M. Rayah Levy, Emily Root Schenkel and Karen Beck Pooley have announced that they are running as a slate for the open at-large seats on the Bethlehem Area School District board.

The group promises to advocate for students, families, educators and taxpayers in a number of ways. As they see it, the most important task facing the school district and its board members is supporting students’ academic success and well-being. All three candidates support the district’s efforts to invest in its nationally recognized literacy program and extend that work into the middle schools, as well as the district’s widely praised investments in social and emotional learning, and collaborations with community partners to make mental and behavioral health services available at all schools. And all are, and commit to be, strong advocates for the district in Harrisburg to ensure that the district receives its full and fair amount of state funding. As recent increases in state support have shown, this makes it possible to invest in the things that students need and takes pressure off local taxpayers.

All three have children in the district and have been actively involved as parents and volunteers. Schenkel and Pooley are founding members of BASD Proud Parents, and both currently serve on the school board.

Levy is running for her first term. She is currently a board member of the Bethlehem Human Relations Commission and a member of the NAACP. She is on the Pa. State Historical Records Advisory Board and was a member of the executive board at the Moravian Historical Society.

Schenkel is currently in her fourth year as a school director and running for her second term. She serves on many committees, including the Bethlehem Area Vo-Tech Joint Committee, Wellness Committee, Equity Committee, SRO Committee, Audit Committee and Middle School Athletics Committee. She also serves on the Northside Alive Committee. She is, and has been, a coach for many community teams, as well as serving on the PTO during her children’s tenure in BASD.

Pooley is currently in her eighth year as a school director and running for her third term. She chairs the board’s Facilities Committee, which oversees the maintenance and upkeep of all district schools. She represents the BASD board on Northampton Community College’s Board of Trustees, and is part of Northside Alive, a community planning effort focused on the area just north of downtown, as well as on the board of Community Action Development Bethlehem, on the Southside.