Politics & Government

School Board Candidates Outline Ideas

DelBacco, Pintabone and Timmann discuss salaries, the budget and more.

The three men seeking the open Region II seat on the Easton Area School Board are in no hurry to cut teaching jobs in the school district.

But administrators? That's a different story.

The need to cut back on administrative pay was one of the many topics the candidates touched on Monday night at a forum hosted by district PTAs and the Northampton County League of Women Voters.

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About 50 people gathered in the basketball court on the South Side to hear Ronnie DelBacco, Frank Pintabone and Bill Timmann outline their positions and answer questions from the public. DelBacco and Timmann are both Republicans, but are cross-filed on the Democratic ballot. Pintabone is a Democrat, and only appears on his part's ballot.

Next Tuesday, voters in Region II -- which includes the South Side, parts of Downtown and the West Ward, as well as the borough of Riegelsville -- will pick one of these men to take the seat being vacant by Kerry Myers, who is not seeking reelection.

Find out what's happening in Eastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It was wide-ranging discussion, touching on test scores, the district budget, teacher layoffs, and -- briefly -- even the infamous "boobies" bracelet case. Here are some of the key points from the nearly two-hour forum.

Top Objectives

Timmann said the district needs to cut back on spending. More than once during the evening, he talked of the board needing to "micromanage" when it came to the budget.

His major focus Tuesday was on athletic programs, and reducing the district's focus on them.

"We need to get the clubs…the booster clubs, to start helping out more," Timmann said. "My son’s right outside practicing lacrosse. I don’t expect a signle person in here to pay for him."

DelBacco said his main focus would be on improving curriculum. "The school board exists to make sure our kids get an education," he told the audience.

He also said he wanted to improve fiscal responsibility, and criticized current board members for relying too much on the word of administrators when making decisions.

Pintabone agreed that the board needs to be more responsible with its finances, and also said the district needs to have diversity among its staff.

But he took issue with Timman's ideas about sports programs, saying that a lot of parents wouldn't be able to afford to pay for their kids to join athletic programs.

If you do pay to play, you’re going to put a  majority of kids from the South Side, West Ward and Downtown on the streets," Pintabone said.

"I don’t want to cut anymore teachers. You can’t," said Pintabone, 30, an insurance broker."How can our kids learn?"

He did say the teachers would "have to make some concessions," but followed up by saying "Fat needs to be cut. Our teachers are not fat."

"To lose 25 percent of our teaching staff would be a joke beyond being ridiculous," said Timmann, 38, who owns locksmith companies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

“The administration is where we need to cut first," said DelBacco, describing what he said he's been hearing when campaigning. "People have been telling me we have a top heavy administration."

That led to a follow-up question: Would they be in favor of cutting administration and support staff?

All three men said administrators should take pay cuts. Both DelBacco and Timman accused the administration of being inaccessible. DelBacco, 42, a warehouse manager, told a story about asking the district how many administrators it had, and being told to file a Freedom of Information Act request.

Diversity in The District and Possible Loss of ESL Programs

"We are failing the minorities," Timmann said, referring to recent PSSA scores that showed non-white students faring worse than their white counterparts. "We have to figure out why we’re lacking and where we’re lacking."

Pintabone said he's been working with community leaders on this issue, and mentioned a public forum on education scheduled for May 21 at .

"I refuse to accept the premise that because they’re minorities, they’re failing," DelBacco said. "In the year 2011, we should not be having this discussion, and dividing their kids on race."

He said parental responsibility will "change the equation" when it comes to the scores.

On Wednesday, the PTAs and League of Women Voters will hold another candidates forum, this time for the people seeking a seat on Region 1 of the school district. That's scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Chrin Community Center in Palmer Township.


 


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