001and welcome to North Penn High School. Please take this time to silence your cell phones. For your safety and the safety of others, please locate the nearest emergency exit, keeping in mind it may not be in the way you entered. Assisted listening devices are available by request at the control booth in the rear of the auditorium. Thank you for joining us and enjoy tonight's program. [Music] Good evening, North Penn community. My name is Johnny Marie Sutkco and I'm the co-editor-inchief of The Night Crier. With me is my co-editor-inchief Claire Seagress and associate editors Tyler Agress and Kyle Bonner. We are thrilled to welcome you to the 2025 school board candidates town hall forum. And we also welcome those watching at home on North Pen Television. Participating candidates belong to two teams, North Penn neighbors for
002progress and North Pen United. This event was organized by the staff of the night crier who collected questions from the community and developed a format for tonight's 90-minute forum. We are thrilled to have received many questions from community members and we'll pose some of them to the candidates tonight. Rules have been agreed to by both teams and questions have not been provided to the candidates in advance. We ask that you hold your applause during the formal debate to ensure that the audience here as well as those watching at home on North TV television can clearly understand the candidates. And of course, we ask for the audience to be respectful throughout tonight's forum. I do invite you to applaud now as Tyler Agres introduces the candidates. On behalf of North Penn Neighbors for Progress, please welcome
003Co Chiba, Christine Coin, Ken Kaiser, Al Rash, the fourth member of the Neighbors for Progress team is unable to be with us this evening. representing North Penn United. Please welcome Jeff Echelman, Yanni Lamrose, Victor Minnik, and Thomas Moyer. At this time, we ask that you all stand if you are able. Please welcome students from our North Penn High School coral group under the direction of Mr. Matt Clank. At this time, these students will be performing our national anthem followed by the North Penn High School alma mater. We ask that you remain standing for both. [Music] Oh, say can you see by the dawn early lights, what so proudly we held at the twilight last gleaming whose brush stripes and bright stars through the lights or the ramites we watch were so ently streaming and the
004rockets red glare. The bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star spangled banner yet or the land of the free and the home of the brave. as night to in the olden times would pledge their loyalty to keep their honor shining and ever true to be. We entered here at North and High with hearts resolve to dare. are noble to bring to fame are all fair. [Applause] >> Thank you. And you all may be seated. >> To begin this evening, each candidate will be given two minutes to deliver an opening statement. We will begin with North Penn neighbors for progress and Mr. Chiba. All right. So, I'm just looking for the timer. Uh, do I just begin? >> Yes. >> All right. Thank
005you. Uh, well, first off, I just want to thank everybody for taking time out of their night to come here and join us and hear the things that we have to say and the vision that we have for the future of North Penn. Um, I especially want to thank the Night Crier and the students who have put this event together so professionally and has been a joy to work with you. Um it is a privilege to be able to be here and have a civil conversation about our goals and our dreams here for our students and our future and our community. Um and is especially important uh to live out um as an example uh what civic dialogue can be and should be especially in an age where there is so much talk about political
006vitriol and violence. I'm looking forward today to be a better example of what government can and should look like. And so I'm looking forward to a passionate but respectful conversation. A little bit about me. Um I'm Coacha. I am a very blessed person to be the dad of two little boys uh two and a half and nine months old. So they keep me busy and the husband of a proud North Penn graduate who has continued to serve uh the school district as a school counselor. Um the reason that I'm running public service is something that is incredibly important to me. I have spent more than 10 years in the public service area working for uh previously Maline Dean. I did have done work in the federal and state governments uh in Capitol Hill and in
007Harrisburg um turning constituent issues into solutions and navigating complex federal budgets uh in making sure that is the best use of taxpayer dollars. I currently am in the private sector um working for a large global company uh where I do government affairs transitioning uh policy into um solutions and and uh executing um compliance there. So, um I'm hoping to bridge those two gaps of public and private experience to leverage a successful term on the school board should I be so fortunate. And I'm looking forward to listening, acting on evidence, and uh having everybody hold me accountable. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Mrs. Coin. Thank you. Good evening. Um, thank you to the Night Crier and NPTV and those who came out to hear us speak today, whether in the room or online. My
008name is Christine Coin. I am a wife and proud mother of four beautiful children. Uh, my husband and I are graduates of North Penn School District. Um we have two in the district right now and two very quickly will be. Um professionally I am in the healthcare industry. I'm in affordability. Um which basically means I hold my internal partners accountable and I look for financial efficiencies. Originally I started my career as a registered nurse on a labor and delivery unit. Um taught me a lot of things. parts of that were making informed evidence-based decisions, remaining calm, um being part of honored to be part of the most joyous and sometimes devastating parts of a of a couple's life. Um at my core, I am dedicated to public service. Um, I have volunteered in international uh
009clinics for special needs children and women's health. I have consulted for Variety, the children's charity. I've hosted P Flag support groups. I've helped administer COVID vaccines during the pandemic. I've helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for MANA on Main Street through their race committee. and I have served on North Penn's very own um safe schools committee. You'll hear a lot tonight and I hope what you hear gives you the confidence to make your decision on November 4th in vote. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Kaiser. >> Thanks. Thanks for the uh to the night prior and to the public for submitting questions for tonight's forum. I've lived in the community for 29 years. I am married and have two children. One graduated in 2017, the other one in 2023. And during those 19
010years, I had kids in the district. I was involved in all their activities from serving on as the home and school uh association at Dwin Square of uh the web master through working the uh the refreshment stand at night of sound. And during those experiences, I learned a lot about the strengths and challenges of a district as large as North Penn. Professionally, I'm a cyber security engineer currently working for a large metropolitan transportation authority. I hold a degrees in electrical engineering from Drexel and business from Temple. And my career is centered on managing large complex projects with most of them being with public accountability. And those big projects had to weigh cyber security as well as safety along with operational requirements. And those same skills transfer directly to board governance. And I want to bring
011those skills and datadriven fact-based decision-making to the board. I want every student to have the support they need and the opportunity, whether it's in classroom learning or career readiness, to be ready for the fast-paced workforce of the future. Our families deserve a school board that listens to them, that collaborates with them, and that plans for the future with them. And I want to bring that to the board. People who know me would say that I'm earnest and want to do the right thing, but I'm also a parent and your neighbor. Thanks. Thank you. Mr. Rush, due to his absence, has submitted an opening statement that we will we will read to you at this time. I want to thank the staff of the Night Crier for inviting us to talk with our community. As a
012grandfather of four North Penn students at Englewood and Pendale, I enjoy experiencing the feeling of a family that our schools provide. I see it when the staff happily greet the students as they enter the building to the parents and grandparents that selflessly volunteer their time. I was an aircraft electrician in the US Air Force. Have a bachelor of arts degree in business management from Moravian College, a bachelor of science in computer science from Penn State, and a master's of science in business administration from Central Michigan. I have been on the North North Pen School Board for the past six years. I am running for reelection so that I can continue to serve our community. One of the accomplishments that I am most proud of is being chair of North Monco Technical Career Center. We have
013added 33% more students in the last 5 years. Last year we added four new programs in social media marketing, property maintenance and renovation, service occupation, and sports rehabilitation and physical therapy. This year we added 43 new health science stu students which focuses on future doctors and nurses. As chair of the policy committee, we have reviewed and updated all of our policies. When we began the process of updating policies, we discovered some had not been updated in 20 years. As vice chair of the finance committee, we have the fifth lowest tax rate in McGomery County, maintain an AA1 bond credit rating, and invest in our infrastructure. I am an avid supporter of the North Penn and North Monco Technical Career Center Education Foundations. I ask for your vote this November 4th so that I can continue
014this work. Thank you. Now we'll move on to North Penn United and Mr. Echelman. I appreciate the night crier giving me this us this opportunity to have this forum tonight. I grew up in the city of Chester in Delaware County. I come from a workingclass family. I have three children and I'm married to my wife of 19 years Denise. I retired from North Pens District this past June. I'm a graduate of Bob Jones University where I received the BS degree in education and Temple University where I received the master's degree in the psychology of reading and I'm certified to teach in four subject areas. I've worked in education for 41 years, 36 in public education, 26 years in North Penn, 22 years as a school librarian, and four years as a special education assistant. I
015believe my qualifications provide me with a unique skill set and perspective and look forward to using my past experiences to help enhance schoolboard decision-making. The North Pan School District has many strengths and highlights, but school districts should not be judged by their highlights alone. Even the worst school districts in Pennsylvania have highlights. I greatly enjoyed working as a librarian, but like any classroom teacher, I was isolated and and had little idea what was going on inside the school district outside of my classes. I became an assistant at the end of my career. As an assistant, I worked on both elementary and secondary levels. I got to go to many classes and saw many things I never saw before. I became aware of needs and weaknesses in the district that I was not aware of when
016I was a librarian. I'm not aware of anyone who wants to pay high taxes. I believe the district can make incremental improvements without huge tax increases that will benefit the district as a whole, taxpayers, teachers, staff, and most importantly the students. And I would appreciate your vote. >> Thank you, Mr. Lamros. >> Hi, thank you. Um, my name is Yanni Lamrose. I am a local business owner and I um own Coffee Corner in Lansdale. I'm married to my wife Tina. Um we are trying to create our family. I have grew up in the North Penn community pretty much all my life since a child. I graduated from North Penn and uh utilized also North Monco Technical Career Center for Culinary Arts. And I never really wanted to be involved in politics. Um I kind of
017was brought to into this through um being made aware of some things from back during around the COVID days and um had some disagreements with the board back then and uh and trying to help the community, help parents uh build awareness to issues that sometimes more than sometimes in my opinion are missed. Um, I am fighting for transparency, keeping children safe, and reducing spending to lower or at least stabilize the taxes. Uh, I do think that it does have a bigger effect than people may realize, whether it is a senior citizen that may be on a fixed income or it could be a young person just starting their life out. As taxes constantly increase, it can hurt those same people because rents will increase naturally due to this factor as well as other factors of
018inflation. I believe that we all need to come together, bring politics out of the school system and focus on policies and the best person qualified for the job to knock out these issues. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Minnik. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Victor Minnik and I'd like to start by thanking the Nightcrier for organizing this event and everyone joining us tonight both in person and online. Um I also like to thank our opponents for being part of this important discussion that we're going to have here tonight. I'm a proud father of five with one beautiful granddaughter and a grandson on the way. Two of our children have already gone through the North Penn school district. Our daughter Kelsey, who had recently graduated from North North Pen, and our son Victor, who
019chose a career in the trades. We currently have two children in North Penn, one in ninth grade at Penddale, one in 11th in this high school. My wife and I, my wife Melanie and I have been married for 14 years and have lived in the North Penn area for 18. We own a small plumbing business based right here in Lansdale, which we've run for the past seven years. Before that, I've spent 15 years as a general contractor. That experience that experience managing budgets, solving problems, and working directly with families has shaped how I approach leadership with practically with pract practicality, accountability, and respect for the people I serve. I decided to run because after countless conversations with parents and community members, one thing became clear. Many feel their voices aren't being heard. I believe transparency
020and communication are key to rebuilding that trust. What you'll hear tonight is a discussion between people who may have different perspectives, but at the end of the day, we share one goal to do what's best for our students, our teachers, and our community. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Moyer. >> Good evening, and thank you for coming out tonight. And thank you to the Nightcrier and Mr. Monero for running such a professional team. That's much appreciated. I'd also like to thank every all of you for attending this evening, including uh some of the current school board members. It's nice to see the support. I am currently the youngest uh school board candidate running this evening. And uh that is just means that I'm closer to being a student and remember what it's like to sit
021on the other side. Um, one of the things that I think is the most important is to remember that our students come first and we need to prepare them for their future and for the future that we want to live in. I currently work as a transportation dispatcher for a uh for Amtrak. Uh, and my job is to make sure that you make it to your destination sometime for those of you who take Amtrak. Sorry if it's not on time. Uh but with that um I do work with all types of different kinds of people and I'm willing uh to listen to all of you and be transparent and be part of the community. I'm a community member just like you. And if you're wondering how much your taxes are going up or the changing
022changing environment of what our students go through on a daily basis and what they face and their future, I'm concerned just like you and to together we can figure out this uh together. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> At this time, I will explain tonight's format and rules for our questions. Questions include submissions from community members as well as questions generated from our Nightcrier student newspaper staff. For each question, each team of candidates will have four minutes to respond. Throughout the night, we will alternate which team responds first. After each team has concluded their four-minute response. Each team will then be given up to one minute for rebuttal or followup. The teams of candidates are free to choose who speaks on each issue as long as each team adheres to the time limits. Now I'll
023turn it over to Claire Seagris for our first question of the evening. >> Thank you. Our first question tonight will be posed to Neighbors for Progress as determined by a coin flip prior to tonight's event. Following Neighbors for Progress, North Penn United will have four minutes to answer the same question. And now our first question. This question comes to us as a combination of a question generated by the nightcrier staff as well as topics submitted by residents Shannon Maine of Tao Menson and Christina Epilo also of Talmenson. North Penn High School has just begun a major renovation that will span several years and millions of dollars. While this is happening, buildings and infrastructure around the district continue to need attention. What is your assessment of the current renovation and what do you believe are the
024biggest priorities we face in terms of facility upgrades and maintenance around the district? Neighbors Neighbors for Progress, you have four minutes to respond. >> All right. Thank you for the question. I will start off for our team. Um, we know that this school is the cornerstone of our community and we know that we have to make sure that we invest wisely to ensure that it is here and performing the way that it should be and that our schools and our students can have a safe place to be educated and be enriched in in many ways. Um, I know that uh whether or not you have students here or ever ever did or may never have had it, the presence of a well functioning school is something that enriches everybody. Um, and this renovation is long
025overdue. Um, I believe the last time this was renovated was uh it's a 1971 building um in uh the high school and we need to make sure that it is able to function for the next 50 years. Um and we also know that we can't wait for things to start crumbling before we start addressing them. Um that's bad for two reasons. It's unsafe and also it is fiscally not prudent. Uh we know that it is much more costly to fix something um after it has become an emergency than it ha than it is to address things as they are uh ongoing. Um I think it was Benjamin Franklin that said uh a penny of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Um and I think the school board currently has really taken that uh to
026heart. Uh they have talked to the students, talked to teachers, talked to the community to find out what are the priorities that they have for what this school will look like. They've talked to countless professionals um about what needs to be done in what order. Um that is both addressing the greatest concerns and also creating the least disruption for students who are going here. Um in terms of the high school, we only have one high school. Um that means that it is a single point of failure. If things should go wrong here, we have no other place for our 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. So, we need to make sure that we are investing now. Um, this $259 million high school upgrade is bringing our school up to to at least the basics. We need
027that. We know that the school board has focused on the essentials. Essentials like just being ADA compliant so that we know that children in wheelchairs can make it through the doorways. Uh, we're not talking about anything uh extravagant. We're talking about a strong school with that is hard and make sure that our students are safe. Um, and also uh for the other 21 buildings here, I know that they have worked hard for a 10-year preventative maintenance again because prevention is prudent and it makes sure that we are staying uh fiscally responsible and safe for our students. Um, I have a lot to say that I can talk about this. I'm really looking forward to my my boys being here in 10 to 15 years and it's still being a safe strong school but I only
028have one more minute left and I know our my colleague wants to speak so sorry. >> So no no problem. So I have a high schooler a middle schooler. Next year I'll have a kindergartner and a preschooler. Um that start time for next year is next year's problem for me. However, what is a problem is our facilities. I think continuing the current board's deliberate responsible steps towards infrastructure is key. We have to be responsible with taxpayer dollars. We have 21 buildings to take care of all in different areas of need. I walked through the same mods when I was in middle school in the '9s. Um and I am beyond shocked that it is still happening for my children in current day and I I will we need to be responsible. We need to continue
029the work but we need to make the right decisions and through the assessment that's going to be happening prioritize that and make the most fiscally responsible decisions. Thank you. Northpen United, you have four minutes to respond. Why don't you go ahead? >> All right. So, while I do agree with the Neighbors for Progress and some of the, you know, the high school renovations, I mean, the school definitely needs some upgrades for sure. Um, but in all reality, a lot of these schools need a lot of basic maintenance upgrades. um from pressure washing Penddale that's looked like that for the past 15 years to um needs as far as HVAC uh heating and air conditioning or air conditioning in these schools. Um September days are, you know, still 80 90 degrees out there. Um kids are
030getting out of school in June and you know 10 years ago I was getting messages from my daughter. you know, dad, it's really hot in here. Like, I feel like I'm gonna pass out. 10 years ago, they were talking about air conditioning in in these middle schools. Um, so we really need to put our focus back on a lot of it back on the air conditioning in these schools. Um, push for that uh while budgeting uh maintaining the budget for some of the pet projects over at the high school. Um, and that's pretty much all I have for that. Well, I'd like to uh add on to that, Victor, if you don't mind. So, yeah, I also agree that renovations are necessary. Um I do think there is a better and more sensible solution to
031taking care of these problems. And as Victor alluded to, overall maintenance. Um our opponents had just spoke on saving money by preventing um by by taking care of things ahead of time uh fixing it and correcting the problems early. But instead certain things seem to have gone on for such a long time it ends up creating problems and instead of maintaining what we have we like to just build new structures and that hurts the taxpayer. So again, I think just like Victor was saying, uh very good solution is put more focus onto maintaining the current schools and maybe change how we spend the money on the aesthetics of the projects as well as how the projects are run. Um, I was informed there was something you could utilize they call the owner's rep that would
032help with these projects to save uh it's a flat fee and they are project managers for the um duration until the uh finish date, but at the same time it's a flat rate fee versus a commission off of the total price of the job which is into the hundreds of millions of dollars over a quarter of a billion dollars. And again, you know, we're all for keeping the schools maintained, keeping them nice, keeping them clean and a a good safe learning environment for the children, but we do have to be realistic on how we spend money sometimes. A little less show and a little more um productivity needs to be involved with some of the decision- making. >> That's something. And from my understanding, the uh original budget was $30 million less than what it
033is right now. So, there's no doubt the high school needs to be updated, but we like to think that they could stay within the budget. Uh, the community deserves that. And, uh, that could be done by more carefully monitoring what's being spent by making it more making the the specific numbers more available to the public. And, uh, we'd like to see that and we'd like to see the things stay within the budget. >> Our uh, our students come first. a safe learning environment, just like I think everybody agrees is by far the most important. Um, but also making sure that there's still money left over for our our staff and the resources because they're the ones who take care of our students the most. Um, and they definitely need the they definitely need the attention
034as well. >> Thank you. Neighbors for Progress, you have one additional minute for a response. >> Yeah, I'd like to respond. Uh I think that uh previous boards to this one kick the can down the road too much and were reactive to things that were breaking but didn't do plan proper planning. I think we want to avoid reactive spending. We want to avoid headline spending and we want to do datadriven spending. So we're looking at things we should be looking at things like safety first and if it doesn't m meet that criteria that shouldn't be on the top of the list. So getting back to that question originally, there's lots of school uh district uh school buildings in the district and they all have issues, but they should be looked at from a data driven
035perspective. Look at the data, decide on that on it by that data. Thanks. >> Okay, North Penn United, you have one additional minute for a response. Well, again, um, uh, North Penn Neighbors for Progress is saying that previous boards have kicked the can down the road, but the current board has been unified in power, voting 99% unanimously on most decisions together for the past what, seven, eight years now. Um, we can't really blame someone else. And if our opponents do not have a different approach and a different unique way of looking at these problems, my fear is that North Penn will just keep going through the same problems over and over again and not ever finding a solution. And I think we need to diversify the ideas and the process that goes into building and
036involve the community a little bit more. And I do give the board credit. They try to involve the community, but I think we need to put a little more outreach out there before some of these large decisions are made on behalf of the taxpayers. Thank you. >> Thank you. Now for our next question. This question comes from Mike Wny, a resident of McGomery Township. In what ways will you work to mitigate or prevent additional tax burdens on residents? North Penn United, you have four minutes to respond. Well, as we were saying, um, we all do have different experience up here, um, at this table. So, just like Jeff's been in education, me and Victor have business and contracting experience and Thomas works for a large organization and is used to going through the numbers and
037getting everything organized. between us. I feel like if we get elected and we can really look at the books and break down the budget line by line, I think we can find ways to save. And I do give respect to the board last night. I I'm a little upset with the timing because it seems like now they're focused right before an election on, you know, making sure we are spending less and making adjustments. uh something about, you know, we're switching from threaded pipe to glued pipe. Um, and that's fine, and if it saves the uh school money, it's going to work just the same. But we need to do that. That's just one example. We need to find many more. And I know there has to be many more in there, as well as every
038member on this at this table running for North Penn United. We've discussed this, but we need to see behind the scenes and really sit down and work with the rest of the board and community members to um find the solution, cut the cost, but end up with the same objective and goal. And Thomas, you wanted to add? >> Yeah, I think it comes down to procurement opportunities as well and making sure that when when people perform their bids that they get held accountable for them as well. Change orders are the most expensive ways to run your business. I've I've watched many companies uh make that mistake and I think monitoring those is going to be the most effective way uh to make sure that you actually stay on track for your budget. The budget was
039approved. It's it's going to be paid for. But when you start changing stuff, that's how things get over budget. >> I believe we need proactive engagement with the community. The community should be making decisions to a greater extent than they're allowed to be made. We saw the community defeat the referendum in January, a year ago. The community does not want higher taxes. The community, the district needs the community's input as much as possible and in every financial decision that's made. Uh the community wants uh reasonable taxes. They don't want we don't want taxes to continue to go up. And um so I would say a major thing would be allowing the community have as much to say, as much input as possible. It was interesting. One of the questions that I was asked uh previously
040was would you raise taxes just to raise taxes? And I think that that's something um it was just an interesting question that was posed to me. And uh I would I think the expectation of North Penn United would be to never put a tax burden on our community members because we're all hardworking just like every one of you sitting in this a audience and for those of you watching at home. we are focused on making sure that we provide for our students but also make sure that we provide for you the community members as well. >> Yeah. So, my thing is with the taxes, um, and I'm going to feed off of Yanni, what he was saying a little bit ago, is the community involvement, um, and Jeff, uh, if right now the the board
041holds a 90, um, Democrats, you know, so everything is pretty much getting passed, pushed through, uh, without any kind of transparency from, uh, not only us but the community. So, if elected, we would love to start work with the other members and start a Q&A session maybe once a year, once a month, once a quarter. Um, bring the community in for some of these bigger projects. Have them, you know, give us their input more than, you know, some of the schoolboard meetings that we get. Um, and just involve you guys more than what you're being involved in now. Thank you. >> Thank you, Neighbors for Progress. You have four minutes to answer. Thank you. And I just want to preface that I do think it is common sense to go and research what is publicly
042available to us as community members. However, I do understand that it's a lot of information and that there does need to be additional transparency. So, I just want to preface with that. However, many people may not know or may have an idea that we are one of the largest stool school districts in our area. Yet, we have the fifth lowest tax rate in our area. We are at the bottom 20%. I would like to keep it that way. I would like to be on the bottom end and be responsible with with our taxpayer dollars. They're my taxpayer dollars. You they're your taxpayer dollars. And it all is to benefit. We want to make sure there's return on investment. It is imperative that we all take a look. What is the costs? What is the needs?
043And what do we get out of it? And what is the data show? Is what we're spending it on doing having the intended effect? We have a large budget. It's almost $300 million. three4s of that goes to teacher salary and rightfully so. The rest of that we have to make do with what we have. I also would say that uh we are trying to find ways to reduce tax burden on seniors with the senior rebate program. I think we should use our imagination to find more of those those types of things. Um I think that's a good program already, but there should be other programs that we should look at to reduce taxes. So there's two ways to do this to reduce taxes or increase revenue. And I think there's a way that we could
044possibly uh increase revenue in different imaginative ways as well, but we have to look at that when we get on the board. So there also is uh I'm glad that we had a referendum because that shows how the public is involved and they did decide. So that's great. Um the tax one index is is there to keep everybody at a certain rate and as Christine said we're at the lowest one of the fifth lowest rates in the the county and the tax one uh uh index is there to keep us there uh legally. So I think we should be able to look at u various ideas going forward to do both um try to bring in other other grants other ways of bringing in money and as well as reducing some tax burdens on those
045that u are least able to afford it. >> Um thank you. Uh yeah, I mean I mean the the main thing that I think that we need to approach this is uh being evidence-based and funding what works and changing or ending what doesn't. And that needs to be a constant thing that we look at and I know that the school board reviews everything that that uh that we the projects that we do and the programs that we serve and we need to continually do that uh regularly so that we make sure that we are funding again what works and and ending or changing what doesn't. Um, speaking about this from a more personal um, standpoint, um, I grew up poor. I know what it's like um, when it's difficult to meet uh, the rent or
046when you're dreading that tax burden at the end of the year. And so going into this, um, when we think about the burden that we're going to be asking our residents to to bear when paying taxes, I'm going to be keeping that in mind that there are folks that are struggling and seniors that are living on fixed incomes. And so making sure that every dollar we spend is well worth that investment. Um, and I think that that's something that we all go into this looking at to into it, making sure that uh that these dollars are spent wisely and respecting the wallets and the incomes of the folks that we have here because there is a wide disparity in what uh what people have. >> North Penn United, you have one additional minute for response.
047>> All right. Thank you. So again, everything sounds good, but if they're going to follow off the same playbook as the current board for the past so many years, it's just going to go up, but it's really hard for them to say, "Hey, I want to raise your taxes cuz we want to reduce them or at least stabilize them." Also, I don't I don't like when I hear things about seniors having to put their home for sale because the constant increase and they can't afford it anymore because they're on a fixed budget. I would just say at North Penn United, we're uh while I appreciate the response from our opponents saying that they care about the seniors and for the tax repay, but we're here for everybody at North Penn United and that includes you.
048>> And I'd like to add, people used to want to move to North Penn because of taxes. That isn't the case anymore. I know we're supposed to be the fifth lowest tax district in the area, and figures don't lie, but I question those figures. And uh we want to be a district that people want to move to again. Neighbors for progress, you have one additional minute for a response. >> Sure. Um, we are new or will potentially be new to the board. Um, and so, um, we are independent thinkers, all of us. That's why we are here. Um, and I deeply respect the work of the previous school board and I've learned so much from them and I look to carry on uh all of the work that the work that they have done and
049but also review the work that has been done before. Um, also I think there's been a lot of gen generalities about um who is raising your taxes and who isn't. And I think it's important to remember facts and data when you look at that. Um, if you're talking about a 90 board always being consistent and always raising your taxes. I mean, just look previously prior to Democrats taking over the board um the GOP that had control um raised taxes 8.5% in years 20 20 or 2001 and 2002 and every subsequent year except for 2011. So I'm not saying that this is a Democrat or Republican thing, but I'm just saying that when you speak in generalities, you should look at the people's records. >> Thank you. And now our next question. This comes to us
050from a combination of questions posed by two community members. A resident of Town Menson Township who would prefer to not have their name included and Andrea Leer, a resident of Hatfield Township. Issues of race, gender, and sexual identity have been topics of intense discussion at schoolboard meetings across the country over the last several years. What do you believe to be your role in addressing these diversities in our schools? Neighbors for Progress, you have four minutes to answer. Thank you for that question and it's a question close to my heart. Um I think every child deserves to feel included and empowered and safe in the in the school that they are going to. We have a tremendous amount of diversity in our schools. So many different languages spoken. There is a tremendous need as well. And
051I don't want to forget this that there is a tremendous amount of IEPs, special education, different races, different religions that are all coming together and it's part of what makes our school great. It makes our district great. Our differences unite us and they bring fresh perspective to everything that we do. And I do believe that all of the diversity in our schools is what makes North Penn shine. I think we have to adapt to the individual needs of each student because each student is an individual and we have to listen to their experiences whether we disagree with them or not. Um, another I think important thing is that representation matters. Um, we have a very populous uh Asian community in our school district. Um, and if elected, Christine and I, >> just your mic. >>
052Oh, sorry. Christine and I would be the first uh Asian-Americans to serve on the board. And like I said, representation matters. Um, and I think that that would send a message to uh the students. um seeing that people who look like them and may have had similar experiences to them are the ones that are also um leading and making making decisions. Um equity and inclusion isn't just a buzzword, you know, it is something that is something that achieves trust. Um when everyone feels as though they have a fair shot, they feel as though they are heard and then they feel that those as though they can trust the people that they are learning from. And when people feel trusted and heard, it creates an environment that they can learn, which is at the end of
053the day our number one goal. Um Christine talked upon also um being inclusive of of everyone. Often we think of race which is of course an incredibly important thing to keep in mind but uh the disability community uh in our school also is very vast and we need to make sure that whether it's through adaptive technology or just making sure that we are ADA compliant that is making sure that we are addressing equity in our schools. Um and I I think I yield back. I just also want to say that uh we are not teaching children in a vacuum. We're teaching them to be ready for the world and the world is a diverse place. I've worked with a lot of big companies and that one of the best companies or the best companies out
054there use their diverse workforce to help them succeed. And without helping the students be ready for that working world, we're doing them a disservice. So, we need to make sure that that diverse workforce that they're going to go into, they're ready for that. And just sorry, uh, one other thing, I mean, I think it's all based on respect. You know, when you respect the people that you're talking to, just regardless of their background, uh, it creates conversations that everyone can learn. Um, and I think that in this day and age, a lot of times people divert automatically to, uh, disparaging those that they don't understand. Um, and I think that as a school, we have an opportunity and an an obligation to make sure that we educate the whole student. Um, not just in math
055and arts and and everything like that, but how to be a respectful community member. >> Thank you. North Penn United, you have four minutes. Well, to me it's an interesting question because I graduated from Northbend High School and here I was taught a lot of lessons from Dr. Martin Luther King. A lot about just looking at the content of a person's character. I don't see race first. I don't see the differences first. I like to see the human being in front of me. I like to see a a conscious awareness person. Um I don't think that we should be at such a shallow and superficial point in time in this day and age where we cannot feel represented if the people that are doing the representing don't look exactly like us. I think it should
056be about character. I think it should be about work, dedication, morals, and values because we all have our own unique perspective. And we're all different. And that doesn't matter if we look different. We're all going to think our own thoughts. We're all going to have our own opinions on life. I personally like to, you know, give people a basic level of respect right off the bat. And if somebody has poor character, somebody, you know, wants to be disrespectful or rude to me, then I will just not want to engage with that person. But it shouldn't have anything to do with the physical appearance. I I just think that we need to bring back concepts and common sense like fairness. If every student has a fair shot, a fair opportunity, not everyone's going to have the
057same outcome. That's impossible. But everyone should have a fair shot and no one should be picked on or harassed just because they're a little different. So that's my personal take on this. I would like to pass it over to Jeff. No. >> North Penn does a good job um emphasizing diversity. North Penn's district is a very diverse district. Um there are many activities that represent many different groups and uh the opportunities are numerous. Um North Pen does a good job with equity. Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to be the most they can be and the staff and faculty does the best to allow that to happen. Uh materials are presented that allow that to happen. But I'm going to give you an example where um diversity uh was education was not emphasized over diversity where
058education should be emphasized over diversity. As this past librarian in the district there was a book by Avi. Avi in my opinion is the uh the best children's writer living at the time currently. and he wrote a book uh 20 years ago that had a a racial word in it that was questioned. Um the racial word was in the context of uh historical is in a historical context and the book was challenged. Any books allowed to be challenged as a parent form for challenging books and uh there's a committee that was chosen and the committee decided in the context of the book the uh the racial word was appropriate and the book was allowed to stay on the shelf. However, that the district wasn't satisfied with that answer. They formed another committee and investigated the
059same book again. And the book at that time after the second investigation is determined the book was inappropriate because of that word. To me, that sounds like an example of diversity may being emphasized over education and that's not really what we want. Take the >> Thank you. N for progress. you have one additional minute. >> Thank you. I think there's a lot of discussion around the word equity and what that is and what that means. Um, and it is not synonymous with equality. Equity from Miriam Webster's dictionary is fairness or justice in the way people are treated. And I think that is a fair initiative to have in our school. Thank you. North Penn United, you have one minute to respond. >> I was a boy scout growing up and now it's scouts uh scouts
060BSA. I think the most important thing to remember and one of the things that I was taught from a community organization was to be reverent. That is by far the most important. It ties in respect. It ties in people's other people's beliefs. at the school board, it would be most important to understand that other people have different walks of life. And that's and as Christine actually said, it is it is it's a beautiful things that what's makes it's what makes this this place such an exciting place to live. I I've had many many discussions with many of the community members and some of the people um that work over in the uh over in the ESC and uh the diversity is a wonderful thing that runs here. our job at the school board is to
061make sure that it that it stays, it's effective, but also that it's respected as well. >> Thank you. And now for our next question. This question comes from Joy Mcclelay, a resident of Upper Gwendon Township. Currently, the school district is discussing a new initiative that involves implementing school police officers. talk about your views on this potential initiative and how you believe this will impact the safety of our schools. North Penn United, you have four minutes to answer. >> Well, um that that is one thing that I must say to be fair because I like to be fair. I applaud the school board for taking the initiative on that and I do think that it would be beneficial um optically and just for overall security and safety within the school for the students and staff. Um
062when a criminal or someone with bad intent could want to target a school, it is good to have deterrence and have officers there. it will make someone less likely to attempt a tragedy. Um so I I do applaud that. But in the same stance um we would like to go over the transparency factor because there is a difference between having on-site officers and officers from the station. And we want to make sure that anything that happens that every parent and every taxpayer has the right to know if there is an issue. Things should not be withheld from the public. As long as we can do it in a way that is transparent, I'm all for it. Personally, I'd like to let one of my colleagues answer on this as well. >> I'm all for having
063police officers in the schools. I think it'd be nice if we had a police officer in every school, especially in the time that we live in where there's just bad things happen in public schools and schools period. Um, as my understanding based on what I heard in the safety meeting a week ago, there's supposed to be nine police officers uh added to the district from they're from current employees. They're I guess security guards are going to be given police training and allowed to be police officers. Some of them come from police backgrounds, but I believe that the figure that was given by Dr. Bower, I believe, is $250,000 to start up the program. I would like to see the specifics outlined so we know exactly where that money is going to. Um maybe within that
064that's a startup. That's not what that's not future money or anything. That's just a startup. So, I'd like to see um I'd like to see like I said, proactive engagement with the community um so we can know what's going on there specifically. But as far as having police officers, I think that's a wonderful thing. And additionally, having worked in the middle school for two years, we need police officers. We need uh students need to be more respectful of each other and staff and um sometimes the security guards just don't cut it because the students aren't as respectful toward them as they should be. I think the police officers would give them a little more would present a little more authority. So, I'm all for that idea and I and I hope we can do that
065in a reasonable way that will uh be valuable to the whole district. >> So, yeah, I also believe that um officers should be placed in schools, but we definitely have to see the numbers on all this. Um the other thing is are these officers going to be giving tickets out to students who are parked, you know, over the line outside? Are they going to be dealing with accidents outside when in all reality they should be inside the schools? Um dealing with anything that could potentially come, you know, any any kind of issues inside the school. Um, but yeah, 100% I do agree with having extra security inside these schools. Um, you know, it's it is definitely worth it. >> I would say police in our schools aren't necessarily a new concept. When I was in
066school, we had the DARE program and I think one of the benefits of the DARE program was to engage with police in a different aspect as well. There's there's there's accountability part of that, but there's also an engaging with our students and getting them prepared to interact with police in the real world as well. >> Thank you, Neighbors for Progress. You have four minutes to respond. >> Thank you. I was sitting in on that uh school safety committee when that was brought up by the administrators and it is something that I would say that our team is interested in learning more about it is just being discussed I believe at this level it's not a decision that was made and I I do think there's more information that needs to be gathered the impact that
067it would have I think school safety is paramount um I I I have a high schooler and a middle schooler. I can speak from personal experience. I I want them to be safe. I don't want want to be worrying during my workday if potentially my child is at risk. So there's a certain level of safety and comfort knowing that perhaps someone in addition to security is watching my children and looking out for them and protecting them. However, there's a lot of questions that I have and I am interested in learning more. the citations that are administered through these police officers, will they be on a child's permanent record forever? Something that they made a mistake in school for? Perhaps sometimes those citations on their record is necessary to remain permanent. But how is that decision
068made? What is the training for these police officers to function within a school? What are the certifications? is our teaching background that they also may need so they can appropriately handle children. I did appreciate the administer the administrators explaining how these would be hired within the school district, trained within the school district and start to bring a healthy relationship and continue that relationship into um with police officers. something that's already started and happening and going on currently. School off police off police officers from our municipal from our seven municipalities do come and visit the schools whether it be a DARE program or other functions to kind of foster that positive relationship that can come with with the police officer. I also have questions about the financial implications of what this means, the additional cost, the
069additional liability, as well as is there time to re-evaluate if it's something that's started and rolled out. Do we have the ability to reassess the effectiveness of this school police officer program? I want to make sure that the dollars are being spent well. There's no there's no cost that's not worth a child's safety. However, we do have to be practical. >> I think Dr. Bower mentioned that there were 500 visits from the police officer police already. Some of them are just visits for health reasons or medical reasons, but some of them are others. So, I can see there's a benefit to take the burden off of the municipal police forces, but I also have questions about the logistics. um how are how are they going to perform their duties daytoday? There's a lot of questions
070that we're we're going to have to look look into. >> Okay, thank you. North Penn United, you have one additional minute for a follow-up. >> So again, I think this is something that we all can agree on, but we have different theories. Um, it's kind of funny, uh, because now it seems like when it comes to the funding, um, they want to be on the conservative side. I'm not worried as much about the funding because this is something that is beneficial to the safety of all students and staff and it's something worth investing in. U, again, my thought was more along the line of transparency because that's what we're also fighting for, transparency and parental rights. We want the community to know what's happening. We don't want to be hiding things from the community. Um,
071the other thing is it was brought to my attention uh from someone and I did want to bring it up real quick and I apologize to police, but uh the firefighters, the volunteer firefighters in the area, too. Uh, other school districts do do things to reduce taxes as an incentive. North Penn doesn't. And uh, from what I understand, the volunteer firefighters has been declining. and I think we should find a way to help them as well. Thank you. >> Neighbors for Progress, you have one additional minute for response. >> Sure. I think uh Christine and Ken did a great job kind of surmising where we are at least on candidates up here, but I also want to take a moment to um acknowledge also the great work of the police uh and in the various
072communities. Um we have a great relationship I know with in within every community and every police department. so thankful for all of the work that they've already done to keep our students safe. And I know that many of them have close personal relationships and know everybody very well in their schools uh along their beat. Um so I want to take a moment to just thank them for their service. Um in addition uh personally on the on this issue uh I think that there's a lot more that I need to learn. Um one of the things I also do really want to know is where the faculty and the students feel about having an added presence of police in their schools. whether that makes them feel safer or a little bit more on edge. We know
073that um not everyone feels the same way about when there's a police officer there in the room and so I think it's very important before I could make a decision to hear that feedback. >> Sounds good. >> Thank you. And now for our final question of the night. So far, our questions have been geared towards specific issues facing the school district, but we would certainly like to give you all an opportunity to talk about the bigger picture and what you all see as the most important things North Penn now faces. If you are elected, what are your top priorities that you would like to focus on immediately at the start of your term? Neighbors for Progress, you have four minutes to respond. >> I'd like to That's great. Thank you. Um, I think the number
074one thing after talking to a lot of people in the community, door knockocking and also visiting them on the street at uh, community fairs and things like that, communication. I'd like to improve communication as much as possible. I know that we have uh, board docs and we have uh, notifications on the website, but I have heard and I agree that there's there could be an improvement made with proactive communication. Um, so there's a lot of times when people come and they say, "This is a surprise to me. I didn't know there was going to be this this thing like the police uh idea or something else. And when that happens, it's hard for someone that's involved to say, "Wow, that we've had five meetings. We had all these different uh discussions with the public. I'm
075surprised you didn't know." But it's true. They don't know. And that's okay. Um people are busy. So there must I want to see if I can improve some sort of uh communications that are more proactive. >> Thank you. I I do have to agree with you, Ken. I think I I work full-time. I have four children. Um there's a lot going on in my life any single day. And while there is plenty of communication, um via email or newsletters, um Facebook lives, um public information, it's so much to ingest. Um, something that I've been asking at certain schoolboard meetings is for a quick frequently asked question document for any given item. And maybe that might be its own book at some point. Um, but we we live in a digital world and an instant gratification
076world and our attentions get taken very quickly to whatever is going on in our lives and sometimes we just need quick answers to better understand what's going on. Um, I hope to bring that perspective um as as a parent and a community member just to better understand um and I I want to make sure that our our students also feel just as informed and empowered about their education um because there are future taxpayers and and they should be involved as well. >> Thank you. Um I mean there are a lot of things that I'm uh looking forward to working on here. Uh one of the things that I don't think we've discussed very much uh that I feel very strongly about is uh mental health. Um I am not a mental health professional but I
077am married to one uh and she keeps me educated uh on this and so many other things. Um but it is a difficult uh a difficult job. Um and high school and middle school and elementary school can be hard enough as it is and we don't know the struggles that students go through. Uh so making sure that they have access and resources so when they have uh a need that there is somebody there to answer that. Um and we can use resources like uh safe to say to make sure that we address things before they become emergencies. Um and also I want to acknowledge also the incredible work that um our faculty in the special needs sectors do. That is a very challenging and such an important position that I want to make sure that
078they have the supports that they need to do to make sure that they don't burn out, that they set up students for success. Um, we talk about, you know, being college ready or labor ready. Um, sometimes the goal is being independent and that is an incredibly important role too. Um, and I'll use the last 30 seconds also. Um, our, uh, other candidate Al is not here, but I know that, um, tech school is an incredibly passionate. It is a huge passion for him and he has done so much work in that realm. So I think that being able to continue to have him on this board make sure that North Monco Tech gets the attention it deserves and that our students are taking advantage of those resources that are there right in our backyard. So
079I just want to give a little bit shout out to him and the great work that he's done as chair there. >> Thank you. North Penn United, you have four minutes to respond. So, I think the first and most important thing um that needs to happen if we're elected is providing clear transparency. There's um as they were talking about, yeah, we have the the board docs. You can go on there, you can take a look and see where somebody's spending, but how many people really do that? um you know, holding meetings with the community, students, parents, um explaining to them what we're doing, where the money is going. Um that's number one. Number two is, uh I'm going to revert back to this HVAC issue for a second. Um because I had attended a school
080board meeting a couple months ago and was told that ultimately it's it's not possible. It's too expensive. We're, you know, not able to do it. Duck work, all this stuff. So, um I'm in the trades. I understand the way this stuff works. Um HVAC units aren't just a unit on your roof duct work. Today it's so advanced like you have many split systems where you can ultimately run these classrooms three three different um heads off of one unit. Um and it it's it's not as expensive as they are making out to be. Um that's number one. Number two is I would like to also, you know, possibly get the tech school, the tech students involved in some of these projects at the high school and some of the other areas of the district. Um, there's
081a need for people in the trades. Um, there's a huge need for people in the trades and that would be very educational for some of these students. Of course, we'd have to figure out liability stuff and, you know, injuries, you know, in case stuff like that happens. But that would be amazing if we could get some of these students who aren't who don't want to go to college. They'd rather be in the trades, you know, let's get them involved in the high school helping out with some of the projects. Um, yeah, that's it. Thank you. >> Um, everybody's fall for transparency. It's funny that our opponents uh even though they're new candidates, they represent the current school board in a way. Al Ro is on the current school board yet. We haven't seen that transparency
082in the past. But the question was we involving what what we would like to uh see as being our first need. And having come from working in the elementary school most of my Northbend career, I was a guest when I went to the middle school and saw the the overall conduct in the hallways between classes. I found it scary. Now teachers, students rather may not may not notice it because it's kind of like the frog in the in the hot water pan where it kind of becomes, you know, it happens slowly. You don't really notice the change. But uh the the hallways in the middle school are terrible. Um if discipline would improve, there's no way you're going to tell me that wouldn't help test scores. It would improve the overall academic atmosphere of the
083school. That's just one thing that would help. But another thing that would help, I believe, um I question whether the uh the human resources are actually hiring the best people. And I'd like to see at every uh interview that a union representative be president. So uh the the feelings of the teachers uh could be present at the interviews. So the staff, the the teaching staff could be a part of hiring the best possible candidates rather than just relying on administrators who come from a different perspective than the teachers. >> And again, safety, accountability, transparency, lowering taxes, finding a more sensible solution. >> Thank you. Neighbors for Progress, you have one additional minute for response. We're good. Okay. Thank you. North Penn United, you have one additional minute for response. >> Well, me and you can
084save. Okay. Um, >> Thomas say >> no, go ahead. Um, so yeah, uh, just like my colleague said, we we kind of all want to hit and target different issues. That's why from the beginning, like you said, we have different experiences and we're trying to work as a team. We also want to be able to work with the current board. At at the very least, even if we're outvoted on something, we will bring transparency. We will release certain things. Um, I personally would like the investigation report from the Penrook attack released to the public. I think the public deserves to know and I think that people need to talk about these issues because we can have diversity and inclusion but we can do them with common sense guidelines and procedures to keep all children safe
085and make sure everyone's as happy and content as possible. Thank you. Our opponents mentioned a couple of things that are great wish list items and I think that they're actually extremely important and I think it's uh important to monitor the difference between the renovations and those other items that are going to be added to the budget. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Now each candidate will be given a minute and a half to deliver a closing statement. We will begin with North Penn United and Mr. Echelman. I was a little surprised when our opponents brought up the tax increase under the Republican controlled school board in the past. Um, we have a chart unfortunately have in front of me how the Democratic school board has increased taxes particularly under the term of Al Ro in
086the past six or seven years. Um, when the Republicans were in control of the school board, people still wanted to move to North Penn. North Pen was still considered a place where taxes were lower. Um, our opponents, even though they're newly running for school board, they represent the status quo. The status quo continues to increase taxes. And if you want to see taxes to increase, test scores continue to decrease, the middle school hallways continue to be in disarray, you should vote for them. But if you want a positive change in North Penn, vote for us. >> Thank you, Mr. Lamrose. Well said, Jeff. Well said. Um, so in short, yeah, I mean there's I agree with Jeff um, wholeheartedly because the status quo keeps getting pushed even though faces change. Same ideas, you know, almost
087never opposition. I think it's better for the community if neither side establishes dominance. That way there's always a debate. there's always some type of discord so that we can push each other to find the proper solutions because that at the end of end of the day is better for the community as a whole. And again, I I said it in the beginning and I think you can tell by the way I speak. I'm not a polish politician. I'm not about that lifestyle. I'm just a young man who is trying to help his community because I have had and my wife can vouch for me on this. We have had a lot of people over the years tell us horror stories tell us how they're not heard. I've went to many board meetings. I've seen how,
088you know, people are brushed off with an email or sent to chase a rabbit hole. And I don't want that. I want real action in the community. And maybe we can come up with something different to get the community involved, something that we can all meet with uh quarterly, anyone who's willing to, and we could rotate members of the community to find better solutions, get better ideas, because I agree diversity is strength. >> Thank you, Mr. Minnik. So, as we wrap up tonight, I just want to thank everybody for being here, everybody streaming online. Um, a lot of people look at the bigger elections as being, you know, more popular elections and stuff, but these local elections really do matter. Um, a lot of it has to do with your taxes, uh, transparency on where
089your tax money is going. Um, what makes North Penn strong is the people, our parents, teachers, students, and community members who care deeply about the direction of our schools. I'm not a career politician. I never claimed to be a politician. You know, I don't really like politics, but as Yanni was saying, you know, I'm a father. I'm a husband. I'm a small business owner. Um, and I understand what hard work means. um how to manage a budget and make tough, responsible decisions. Um I'm running because I believe our community deserves a school board that listens, communicates openly, and puts students and taxpayers first. Together, we can bring common sense leadership, fiscal responsibility, and transparency back to North Penn. I'd be honored to earn your trust and your vote, and thank you. Have a great night.
090Thank you, Mr. Moore. >> Tonight, you've heard from uh two different uh two different political views, but what you have heard is passion for our community. And I'd like to thank everybody for being a part of that this evening. I think the most important thing to remember is that you do matter. It's not just the big elections that happened this previous uh this previous term. I think the most important thing is to make sure that your voice is heard. And I would also like to thank our uh our pack leader Shannon Maner and uh for and then of course the nightcrier for hosting this event. You've heard many different views tonight but the most important thing is what is yours? What is the most important thing for you? Thank you. >> Thank you. Now we'll
091continue with North Penn Neighbors for Progress and Mr. Chiba. >> Okay. Hi. Uh again, just thank you all for being here um and hearing us. I would love to earn your support uh and the support for our slate uh in this upcoming election. Um again, and also just want to reiterate that the work that you have done to set this up has been incredible. So Kyle, Tyler, Claire, Jonie Marie, our camera operators, Alex in the back, and I'm sure that there are a lot of other people, and Mr. Monero, thank you for giving us this opportunity. Um and I think I'll end um it was very refreshing to always try and end on something that we can agree upon and that is that uh the school board's a tough gig. Uh it's not a paid
092one. No one's getting rich as a school board member and so we know that we are here because we really believe that we can make a difference and we want the best for our school. So I think Mr. Minnik started off uh his introduction with that and so I appreciate setting that tone. Um and then uh again ending on making sure you go vote. Uh the election day is November 4th. Um regardless of who you vote for, I very much support your right to vote and I encourage you to get out there. Um absentee ballots can be still uh ordered and received and turned back in. Uh make sure that you vote for everybody uh on that. Turn that ballot over and make sure you get uh all of the ballots that are on the
093back because there's an very important election on the back there. And uh and yeah, I'm Coach Eva. I hope you uh will vote for me. Um, go vote. Go birds. Good night. [Applause] >> Thank you, Mrs. Coin. >> Um, I do have to echo the thanks that co and others have shared to what you are doing um with the night crier and NPTV and everyone who came out to watch. But I think a special thank you to my family and friends, most of which are looking at me right now. Um, but especially to my husband and my children. Um, you inspire me and I love you. Uh, I hope that this was helpful for everyone tonight. I I really do. Um, I think really no matter your political affiliation, I think as a North Penn
094school district community, we are all a lot closer together than we are apart. And I think we all want the same things. You know, we want a safe, empowering, equitable learning environment for our children. And I think we all want to be heard. And I think that is something that I and the rest of the slate is committed to doing. Um, listening, I think all the perspectives are important no matter if I disagree because it's not about me, it's about the children. Thank you. [Applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Kaiser. Yes. Uh, thanks to again to the Night Crier. You guys did an excellent job tonight and everyone else here tonight. And I have to also thank my wife who's in the audience who's been a tireless defender of democracy over the years. So, this campaign
095and this election should be about supporting each other in this community. And I echo everyone's comments here about that. Um, it should be about how we make our school safer, stronger, and supportive for every student and family. I'm here to help the district help the students move into the new working world. One that is quite different than the one uh I grew up in. One that is constantly changing with a diverse workforce. And we can do that here at North Penn with transparency, fact-based decisions, and collaboration with families that keep students at the center of every decision that we make. While we're running as a team of our of your neighbors, please know that we each are unique people with our own ideas on how to move forward. Our slate mirrors our own school community,
096diverse perspectives, different histories, but one shared goal, and that's to build a worldclass school district befitting a worldclass community. Thanks. Thank you. [Applause] On behalf of the Night Crier, I'd like to thank the candidates for your participation and enthusiasm. We sincerely appreciate your willingness to speak honestly with the community and we wish you all the best of luck this November. A big thank you is in order for NPTV for working so hard to broadcast this event, as well as Mr. Clank and the talented students who performed our national anthem and alma mater. Thank you also to Dr. Bower and the North Penn School District administration and facility staff. Without your support, this event never would have been possible and we appreciate everything you do for us. Finally, I want to thank all of you members
097of the North Penn community for showing up or tuning in and paying attention to local politics. You are the heart, soul, and future of this district, and your voice can truly make a difference. To find your polling station, go to mco pa.org/voter services. Once again, I'm Johnny Marie Suchko signing off with my co-odderators, Claire Seagress, Tyler Agress, and Kyle Bonner. Have a great night, everyone, and remember to vote on November 4th. [Applause] [Music]