The fate of Colfax Elementary building in Springdale will be decided by Tuesday's election

For most of the six candidates vying for five seats, the fate of Colfax Elementary School is still very much an issue.

The general election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5.

The current school board voted 6-3 in October to demolish the Colfax school after moving its students to the expanded and renovated Acmetonia Elementary School last year.

But the new school board that will be seated next month could revisit the decision, according to several candidates.

David Buchman, a Republican candidate and one of two newcomers for the school board, said, “They don’t have a contract for demolition yet and I think the topic will be revisited.”

Buchman, 67, of Harmar, is a retired prosecutor who is completing the term of a township supervisor who resigned. He’s also on Harmar’s planning commission.

Buchman would consider demolition only after the board checks whether the district can sell the building. If the district razes the school, he questions if the district will need the property.

Buchman wonders why the school board has increased taxes while also increasing its budget surplus, which he calculates to be in the millions.

“It’s not doing anything for the kids’ education,” he said.

Paula Jean Moretti, 62, of Springdale, who will appear on the ballot as both a Democrat and Republican, wants to stand behind the board’s decision to demolish Colfax. Moretti’s daughter, outgoing school board member Elizabeth Moretti, was among the six school board members who voted for the demolition.

“The Colfax issue should be put to rest,” said Moretti, who has never held political office but has attended school board meetings for decades. She recently retired as an Allegheny Valley School District secretary after working there almost 30 years.

Moretti said it would be “disrespectful and not prudent for the newly elected board to go and overturn the Colfax demolition.” The board put a lot of time and money into researchingwhat would be best, she said.

Moretti wants to help keep the district on track and increase efforts in STEM and vocational-technical education. She would like to see the district partner more with businesses, “so kids get hands on feel to see what is out there.”

Glenna L. Renaldi, 68, of Springdale, a Democrat, has been on the school board for almost 20 years. Her main challenge is “always how to get the best bang for the money the district has so we don’t overtax while getting the best education for our students.”

Renaldi is a retired UPMC X-ray technician. She’s a Springdale High graduate, as are her children and grandchildren.

She said Colfax has been on the burner and moving forward, “We’ve got the school in pretty good shape and right now we’re in a good place.” The issues will be keeping maintenance up on the district buildings up, keeping taxes down and keeping education on the cutting edge, Renaldi said.

Additionally, the district has to be ready to negotiate labor contracts and deal with other expenses. “We have to keep some money in the budget for surprises,” she added.

An incumbent of almost eight years, Steve Puskar, 52, of Cheswick, who will be on both the Democratic and Republican ballots on Tuesday, wants to keep the Colfax school building property after demolition.

“The big thing is there maybe an initial financial gain selling property or the school building,” he said. “I think that is shortsighted. There’s less value in selling the property rather than keeping it if you look at long-range planning. We don’t know what needs there will be 10 or 15 years down the road.”

Puskar is the high school principal in the Claysburg-Kimmel School District east of Johnstown.

Another concern of Puskar’s is how to maintain an excellent educational program given that funding is based on property taxes. He calls for statewide reform, something he urges the school board to lobby the Legislature to change.

Kathleen Jean Haas, 75, of Springdale Township, a former school board member for eight years, wants to return because “when I left there were problems that still haven’t been resolved.”

A retired district custodian, she currently is a school district bus driver. She also is cross-filed for the election.

Haas, who regularly attends school board meetings, is concerned that the board will raise taxes again.

She wants the district to raze Colfax Elementary but keep the property for some future use.

Haas, a former board treasurer, isn’t happy with the board’s handling of finances. While she admits that financially, the district is in a good place, Haas said it can do better.

Incumbent James Gaschler, 23, of Harmar, who also is cross-filed, is most concerned about having a capital improvement plan in place. According to Gaschler, the district has a fund balance of about $11.4 million.

“We have to plan to utilize the money we have available to use,” he said.

A former chairman of the operations and finance committee, Gaschler said he has been working with other district officials and an architect on a list of building projects. He hopes to have a list of the first round of capital improvements ready to go for next school year. He is a fulltime Penn State student.

Gaschler will continue his work on district transparency. Among other efforts, Gaschler has put together Facebook group and uses a Facebook Live feature to air school board meetings live. Most meetings get around 200 views, according to Gaschler, but attracts as many as 400 to 500 views on important issues.

Looking ahead though, Gaschler said, he doesn’t want the live streaming to depend on his efforts. More permanent arrangements need to be made, he said.