Corey Moore works to rebound through write-in campaign for WB Area board

WILKES-BARRE — Corey Moore may have been booted off the ballot for Wilkes-Barre Area School Board because of a filing error on his part, but he hasn’t given up on getting elected as a new face in a race otherwise full of incumbents. Moore said he is working hard on a write-in campaign to garner votes on both the Democratic and Republican tickets.

“I’m going to do the same thing I have been doing, spending hours on the phone, knocking on doors, meeting with parents and talking about things they feel can improve our district,” he said. “I believe parents are a vital component toward forming an educational atmosphere.”

A registered Democrat, Moore had successfully garnered enough petition signatures to cross-file his candidacy and register to appear on both the Democratic and Republican slates in the May Primary. But he said he did not realize he also had to file a financial interest statement with the School District, and that some others on the ballot filed court action, convincing a county judge to remove Moore’s name from the ballot.

That left five incumbents running for five seats: Beth Anne Harris, Mark Atherton, Warren Faust, Shawn Walker and Arthur Breese. Faust and Atherton are cross-filed, while the others are only on the Democratic slate.

A Wilkes-Barre native and graduate of Wilkes-Barre Area’s former GAR Memorial High School — converted to a middle school after the new consolidated high school opened in Plains Township — Moore works in the admissions department at Wilkes University. He said he also owns an online tutoring business.

“I’m a trained and certified educator in Pennsylvania, with extensive background in curriculum development and best practices in teaching.” The campaign slogan featured prominently on his Facebook campaign page plays off his last name: “WBA Deserves Moore.”

“The most important thing is to increase transparency, to build trust between parents and school personnel,” he said. Talking to parents he has often been told “they feel they are being heard, but not listened to. The students feel they are a number instead of a student with actual goals.”

Moore, 28, stressed he wasn’t criticizing current School Board members. “I know a lot of them personally,” he said, “I think they have the best intentions in mind. But it sounds like people are looking for change, and that’s what I hope to provide.”