Pennsylvania’s May 20 primary election is right around the corner, and Democrats and Republicans in the State College Area School District are choosing from the same seven candidates for school board.
Two incumbents — Deborah Anderson and Jackie Huff — are running for another four-year term. They’ll be joined on the ballot by Jesse Barlow, Jennifer A. Black, Rebecca Arnold Desmarais, Kirsten McTernan, and Mihaly Sogor.
School board members are responsible for the functions of public education. School boards adopt and manage budgets, levy local taxes, adopt instruction plans, approve hiring, and appoint a district superintendent to manage day-to-day operations. A school district’s overall mission and strategy are dependent on school board members.
Spotlight PA State College created this quiz to help you figure out which candidates share your ideals and approach to public education.
There were areas where all seven candidates agreed — they all said they support or are comfortable with the district’s practice of having armed resource officers in schools, for example.
This quiz was informed by a questionnaire that all candidates filled out. Some answers were edited for length. See each candidate’s full questionnaire: Anderson, Barlow, Black, Desmarais, Huff, McTernan, and Sogor.
