Daisytown woman named to California school board
CALIFORNIA — California Area School Board has a new member, selected recently from among three candidates.
The applications were accepted by the board to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of school director John Bayer, who has moved out of the district. The new board member, Darra Tyler-Owens, will represent Region II, which includes Blainesburg and West Pike Run Township, including the Daisytown and Crescent Heights areas.
Tyler-Owens is from Daisytown and is a 1991 graduate of California Area High School. She also attended the Washington Hospital School of Nursing and California University of Pennsylvania. She has three children in the school district.
“It’s a little bit intimidating, but you all seem to do it with so much ease,” Tyler-Owens told the board during her public interview at the May 16 board meeting. “I’m not sure I’m educated enough. Does anyone come into this prepared?”
Tyler-Owens said she views her role as a board member as making the school board approachable to people who may be intimidated by the process.
“I feel I would be approachable to a diverse crowd,” Tyler-Owens said.
All three candidates for the position were interviewed by the seated board members during the public meeting. The other candidates were Walter MacFann of Daisytown and Jobie Wright of Blainesburg.
MacFann had been appointed as a supervisor in West Pike Run Township, completing his term last year. He is also active with California Area School District Foundation.
Wright said he works well with others and has been involved with a variety of community organizations, including the Brownsville and California Youth Soccer programs and his church.
“We had three amazing candidates. I would have been happy with any of them,” said Director Amy Todd.
McFann and Tyler-Owens were both nominated for the position. McFann received votes from Barry Niccolai and Norm Hasbrouck, while Tyler-Owens received the votes of the remaining six board members.
In other matters, the board voted to appoint Leigh Ann Folmar as high school principal at a salary of $91,000 for the 2012-13 school year, effective July 1. The board also voted to abolish the position of assistant high school principal, which Folmar previously held. The position of lead support teacher was also abolished for the coming school year.
A three-year contract with the California Area Education Association was approved by the board, but details were withheld pending a vote by the teachers union.
The board also approved a tentative budget of $14,160,463. Superintendent Linda Mancini said numerous changes are expected to the budget before final adoption.