2 campaigns promote candidates for 4 Ligonier Valley School Board seats

Seven candidates, divided into two campaign camps, are running for four seats on the Ligonier Valley School Board.

Campaigning jointly and appearing only in the Republican primary are three incumbent board members — Donald L. Gilbert Jr., Cindy Brown and Josi Bennett — along with Robert J. Fryman, who previously ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the board.

Three other cross-filed candidates — Jason Botti, Christy Boyd and Sarah Rovedatti — are running together in a separate campaign.

Incumbent Mary Gamble has not filed to run for another term.

The three cross-filed candidates are running under the title “Community Advocates for Responsible Education.” On their Facebook page, they list four planks of their campaign: putting kids first; fiscal responsibility; respecting teachers and staff; and safe and modern facilities.

Boyd, who is a Marine Corps veteran, has grandchildren enrolled in the district. She is a co-founder of a memorial fund named for her late son, Boyd, that has provided scholarships for students and funding assistance for athletic facility improvements.

Boyd said she has seen division among the current school directors and wants to reverse that.

“Our school board seems to have constant battles,” she said. “We need to put our differences aside and work for what’s in the best interest of the district, the students and the community.”

She said she is concerned about declines in district enrollment and student achievement and said Ligonier Valley needs to be proactive in working to improve literacy and math scores.

“I want to see real-time data so we can identify what the learning gaps are and can invest in evidence-based interventions and support programs,” she said.

According to 2023-24 results of state assessment testing of students at Laurel Valley Elementary, just 46.3% were proficient or advanced in language arts and 35.8% in mathematics — compared to respective statewide averages of 53.9% and 40.2%. Other below-average proficiency levels included 54.9% in science at Ligonier Valley High School and 30.9% in math at Ligonier Valley Middle School.

Boyd said the district needs to work on attracting local students who have turned to other educational options, including cyber schools. She suggested conducting a survey on the topic.

Rovedatti, who is a parent of two children in the district, also stressed the need for teamwork on the school board.

She said she has experience in business operations and project management that she could bring to bear in prioritizing and overseeing school district initiatives.

Rovedatti said the district needs to adopt a strong curriculum to help attract more students, and should plan proactively for facilities needs. “It’s just having a process in place so, when things need updated or improved, it occurs in stages and there’s not a heavy tax burden,” she said.

Rovedatti argued the school board has been lacking in accountability and transparency.

“I think it’s really important that we hold ourselves and the administration accountable,” she said of the board, adding, “I think there needs to be more dialogue and information provided to the community about what’s happening.”

She suggested holding town halls and conducting surveys to get input from the community.

Botti, who is a Navy veteran and longtime firefighter, has three children attending district schools. As a school director, he said, he could draw upon leadership and teamwork skills he gained through his service.

“You can’t always see eye-to-eye with everyone,” he said. “I would vote according to what I feel would be in the community’s best interest and getting the district back to something we could be proud of.”

He said he also wants to see more engagement with the public and a focus on accountability.

“The board should be having communications with the community about what’s going right and what’s going wrong,” he said.

He suggested the board hold town hall gatherings and virtual sessions, to provide for input from residents who can’t make it to regular school board meetings.

The incumbent candidates, who gained their seats as part of a joint campaign in 2021, say improving accountability and transparency is among the objectives they’ve pursued and want to continue to promote if they are reelected. Together with Fryman, they have dubbed their campaign “Vote 4 Moving Forward.”

Brown, who is vice president of the school board, said she, Gilbert and Bennett have worked to reassert the board’s leading role in directing district operations. She claimed previous school boards simply rubber-stamped what administrators recommended.

She said her goals also include getting families to move into the district and working to improve the district’s academic ranking.

Brown said the board is working with a recently hired administrator to establish a schedule for reviewing and updating curriculum in different subject areas.

“We want to get back to where we have a cycle of curriculum being looked at, based on data analysis,” she said. “If you make decisions based on the numbers, then you’re going to improve the district.”

She said the school board committee structure has been reinvigorated, noting she is leading a new strategic planning committee as well as an ad hoc committee looking for ways to improve the nutritional value of school meals.

As for improving district communications, Brown said she has reached out to get input from teachers on matters before the board.

Gilbert brings to the board 13 years of teaching experience in high school math, physics and gifted education. He has a daughter attending Ligonier Valley High School.

As school board president, Gilbert said he’s seen parent involvement increase at the district and has worked to improve communication with those attending board meetings.

“I believe that allowing an open dialogue during the community comments portion of the meeting has shown the residents that there are some board members that want to hear concerns and feedback,” he said. “I do my best to either find an answer to concerns or I direct questions to those who I feel are best able to answer them.”

Amid a turnover in several administrative posts at the district, Gilbert said he wants to “search for administrators that believe in a community-first environment and put them in positions that will enhance the district’s learning goals and support our teachers and students.”

Bennett chairs the board personnel committee. One of her three school-age children is enrolled in the district. Without being specific, she said, “Issues occurred that made me want to move my other children to other schools.”

Bennett said she has worked to improve communications with parents. She said parents shouldn’t have to go through a hierarchy from classroom teacher up to principal and higher layers of administration before their concern comes before the school board.

“If there’s a problem and a school board member can handle it, why not do that?” she said. “The public pay our taxes. We have to do what the people want as long as it’s moral and makes sense.”

Bennett said her priorities include keeping school taxes down and allowing teachers greater autonomy in the way they present lessons. “Who knows better what the kids need to learn than the teachers,” she said.

Fryman said he would draw upon his experience of 19 years each teaching at the collegiate and public school levels in archaeology, anthropology, social studies and science if he is elected to the board.

He stressed the importance of the district and the school board conducting periodic curriculum reviews and developing a strategic plan. He said instruction should be designed to help students develop critical thinking skills.

“It shouldn’t be much of a difficulty to put together a five-year plan,” he said. “Then you can make better-informed decisions.”

Fryman wants to continue improving district relations with the public. He suggested supplementing regular school board meetings with quarterly information and input sessions.