

Learn said, if he wins reelection, he hopes to continue work on possible renovations or rebuild of the high school while also working to improve test scores.

“The reason I’m seeking reelection is because I think we have a lot of good things going on in Hempfield. I think we started a lot of good things, and (I’m) just looking to continue the school district and the whole township on that path of doing well,” Learn said.

For first-time candidates Jerry Radebaugh and Cory Thoma, improving technology in the district is a key priority following a year filled with remote learning because of the pandemic.

Radebaugh, 42, director of purchasing for Westmoreland County, said the district was “a little bit behind the eight ball on the technology side going into the whole covid thing. I saw some other school districts around that kind of went seamlessly into the schooling from home and stuff where Hempfield is a little bit behind.”

Thoma, 31, a senior software engineer, said, if elected, he hopes to incorporate the technology of a modern world into traditional curriculum. That means including lessons on remote learning aspects while also learning and collaborating with people other than the students’ peers, he said.

Joshua Myers, 30, a regional account executive with Elavon Merchant Services, said he decided to run for the school board as a way to better the district for his son, who will be a Hempfield student next year. Myers said he is financially conservative, meaning he would not raise property taxes and would ensure the board is not spending inappropriately.

“I want to bring that new, fresh perspective to the community, to Hempfield (Area) School District,” Myers said.

Holding the line on property taxes is also a key point for Paul Berginc Sr., 73. Berginc, who is retired, ran for school board in 2019 but did not win a seat.

For Camdon Porterfield, 29, a certified Pennsylvania evaluator and chairman of the Westmoreland County Board of Assessment, spending tax dollars in a proper manner is a key priority. He also hopes to better allocate resources for students and teachers and that extends into extracurricular activities.

Porterfield, who graduated from Hempfield in 2010, added that he wants to remove politics from board decision-making.

Incumbent Paul Ward, 55, an attorney for Kennametal, said he hopes to be a part of future projects in the district by winning another term.

“There’s going to be a lot of important things happening and a lot of important decisions over the next four years, and I’d like to be a part of those processes,” he said.

Ward currently is in his sixth year on the board after being reelected in 2019 for a two-year seat that opened up when a former board member resigned in June 2019.

“I try and bring good transparency and common sense to the board,” Ward said. “I think I try to make responsible decisions, ethical decisions and really just work hard and understand what’s going on and make knowledgeable decisions, and that’s kind of the way I’ve approached it.”

Incumbent Diane Ciabattoni, who has been on the board for about 25 years, echoed similar sentiments.

“I’ve been on long enough to see what works and what doesn’t. I think the one accomplishment maybe that I’ve had is we’ve put in place a good administration,” she said.

Ciabattoni, 74, assistant to the library director at Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, noted she would like to implement more foreign languages into the curriculum.

“I enjoy being on the board,” she said. “The focus has always been on the students and, no matter how rough times get, when we see an accomplishment of the students, it’s so worth it.”

The primary is May 18.