Teachers’ contract dispute at center of L-L School Board race

LEHMAN TWP. -- Four seats on the Lake-Lehman School Board are up for grabs in the midst of a 3-year-old teachers contract dispute.

Board members are elected by region based on their municipality, and this year there is one seat in Region I, one seat in Region II and two seats in Region III. Region I, which overlaps into Wyoming County, is composed of Noxen, Lake Township and Harveys Lake. Region II is made up of Ross Township and sections of Lehman Township. Region III is composed of Jackson Township and Lehman Center.

Seven candidates are hoping to win those seats and all of them have cross-filed on the Democratic and Republican ballots. The incumbents are Charles Balavage and Drew Salko. Their challengers are Kevin Carey, Russ Johnson, Christopher Bo Kreller, David Paulauskas and Michael Sikora.

Many of the candidates say they want to resolve ongoing issues in the district, including the contract dispute, and stress education. Johnson, 53, of Jackson Township, says current labor negotiations and the future consolidation of school districts statewide will affect the district the most. The Republican feels his experience with large budgets and staffs in the telecommunications industry can be put to good use on the board.

“I’m tired of the status quo in the school district,” Johnson said. “I want to try to put some emphasis back on the educational process and want to make sure the kids are getting the best education they can.”

Salko, of Jackson Township, is a Democrat and was elected to the board in 2005. During his term, Salko has served on the transportation and negotiation committees. The 27-year-old consultant would also like to see the district formulate a 10-year plan to determine what its goals are and the finances and resources needed to meet them. Salko feels other big issues in the district are the upcoming expansion at Ross Elementary School and the approaching expiration of the Act 93 administrators’ contract.

“I didn’t want to leave the board with some of these outstanding issues like the teachers contract,” Salko said. “I feel it’s important that it’s emphasized how important teachers are in students’ lives. Unfortunately, I don’t think education is valued as much as it used to be.”

Carey is tired of seeing his children going to school until the end of June each due to teachers strikes. If elected to the board, Carey hopes to have both parties in the contract dispute have discussions to try to work it out. Carey, 38, of Noxen, is a Republican and works as a physician. He says he wants to eradicate the current “adversarial atmosphere” in the district and get the board, teachers, parents and students all on the same page.

“One of the things that make me a good choice is my lack of experience with the political process. … I’m going to make decisions that are based on the best interest of the kids,” Carey said.

Balavage, the current treasurer of the board, is in his ninth year on the board. Balavage, 59, of Lake Township, is seeking re-election because he feels he is experienced and says he watches out for the taxpayers’ dollar. Balavage is a registered Republican and he works as an electrician.

“I’d like to be able to provide a quality education at a reasonable price for our taxpayers,” Balavage said.

Kreller ran for the board in 2007, but says he dropped out after the primary election because he didn’t have the time to commit due to his business. Kreller, 38, of Sweet Valley, owns a courier business and now feels he can devote the time necessary to be on the board. The Republican says he is not running to give people jobs, but to provide the best education possible for students. He also hopes to solve the contract dispute.

“I can’t understand why the two sides cannot get together and hammer this thing out,” Kreller said. “I do not favor one side or the other. I’m just committed to making Lake-Lehman the best that it can be.”

Another Sweet Valley resident, Sikora, believes that his position as an educator in the Crestwood School District will be valuable.

“I bring a lot of experience to the board,” Sikora said. “I have been self-employed for the past 24 years and just recently, I went to college and became a special-education teacher.”

Sikora, 46, a Democrat, says he is concerned about the safety of the students, particularly at Ross Elementary school, because there is no fencing around the playground. He would also like to see the district’s Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores improve and says he would move teachers around if necessary.

Paulauskas, who ran for the board in both 2005 and 2007 but was not elected, says he is on the ballot once again because he feels several of his opponents would not provide taxpayers with the representation they deserve. He alleges that two of the candidates have ties to the teachers or teachers’ union. Paulauskas, 48, of Jackson Township, is a Republican who works as a microbiology business specialist. He would like to resolve the contract dispute without “just writing a blank check.”

“There has to be a give-and-take because with the economic situation today and the assessments that have occurred back here, people have limited income that they’re working off of and we have to be very careful how we proceed,” Paulauskas said.

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Seven candidates vying for four seats hope to end the 3-year-old impasse.

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