logo
google_play
app_store
  • News
    • Northside Community Meetings
    • Community Calendar
    • Features
    • Public Safety
    • Police Blotter
    • Sports
  • Government
  • Local Business
  • Arts + Culture
  • Real Estate
  • Marketplace
    • Moments
    • Classifieds
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • News
      • Northside Community Meetings
      • Community Calendar
      • Features
      • Public Safety
      • Police Blotter
      • Sports
    • Government
    • Local Business
    • Arts + Culture
    • Real Estate
    • Marketplace
      • Moments
      • Classifieds
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
A+
Editor Picks, Education
admin  
 on March 9, 2021

A+ Schools launches ‘Vote School Board First!’ 2021 campaign

School board candidates were able to start circulating petitions on Feb. 16.

By Ashlee Green

Photo: Julia M Cameron via Pexels



A virtual press conference was held on Feb. 16 to announce the kickoff of the 2021 “Vote School Board First!” campaign. The goals of the campaign are to keep voters informed about the important role that school board members play, spotlight this year’s candidates, and encourage participation in the upcoming primary election, which takes place on Tuesday, May 18.

Graham Mulqueen, deputy director of policy at A+ Schools, introduced the meeting and James Fogarty, executive director, first addressed attendees by explaining the school board’s general operating budget.

“One of the things that I like to put out every year, especially when we talk about what it means to have a school board that is engaged and active in our work, is the fact that the school board has a general operating budget that’s nearly $100 million dollars greater than the City of Pittsburgh’s,” Fogarty said. 

Included in the budget, Fogarty explained, is feeding students, transporting them to public, private and charter schools, and school nursing staff. School board members, he said, must be “good stewards” for the budget money to be spent well. 

“School board is a very important job. It’s a voluntary job. So what we’re asking folks today is if you think you can make a difference for our children in our region, there is no greater way to do that then by running for school board,” Fogarty said.

Coalition members Esther Bush, CEO of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh; Rosamaria Cristello, executive director of the Latino Community Center; and Jenna Baron, executive director of ARYSE were present at the Feb. 16 press conference.

In her presentation, Bush referenced the City of Pittsburgh’s 2019 Gender Equity Commission report called “Pittsburgh’s Inequality Across Gender and Race.”

“Black boys and girls in public high school who passed at least one AP test? Zero. Zero. None of them passed an AP test. That should scare you no matter what race you are or if your children are grown or not even in public school,” she said. “It impacts who we are as a city, as a community, as a city that’s trying to move from A to B.” A school board member, Bush explained, can be an “equalizer.”

“If you are interested in ending systemic racism in Pittsburgh, you can start by electing compassionate, concerned, informed members of the Pittsburgh School Board,” she said.

Cristello spoke next, emphasizing that students who identify as Latinx make up a growing population in Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS). 

“We need school board members that understand that things are changing, that understand that not all children are the same, and that can speak to that and advocate for every single child in our district.” She continued:

“… Support for kids that have gone through traumatic events, that needs to be part of what we’re talking about in schools. Children are not going to be able to sit there and listen to what’s being taught if we’re not addressing the whole child.” 

Baron reiterated Cristello’s points and stressed the need for “better investments for English learners” throughout PPS. She said that while there are teachers and administrators who, on an individual level, go “above and beyond each and every day to make the most out of what they have,” it’s still important for collective investments to “reflect the number of families who are entrusting the district with their child’s education.”

Fogarty wrapped up by discussing the structural and financial issues with the city’s public education system.

“The district’s facing a $39 million deficit, there was a proposal for school closures just a couple weeks ago, so there’s a lot of questions about the future,” he said. “Those questions will be answered by this board and those … who are chosen this spring in the primary and then in the fall in the general election.”

Find out more about this year’s Vote School Board First! campaign, including information about candidates, instructions on voter registration and voting by mail, and how to find out which school board district you live in, at voteschoolboardfirst.com.

this is a test{"website":"website"}

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

* indicates required
Related Posts
WEB EXCLUSIVE: One Northside holding public meetings on school closures
Editor Picks, Features, News
WEB EXCLUSIVE: One Northside holding public meetings on school closures
November 12, 2024
By Sean P. Ray | Managing Editor One Northside's education committee is holding a series of community engagement sessions in response to Pittsburgh Pu...
this is a test
District 19 News: A budget to be proud of and much more
Government, News, Politicians
District 19 News: A budget to be proud of and much more
August 26, 2024
By Rep. Abney Hello, Northsiders! I’m eager to share with you some of the important work I’ve been doing in Harrisburg. The biggest and most important...
this is a test{"epopulate_editorials":"Epopulate"}
District 19 News: Basic education funding bill passes House
Education, Government, News, ...
District 19 News: Basic education funding bill passes House
July 24, 2024
By State Rep. Abney Hello, Northsiders! I’m eager to share with you some of the important work I’ve been doing in Harrisburg and back at home. I was p...
this is a test{"epopulate_editorials":"Epopulate"}
A Year in Review: Taking a look back  at The Chronicle’s biggest stories of 2022
Editor Picks, Features
A Year in Review: Taking a look back at The Chronicle’s biggest stories of 2022
January 19, 2023
Photo: Pete Geissler, right, wrote a book with his son Jeff, left, about George Ferris, the inventory of the Ferris wheel. By Sean P. Ray | Managing E...
this is a test
Observatory Hill’s Pride Project not your average educational institution
Arts + Culture, Education, Features, ...
Observatory Hill’s Pride Project not your average educational institution
By admin 
July 19, 2022
Pride Project, Inc. isn’t structured around cut-and-dry goods and services: It aims to fill in the gaps of what a traditional education can provide, t...
this is a test{"website":"website"}
First in-person CCAC graduation since 2019 held at Heinz Field
Education, North Shore
First in-person CCAC graduation since 2019 held at Heinz Field
By admin 
July 14, 2022
There were close to 3,000 candidates for graduation. By Ashlee Green Photos: Gene J. Puskar for CCAC The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) ...
this is a test{"website":"website"}

Donate

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

* indicates required

The Northside Chronicle

thenorthsidechronicle.com
Phone: (412) 321-3919
Email: editor@thenorthsidechronicle.com

About Us

Stay tuned with us

Copyright Northside Chronicle. All rights reserved.