School debate key factor in election
Five candidates opposed to the $35 million high school renovation plan marched to victory Tuesday, winning both the Republican and Democratic party nominations in the Uniontown Area School Board primary election. Meanwhile, on the losing side were three incumbent school directors, Susan S. Clay, Tammy J. Boyle and Charles C. Castor, who had supported the plan.
Current school director Kenneth G. Meadows and challengers Vincent Winfrey, Paul H. Bortz Sr., Alan George and Philip Holt secured both the Democratic and Republican nominations and are virtually guaranteed a victory in November, having no opposition to the five available seats.
Eleven candidates ran for the board and all cross-filed as Republicans and Democrats.
Those who received nominations Tuesday have spoken out against spending the entire $35 million to renovate the high school in the past, while the incumbents who lost supported the project.
Directors recently scaled back the original high school project, which cost about $44 million, to $34.8 million.
On the Democratic ticket, with all precincts reporting, Meadows was the top vote getter receiving 1,640 votes.
Winfrey received 1,612 votes, followed by Bortz who received 1,407, George who received 1,137 and Holt who received 1,124.
On the Republican ticket, Holt was the top vote getter receiving 752 votes, followed by Meadows who received 740, Bortz who received 697, George who received 598 and Winfrey who received 557.
Clay received 977 Democratic votes, while Boyle and Castor received 902 and 616, respectively. Sandstrom received 924 Democratic votes, Guthrie received 888 and Miller received 576.
On the GOP ticket, Clay received 372 Republican votes, with Boyle receiving 328 and Castor receiving 181. Sandstrom received 543 Republican votes, followed by Guthrie and Miller who received 334 and 197, respectively.
Sandstrom had also been a strong opponent of the building project while Guthrie and Miller both said they were undecided on the issue.
George, a self-employed businessman who owns an insurance company, thanked everyone who supported him throughout the last couple months and said the primary election acted as a referendum and showed taxpayers don’t want to spend $35 million on one project.
“Hopefully the current school board will see fit to stop the project until the new board comes on,” he said. “I think the taxpayers have spoken loud enough.”
George said he doesn’t think spending $35 million on the high school is fiscally responsible and said he’s anxious to join the school board.
Winfrey, pastor of the Mount Olivet Baptist Church, said he believes people are ready for a change in leadership, which explains why three of four incumbents were not re-elected.
The first black man ever elected to the school board, Winfrey said he’s more concerned with curriculum than he is the proposed renovation project.
“I will focus on education. I’m looking past the project and into the education part,” he said. “I’m happy the people had faith in me and voted for me.”
The other winners of Tuesday’s primary couldn’t be reached for comment.
Meadows, the only incumbent up for election this year who is not in favor of spending the entire $35 million on the renovation project, previously said he favored spending about $24 million on renovations at the high school.
Currently serving his fourth term as a school director, Meadows is an elementary principal in the Frazier School District.
Bortz, a past school board member and former mayor of Uniontown, previously said he believed tax payers have been “left in the dark” when it comes to how much the project will really cost, noting that Ben Franklin and Lafayette elementary schools also need renovated, as does the A.J. McMullen Middle School.
Also a self-employed business owner, Holt previously said he, too, believed spending $35 million on the high school is not the answer, although he did acknowledge work needs to be done to the school building.