David Hein has announced his candidacy for re-election to the Parkland School Board.

“I am a 24-year resident of South Whitehall Township where I live with my wife, Mara, a Parkland elementary school teacher and our daughter, Amanda, a senior elementary education student at Kutztown University,” Hein said. “I graduated from Bloomsburg University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration/accounting.”

Hein is a manager of financial planning and analysis at Independence Blue Cross.

“I am a two-term member of the Parkland School Board and the current board president,” Hein said. “I am a member of the buildings and grounds committee.

“I have also served on the personnel and finance, and the academics, arts and athletics committees and have held other leadership positions on the board.

“I serve as the vice chairman of the Joint Operating Committee of the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute.

“I am president-elect of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association Governing Board and have served in other leadership roles in that organization. “I am also the PSBA representative on the School Safety and Security Committee, a statewide committee under the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

“I am a past member/president of the District’s Community Advisory Council. I also coached softball and served on the board of Parkland Youth Center.”

Hein says the reasons he is running for re-election is public education is the cornerstone of our society.

“The 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years played out like no others in recent history,“ Hein said. “From a pandemic and state-ordered school closures to protests and civil unrest across the state and country, we have all been presented with numerous challenges.

“These issues laid bare the inequities in resources (technology, education supplies, food) from school district to school district.

“And the challenges from previous years did not go away: safety and security, fair funding, charter/cyber charter reform, property tax increases and unfunded mandates just to name a few. Parkland and many other school districts will face these issues for the foreseeable future.

“I am seeking re-election to the Parkland School Board to help ensure that we continue to have the resources we need to provide the high-quality programs across academics, the arts and athletics that Parkland is known for and that our residents have come to expect.

“The safety and security of our students and staff is our highest priority and I will work to ensure that it remains that way. The impact of our programs would be greatly diminished without a safe environment in which to learn and work.”

Hein says as district leaders, the administration and the board were forced to make many difficult decisions this school year regarding instructional modality due to the pandemic.

“While not ideal, our hybrid and fully remote options have kept our schools open and safe the entire school year,” Hein says. “I will continue to listen to our community and work with the administration and my fellow board members to improve upon our top tier programs and provide all students with the best educational opportunities possible.

“As this school year has shown us, we will need to remain flexible and nimble and be able to pivot to address our ever-changing education landscape.”