We invited the candidates for the Bethlehem Area SD school board to respond to a set of questions about the current state and future challenges of the school district. The full text of all responses that we received is provided below, with minor formatting changes. As of May 2, we had not received responses from Carolyn Harper, Dellise Huertas, or Manuel Pangaio.

Q: What are your qualifications for serving on the school board?

Mike Faccinetto (incumbent, at large): I have been serving on the board since 2009. During that time, I have worked hard to keep our spending under control, while acknowledging the many needs of our students. We have restored our fiscal health, enhanced academic programs, instituted full-day kindergarten, and did not raise taxes the past two years. This is a far cry from where we were during the economic downturn of 2008. I have also taken an active role advocating for the BASD in Harrisburg. I have testified before House and Senate committees and meet regularly with members of the General Assembly. I have also volunteered with the PA School Boards Association and served as president of this statewide organization in 2017-18.

Shannon Patrick (incumbent, at large): I have served for the past 10 years, most recently as the vice president. I have a daughter transitioning from Nitschmann MS to Liberty HS in the fall. She started at Hanover ES. I was very active while my daughter was at Hanover, serving as the PTA president for three years. Essentially, I am a concerned parent.

Dr. Silagh White (challenger, at large): I am an arts administrator who has collaborated with teachers and school administrators of elementary, secondary and higher education levels for more than 20 years. I have a doctorate in music performance from the Eastman School of Music. As a performing artist with Young Audience of America program, I became invested in arts education and administration. My career has balanced performance, teaching and administration. While working as the director of Community and Cultural Affairs at Lehigh University, I earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership. My focus of study was school funding and curriculum policy with regard to community arts collaborations. I was also a fellow of the PA Education and Policy Center.

Q: What is the biggest challenge facing Bethlehem public schools right now? How would you address this challenge?

Mike Faccinetto: The biggest challenge we face is the fiscal uncertainty passed on to local districts by the General Assembly each year. This purposeful choice by those in power to not fund districts equitably hurts our local property owners each year. The burden to fund public education should not fall so heavily on the backs of individuals. This is a [state] constitutional obligation that the General Assembly fails to abide by year after year. We have a fair funding formula that was adopted and signed into law in a bipartisan fashion. We must use this to distribute state education dollars so each district gets what they need.

Shannon Patrick: Besides the usual funding issues, presently our students are experiencing a significant learning loss due to the pandemic. Despite the efforts of the district, many students just have too many obstacles in their way. I believe the addition of teacher assistants, more student teachers, and coaches will help bridge the gap left by COVID-19.

Dr. Silagh White: As we slowly return to regular class instruction following a year of virtual learning, students may need extra support for academic and social-emotional growth. We need to be prepared for the hard work ahead, and additional resources needed to support families and teachers. We also must be more responsive to social injustices that any current policy or practice causes. We also must understand what diversity, equity and inclusion means, and what it can look like for all of our public schools.

Q: What is the biggest lesson the school district should be learning from the current coronavirus-affected school year? (This can be anything from fiscal to facilities to pedagogical issues.)

Mike Faccinetto: I believe we should be learning how to adapt to various challenges and “uncontrollables.” What our teachers, students, and administrators have had to overcome this year would have been unimaginable just 14 months ago. We must use this experience to move forward, take the good and leave the bad behind. We have learned many ways that Zoom can improve access to education. Parents can join IEP meetings without a day off work, the public can listen in to board meetings, and we can expand our offerings by having experts join for a day from anywhere. Many of these ideas would have seemed impossible a year ago, but [now] seem likely to continue and make education better and more transparent.

Shannon Patrick: How to operate online. Offering instruction virtually has taught us what works and what doesn’t. Going forward, I think we can enhance our offerings by building a more robust Cyber Academy.

Dr. Silagh White: Children do not have equitable access to resources that support their learning and growth outside of the school. Virtual learning highlighted a serious lack of technology resources for many students. While the school administration and community were quick to respond, we can’t learn that lesson as we move forward.

Q: (FOR INCUMBENTS ONLY) What is the accomplishment of which you’re most proud, from your prior service on the school board?

Mike Faccinetto: There have been many things I am proud of, from our fiscal health to full-day kindergarten to the Reading by Grade 3 initiative, but our equity work is top of my list. The board and administration made a commitment to equity, and I am proud of what it has become. We decided that each student should have the same opportunities no matter what. We came up with a simple statement that guides all we do: To eliminate race and family income as predictors of school success by guaranteeing equitable access to opportunities to learn and grow. We will expand on this in the coming months by adopting a formal equity policy that will draw a line in the sand for all to see exactly what we are committed to for our students.

Shannon Patrick: I am most proud of the introduction of full-day kindergarten! So many of our students come from a full-day preschool program. It is a natural transition. And quite honestly, we set the bar high in first grade. Our students deserved a vigorous kindergarten curriculum. I am also proud that we were able to build a new Nitschmann after the project stalled for many years.

Q: (FOR CHALLENGERS ONLY) What was the primary factor motivating you to seek a position on the school board?

Dr. Silagh White: Quality public education is a vital component of a vibrant community. And if we want to support a vibrant community, we all must take a measure of responsibility in caring for our public education system; the people who serve within the system, and the people who are served by it. My children had a wonderful experience with the BASD. As I parent volunteer, I saw so many good teachers, administrators, and programs that I’d like to support in the role of the school board director.