McKeesport Area school board race has 9 candidates

Bob Boyle

Two incumbents and seven challengers are competing for four available seats.

After an eventful school year, with the loss of a superintendent, the arrest of its police chief and an investigation of multiple employees, the McKeesport Area School District has a large pool of candidates for Tuesday’s primary election.

Nine candidates cross-filed for four, four-year seats open on the board. Seeking reelection are incumbents David Donato and Matthew Holtzman. They face opposition from Tom Filotei, Julian Thomas, Bob Boyle, Tiffany Wampler, Kevin Kovach, Mike Shelly and Arla Payne.

David Donato

Incumbents Dan Goughnour, who won the special election to represent the 35th Legislative District as state representative, and Latoya Wright are not seeking reelection.

The Mon Valley Independent reached out to each candidate with the same questions for this story. Wampler, Filotei and Thomas did not respond.

Boyle

Boyle works as the West Mifflin Area School District police chief and was formerly a state police officer. He said his background in law enforcement will help him put an emphasis on school safety.

Matthew Holtzman

If elected, Boyle said his top priorities would be to serve the community and to do good for the sake of local residents. Another priority is to assist in the progression of school safety and ensure that procedures are up to date.

Donato

Donato, who has been on the board for 26 years, said he hopes to continue the work he has started. If reelected, Donato’s priorities would be school safety, maintaining the district’s current $20 million fund balance and raising achievement test scoring for district students.

Donato added that 10 years ago, he started the Best

Kevin Kovach

Man Scholarship program that has provided $60,000 for students going to college since its creation. The $5,000 scholarship is presented each year.

Holtzman

Holtzman, a small business owner and a McKeesport firefighter, said he has a good understanding of the surrounding community. Holtzman said being a McKeesport native and firefighter has given him a good idea of what residents need.

If reelected, his priorities would include improving safety mechanisms throughout the district, reorganizing district administration, making sure

Arla Payne

good candidates are hired and working on new after- school programs. Holtzman also wants to begin an emergency services vocational program to provide a career path for McKeesport students and to help local first responders when it comes to hiring.

“You kind of want homegrown people to control your streets so they have better rapport with the people,” he said.

Kovach

Kovach is a lifelong resident of McKeesport and has been a city firefighter for 24 years. In the past, he has served as a union president for McKeesport firefighters

Mike Shelly

and has coached multiple sports in the district.

He said his long-time experience with the community makes him the right candidate for the board. If elected, his priorities would be to improve the district’s skilled labor program, raise student morale to combat truancy and test scores and bettering the image of the district through public relations.

Payne

Payne is involved in multiple community organizations such as the McKeesport NAACP and McKeesport Democratic Committee, and has had extensive experience as a foster parent in the area. Payne has a paralegal degree, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in business administration.

Her top priorities if elected are to make sure teachers and students feel comfortable working with one another, to address security issues and to give students the opportunity to develop important skills in subjects like math, reading, and science to be productive upon graduation.

Shelly

Shelly graduated from McKeesport Area High School in 1986 and was a custodial supervisor for the district for 10 years. He said his experience within the district has given him a good grasp of how it operates.

If elected, he wants to prioritize having instructional assistants in all K-5 classrooms, work on an expansion of the district vocational program and improve safety in all district buildings.