West Jefferson Hills school board candidates talk growth in the district
In the West Jefferson Hills school board race, six candidates are running for five four year terms, according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections unofficial candidate list: incumbents Chelsea Campolongo, David M. Dominick, current first vice president Suzanne Downer, Denise Kahler and Anthony Rash, as well as newcomer Brian Smith.
There is one two-year term open, and Downer will face newcomer Adam Matthew Rice.
Here are the candidates’ responses to questions posed by the Tribune-Review.
Chelsea Campolongo
Age: 38
Political party: Republican
Education: Masters in business administration
Occupation: Finance director at South Park School District
Previous public office: Currently a school board director at West Jefferson Hills School District
The school district is quickly growing, and the new Thomas Jefferson High School is only a couple years old. What else can be done to address the rising student population in the district? The board and administration of the district are actively working on addressing the growing student population. The district has had a demographic study completed and has hired an architecture firm to help identify what the exact needs will be moving forward. With the guidance of those professionals, the board and administration will make decisions on programs and facilities that best fit the needs of the growing community but also take into account the financial impact on the community and its taxpayers.
David M. Dominick
Age: 52
Political party: Democrat
Education: Master of healthcare administration, master of business administration, bachelor of science in natural science
Occupation: Senior IT director for CarepathRx, Specialty Pharmacy and Infusion Services
Previous public office: WJHSD School Director since 2015 and previously on Pleasant Hills Planning Commission
The school district is quickly growing, and the new Thomas Jefferson High School is only a couple years old. What else can be done to address the rising student population in the district? The district’s enrollment growth isn’t just a future issue. The growth impact started years ago and will first peak at the K-2 level in a few years. The district has already implemented significant changes, in addition to the opening of the new high school in 2019. In 2018, we redistricted and restructured the three K-5 schools into two K-2 schools and one 3-5 school to efficiently leverage available teaching staff and classroom space, while also adding full-day kindergarten. In 2019, we constructed a 10-classroom addition and completed other renovations to GHES. In 2020, we leased six modular classrooms for JHIS.
In 2023, we completed an updated demographic study and five-year district plan. The demographic study included 30 years of historical data, planned developments in the area, as well as estimates of children moving into and out of the district’s existing housing units. With this data, we believe we have a good 10-year projection of the increased enrollment of each grade level, each year. We are expecting enrollment growth of almost 600 additional students by 2032. This is not evenly spread across K-12 for 10 years. It is a wave that will peak first in K-2, then 3-5, then 6-8, then 9-12.
Going forward, we will leverage the demographic study, the five-year plan, and HHSDR to plan and implement the required facilities and staff transformations to best utilize the district’s resources and budget to meet the enrollment growth and continue to improve the positive impact of the district on this community.
One of the biggest challenges is going to be accomplishing this while staying within our budget. Many in the community believe the new homes being built are a tax windfall for the district and the municipalities, but that is not the case. The tax revenue from a single-family home does not come close to covering the cost of educating even one student and, many of these homes will have more than one student. We must also conservatively budget due to the unknown impacts to future revenue from the state because of the February 2023 ruling that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is unconstitutional.
Suzanne Downer
Age: 56
Political party: Cross-filed both Democrat and Republican
Education: University of Pittsburgh and Community College of Allegheny County
Occupation: Mother of four/ultrasound technologist
Previous public office: WJHSD school director
The school district is quickly growing, and the new Thomas Jefferson High School is only a couple years old. What else can be done to address the rising student population in the district? The West Jefferson Hills School District community, residents, parents, and staff have collaborated throughout the years to make our district welcoming to families as educational achievement was the focus for our students. We have been and continue to be attentive to our growing student population and overall district standing.
In addressing our increasing student enrollment and our objective for detailed and responsible projecting, the district has completed demographic studies and a comprehensive plan with a working five year plan. The district is currently in the process of developing a feasibility study with the district’s architect of record as well.
Our demographic studies are a compilation of data used to help predict the future student enrollment. Developing our comprehensive plan involved community participation in analyzing the district’s numerous facets to produce a distinct, all-encompassing vision for our future. The five year plan provides an educational and departmental framework with an estimated timeline for project completion for our district to reference moving forward. The five year plan is a working plan that is adjusted based on district needs.
Recently, the district has hired an architect of record who is currently devising a feasibility study involving an extensive examination of our existing buildings. The study will provide the district a detailed overview in planning for its future building needs and projects.
In addition, I appreciate our continual analysis of the district’s budget and our resolve to be financially sound and fiscally responsible. This includes our recent meeting with our bond counsel concerning the district’s current debt service. In conjunction with our district administrators, our primary objective remains the educational success of our students and careful and deliberate discussion when decisions are made impacting the future of our district.
Denise Kahler
Kahler, crossfiled on the ballot, did not return multiple requests for comment for this article.
Anthony J. Rash
Age: 59
Political party: Republican
Education: Bachelor of arts, political economics (Fordham University 1986); Juris doctorate (Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law 1989)
Occupation: Attorney
Previous public office: West Jefferson Hills School District board member
The school district is quickly growing, and the new Thomas Jefferson High School is only a couple years old. What else can be done to address the rising student population in the district? Critical in the analysis of this question is ensuring that the quality of our children’s education is not compromised by an undue focus on campus expansion as the singular solution to our district’s unprecedented growth. Like every family in our district, I believe that in addressing the spectrum of issues presented by this growth, board members must remember there is a significant difference between “want” and “need;” our decisions must be founded on a proper prioritization that places our children’s educational needs — across the board — first and foremost. This can be effectively addressed by reallocating educational assets — as opposed to mere physical expansion and consequent expenditure — so that those requiring greater attention or assistance are provided lower student-to-teacher ratios, while maintaining for all the high quality of education our district provides its students.
Adam Rice
Age: 46
Education: Doctorate of pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh
Occupation: Pharmacist, owner of Spartan Pharmacy, Inc., owner of CCR Medical, and owner of ACT Custom Pools
The school district is quickly growing, and the new Thomas Jefferson High School is only a couple years old. What else can be done to address the rising student population in the district? I believe that the best way to face any challenge is to keep an open mind, and to think outside of the box. The reason that I am running for school board is because I have a business background of over 20 years, which I believe would be a beneficial addition to the current board. As a small business owner, the odds are stacked against you every day, and you must be better, faster, and more nimble than your competition in order to survive.
With regards to how WJHSD faces the wonderful challenge of a growing community and student base, how exciting is that? What a wonderful problem to have. Being that I am not currently a school board member, I would first review the school district’s financials and have a conversation with each board member to try and get a complete understanding and a complete perspective of the challenges and dynamics facing the district. Only after doing that would I then try to devise a solution.
Brian P. Smith
Age: 45
Political party: Democrat
Education: Bachelor of science in elementary education (K-8); master of education in reading with certification as a reading specialist (K-12); principal certification (K-12)
Occupation: Teacher, West Mifflin Area School District. I am currently in my 23rd year of teaching. Director of Pleasant Hills summer recreation, 2015-2022.
Previous public office: None
The school district is quickly growing, and the new Thomas Jefferson High School is only a couple years old. What else can be done to address the rising student population in the district? The student population increase in the West Jefferson Hills School District is an immediate concern, and it will remain a concern for the foreseeable future. The school district has completed a demographic/feasibility study that projects where and how much our student population will increase over the next several years. Above all else, we cannot let this concern impact the integrity of the education we offer our students in the West Jefferson Hills School District.
I believe there are a few areas, we as a school board, need to focus on when addressing our student population increase. First, what is best for our student population? We cannot sacrifice the quality of education the youth in our community receive at any cost. Next, we have to look at our district facilities and address any upgrades and/or additions necessary to keep the district progressing. The West Jefferson Hills School District redistricted students in 2018 to efficiently meet the needs of our growing population. Class size and learning space have a direct impact on performance. In addition, we need to ensure that we have enough faculty and staff to meet the demands of our growing population in each building. We cannot keep asking more and more from our educators. This practice is not effective and will not lead to success. Finally, the community/tax payers. The community depends on our school district to provide the best education possible while being fiscally responsible. While I believe the school district has a solid plan in place to address our growing student population, being able to budget all the necessary additions/improvements is going to be challenging.
Katie Green is a TribLive deputy managing editor, overseeing features as well as the Trib's weekly and monthly community newspapers and websites. A former magazine editor, she's serious about coffee, is a proponent of the Oxford comma and enjoys tracing her family tree when she has the time. She can be reached at kgreen@triblive.com.
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