On July 8, the Salisbury Township School Board interviewed eight individuals who expressed interest in filling the vacancy left by the early departure of Courtney Gibbs.

Tiffany Reither moved to the district about 18 months ago. She has a set of twins who are not of school age yet. She believes joining the school board would satisfy her interest in getting involved with the community and learning more about how Salisbury’s public education system functions. She has worked in the mental health field for about 15 years, with little background in education. However, she believes her experience in her chosen career would provide a unique perspective as well as diversity to the school board, also mentioning that her job training has made her well-rounded and open-minded. When making decisions on challenging issues that could arise during her term, if selected, she cited she would need information on how implemented changes would benefit school children as well as the rest of the citizens of Salisbury.

Tom Spinner has lived in the district for 11 years and has two elementary-school aged boys. Primarily he would like to get involved with the school board because he is interested in the development of Salisbury’s youth. He supports the local youth association and believes preparing our youngest residents for the future is of paramount importance. By trade, he is a project manager and engineer, with many years of technical expertise when it comes to building and construction. He mentioned one of the biggest challenges facing the district is that of our aging facilities and managing rising costs, which he said he is well suited to take on with his knowledge base.

Valerie Ackerman recently graduated from East Stroudsburg University with a master’s degree in education and is currently enrolled in the East Stroudsburg’s doctoral program. She was required to interview a school board member as part of her final classes. To fulfill this obligation, she interviewed current school board member Carol Klinger. From these conversations, it sparked an interest about how a school district works, down to the more detailed “inner cog pieces.” She also mentioned her vested interest in the Salisbury schools; her sons will be going into first grade in the district this fall. She said she would love to ensure them the best educational experience possible. If selected, she was interested in collaborating with board members to see how the district can work together, move forward and bridge the current deficit to make Salisbury a better district. “All members come to the board with a different vision,” she said, and remarked she would love to see the community and school board come together to move Salisbury’s mission forward.

Carlo Jose has been in the Salisbury district for 12 years and explained that helping the township schools is something he would like, as well as being a part of a team. When asked about issues facing the district, he cited the current coronavirus pandemic along with budget cuts and the closure of Western Salisbury Elementary School. He said he is not only a team player, but enjoys listening before giving his contribution. His work experience has been with St. Luke’s Hospital. “If I am the successful candidate, I would be very happy to work with you guys and (to) contribute,” he said.

Catherine Spisszak spoke about her stake as a community member and a parent in the curriculum and sustainability of the district schools. She feels as a board member, she would champion the best ways forward for kids in the district, neighbors without children, teachers and the community as a whole. “I’ve always felt an inherent need to serve and volunteer,” she said. She spoke highly of Salisbury schools, mentioning the diversity of the district, its incredible reputation and small size. Her career is in collecting data and understanding marketing. Using these job skills, she feels she would be an asset in terms of community engagement, and would be able to help with messaging that would resonate best with the whole community. She also described her strengths as being action-oriented and extremely responsive. She served for seven years on the board of St. Thomas Moore Women’s Guild and spent two years as president there. She noted while the mission for that board may have been different, many of the required tasks and responsibilities are the same.

Rebecca Glenister is a lifelong supporter of the public school institution, as both of her parents were teachers. Her family arrived in Salisbury in 2005. Currently, one of her children is going into his senior year at Salisbury High School and the other is going into his senior year at Penn State. As a board member, she would work to bring focus to long-term issues, rather than remaining fixed on short-term ones. She also mentioned a strong belief in the school board becoming more involved with the community on a regular basis. When it comes to potential challenges the school board must work to resolve, she recognized being able to make tough calls and understanding the bigger picture beyond one’s personal situation as being paramount. She has been actively involved with the schools since the beginning of her children’s tenure at Western years ago. She has served on past reconfiguration committees and has worked with the Salisbury Education Foundation. Glenister is very passionate about the struggles that face public education and would work diligently to resolve them for students in the district if selected to fill the vacancy.

Mark Simmons stated his love for the Salisbury community saying, “There is real character and heart to this place” and mentioned his desire to have this town be his forever home. He is the father of two children in the district, going into first and sixth grades. He would like to get involved with the board in order to represent his two school age children, but also to represent the interest of the community at large, such as the taxpayer who does not have kids in school. His career experience is as a software architect for a major Lehigh Valley business. Through his work experience, he explained he believes in data-driven best practices and could bring an IT-professional perspective as a member of the board. He believes public schools are fundamental to the fabric of the community. If voted in, he would look forward to being in a role where he could help to find creative solutions to issues facing the district and be a part of coalescing opinions into effective strategies. Simmons said that in working with other board members and with the community, he would use leader-in-me strategies, “seeking first to understand, then to be understood” to help shape things in a positive way, effectively.

Samantha Dorney has a desire to join the Salisbury school board from the perspective of an educator and a parent, but also for political reasons. Dorney holds a master’s degree in educational leadership. She grew up in Salisbury and the education system here has always been a big part of her family’s life. Her great-grandmother, grandmother and father all served on the school board here. She believes very strongly in both quality education and financial responsibility to the community. She understands Salisbury is competing against districts with more financial resources and she would seek the best, most authentic learning opportunities possible for students here. She cited a challenge facing the district is the lack of STEM & STEAM programs and mentioned ways local partners could bring resources into the schools at no cost. As a lifelong Salisbury resident, she has been a student, athlete, coach, volunteer, part of summer maintenance and custodial staff and union representative for the district she works in. Dorney has seen many changes in the district over the years, such as increasing student diversity, but believes the best way forward is to “Think, learn and grow- together.”