Majority of Uniontown school board candidates agree property taxes most dependable
Holt
Terry Dawson
Lloyd A. Williams
Rittenhouse
Bill Gerke
Candidates for Uniontown Area School Board Philip Holt (left) and Terry Dawson share their views about the need of the Uniontown School District with Herald-Standard editorial page editor Mark O'Keefe and the Herald-Standard editorial board.
Candidates for Uniontown Area School Board (from left) William Rittenhouse, Jr. and Bill Gerke discuss the needs of the district during a debate held by the Herald-Standard's Editorial board.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Candidate for Uniontown Area School Board Lloyd Williams (left) speaks with Herald-Standard editorial page editor Mark O’Keefe about the needs of the district during a debate held by the Herald-Standard’s Editorial Board.
Five of the six candidates vying for one of the four vacant seats on the Uniontown Area School Board this November agree that property taxes are the most dependable form of revenue for school districts.
Incumbents Bill Gerke, Philip Holt, Bill Rittenhouse and Lloyd Williams along with challenger Terry Dawson recently fielded questions from the Herald-Standard Editorial Board related to education, including addressing House Bill 1189, which lawmakers passed in the state House recently and would allow school boards to reduce or eliminate school property tax and replace the revenue by imposing an “elimination tax” made up of taxes on businesses and/or on the income of local residents.
While challenger Don Rugola did not attend the session with the Editorial Board, Gerke, Holt, Rittenhouse and Williams, all area businessmen, had very firm feelings about the state House bill.
“If you keep pushing taxes on the business community, they will find somewhere else to go,” said Gerke, who is seeking his second term on the board.
Rittenhouse, who is currently serving his fourth term on the school board, said when you “stick it to the business folks, you have to be very careful. They employ people in the districts, and they can take those jobs to an area that is more business friendly.”
Williams said he has seen no creative suggestions coming from Harrisburg related to education funding.
“You’re still taking the same money from the same people,” said Williams, who is currently serving his second term as school director.
“There is no way at this point to replace property tax, and there is not enough businesses to replace revenue,” said Holt, who is seeking a second term on the board.
Holt is leading an effort among directors who serve on the joint operating committee at Fayette County Career and Technical Institute to change the current half-day of instruction for students to a full-day educational delivery.
“Whether it’s semester about or weekly turnabout, you need to have time to get projects done,” he said. “[Students] are spending too much time on the bus.”
Holt added that students need time to learn and study their trade, which he feels is not happening under the current system.
Rittenhouse said he has spoken directly with the school’s executive director, who detailed how academics are impacted by students spending a semester away from the home district.
“I’m going to default to the way we have it now,” said Rittenhouse.
The directors were asked to address the national education initiative known as Common Core, which the commonwealth has adopted standards for based on federal guidelines. Common Core curriculum standards in Pennsylvania call for English language arts (ELA), which combines curricula for both English and reading as well concentrated math study.
“With high-stakes testing, emphasis on English and math comes first, and other subjects will follow,” said Dawson.
Dawson, who works for the state Department of Education, said Common Core has a strong movement behind it. He also acknowledged, “The wind changes when government changes.”
Gerke said the standards set by the state offer local districts little or no choice.
“We have to adhere to what the state wants us to do, or the funding doesn’t come. The fight over [Common Core] is a losing battle,” he added.
Williams and Rittenhouse both said they feel the district is doing a good job of creating a well-rounded educational environment while sticking to the standards set forth by the state in relation to standardized testing and Common Core.