Frazier School Board candidates discuss priorities
Three incumbents and three newcomers are the six candidates vying for one of the five four-year seats on the Frazier School Board in the May 19 primary election.
Incumbents Vicki Olexa of Perryopolis, Brian Secrest of Perryopolis and Lisa Strickler of Vanderbilt are seeking support from both Democrats and Republicans, and newcomers Tracy Angelo of Perryopolis, Jason Erdely of Perryopolis and Tammie Meese Finfrock of Newell have also cross-filed.
Three of the candidates recently discussed their views on various issues and what their top priorities would be for the district. Strickler, Erdely and Finfrock did not return phone calls for comment for the story.
Angelo, a first-time challenger, said the biggest thing she feels she can bring to the board is an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education as a former user interface designer who studied multimedia technology at Duquesne.
“Technology is a big priority for me,” Angelo said.
Angelo has two children who attend school in the district, ages 10 and 8 respectively, and has served on a Frazier parent advisory committee and parent-teacher organization as well as helping out at activities. She says she wants to promote parent involvement.
Additionally, Angelo would like to see after-school tutoring and technology programs instituted in the district. She noted the district’s challenging financial situation — the district’s fund balance was $329,133 in the negative for last fiscal year and 2014 was the first negative fiscal year for Frazier since 1996 — and said she wants to guard against cuts to arts-related programs as much as possible.
“We do have a great school district,” Angelo said. “My husband is originally from here; I am not. We moved here to raise our kids here.”
Olexa has served as a board member for 12 years and four terms, and now says she wants to ensure a smooth transition for all students, staff and parents in the district with the $22 million Frederick L. Smeigh Center along Constitution Road in Perryopolis, a new middle and elementary school for the district this fall.
“I’m the board member that has an open-door policy,” Olexa said. “I invite people to my house to talk about things. People call me all the time.”
Olexa, whose daughter graduated from Frazier in 2005 and whose son is a junior, trusts district leaders to handle the financial challenges. “It’s up to the administrators to trim edges when they see they can,” Olexa said. “I like to leave it up to the people they hired.”
Olexa said she does want to ensure the district is operating in a fiscally responsible manner.
Seeking his second term as board member, Secrest said the biggest priority in his first term was upgrading the district’s middle and elementary school with the new Frederick L. Smeigh Center.
Now Secrest wants to upgrade many of the district’s other facilities.
“The high school is aging; our athletic facilities are horrible and need upgraded,” Secrest said. “To me, that’s a huge concern.”
Secrest cited the district’s construction of a new roof for its high school, a project which was awarded in May to Miller Thomas Gyekis Inc. of Pittsburgh at a cost to the district of $1,590,646. He said the board should undertake similar projects in building and grounds improvement and beyond in the next term.
“You’d hate to see any done,” Secrest said about district budget cuts. “You listen to the other members and they all bring up good points about keeping certain things.”
Secrest hopes the current board remains intact after the election, saying that everyone works on the same page.
“Before (my term), there seemed to be a division,” Secrest said. “That’s one of the reasons I ran.”