Five candidates, mostly newcomers, are vying for four seats on the Burrell School Board in Tuesday’s election.

Three incumbents on the nine-member board opted not to seek reelection: Genia Koziarski, Rachel Linderman and Chris Wojcik.

Incumbents running for another term are LeeAnn Guido, the sole candidate for a two-year term in the district’s Region II; and Rick Kaczor, who is competing to retain one of the four-year, at-large seats that are up for election.

All of the candidates have ideas on what they think is the most pressing issue in the district and how they can contribute to the school board.

Kaczor says the most important issue to him is always the students and the impact of the curriculum and activities on their growth into adults.

Kaczor admitted he didn’t initially support the district’s Social Emotional Learning program, which reduces anxiety and aggression in students while fostering understanding and focus. Kaczor now believes that emotional social learning is key to the future of the children, as well as honing their abilities to navigate technology and a wide variety of career and educational options.

Another change for students is the increasing opportunities for vocational- technical jobs that offer good wages with many options, Kaczor said.

“So many students are pushed to college and there are not many blue-collar workers,” he said. “If you consider a professional/technical career, the sky is the limit. There are many more opportunities that students can train for. Westmoreland Career and Technical Center hasn’t scratched the surface.”

Political newcomer Jean Schager of Lower Burrell agrees with Kaczor on the importance of more students knowing about and pursuing the trades and technical careers.

“Everything is pushed for college, college, college,” she said. “We need laborers, mechanics, hairstylists, welders, truck drivers, plumbers, heating and air conditioning technicians and more. The kids can follow those career paths and not be in debt.”

Schager, who is an office manager in an automotive business, said she offers the board the ability to research and to look into more places to find funding and “things we might be missing.”

Nicole Corneils, a stay-at-home mom, threw her hat in the ring for the school board because she wants to help the district deal with bullying and better handling of students with issues.

Corneils said she dropped out of Burrell and got her GED because of bullying issues that were not resolved.

She wants the district to provide more individualized attention to students.

“We should be inclusive with children who need more attention, proper diagnosis of ADD and other learning disabilities,” Corneils said. She wants parents to communicate better with the school district and the district to offer more community outreach.

“We need something virtual, a place for parents to put in their complaints and have them reviewed, a place where the school board could look at messages from the community,” Corneils said.

Another newcomer, Nikki Watson, said the most pressing issue is navigating through the pandemic, helping students to learn and the teachers and parents function better.

“I think parents are more engaged, and it’s important for them to have a voice,” she said. “It’s just as important to navigate challenges through transparency and cultivating integrity in making decisions that affect our children and families.”

Watson believes the school board serves as a middleman, especially during the pandemic, that has to follow the rules of the state as a public school while serving the needs of the students and their families.

“I’ve been listening to so many parents in the district talk about this, and I’m comfortable with trying to understand their issues, researching and making phone calls,” she said.

For candidate Tim Vinkovich, 52, the most pressing issue for the school district is to get back to normal after the disruptions from the covid-19 pandemic.

The auto mechanic wants to foster understanding when it comes to the pandemic.

“I don’t want to push people either way. I want to listen to what people have to say and see what we can do,” he said.

Aside from the pandemic, Vinkovich wants to learn why the district needed to raise taxes by 3.5% this year.

He believes that his experience as a Tarentum councilman in the late 1990s and a board member of the Upper Allegheny Joint Sanitary Authority will be helpful to the school board.

“Given my background in politics, I still have a few connections,” he said. “Depending on what the school board needs from me, my strong suit is getting things done, making phone calls and talking to people.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)