Bringing CBSD from “good” to “excellent”
Local elections are perhaps the most overlooked elections in our commonwealth. What folks don’t realize is that local elections are the cornerstone of our communities. This November 4, many communities will cast their vote for county judges, row officers, district attorney, sheriff, township supervisors, tax collectors, and auditors. In addition, many school board seats will be on the general election ballot.
The public needs to realize and understand how crucial school board directors are for our public schools. While this role is a volunteer position, those seeking to fill the seats do so because they care about the success and advocacy of all children and support the dedicated work of teachers and staff, while listening to and resolving the concerns from parents as well as the community. The primary role of a school board is to govern the school district, not oversee the day-to-day operations of the district as that is the role of a superintendent. The primary responsibilities of a school board are to hire and evaluate the superintendent, negotiate teacher and support staff contracts, approve the annual budget and ongoing financial items, adopt curriculum, and ensure schools are safe, facilities are efficient, and operations are effective.
This coming November, there are four school board seats up for election in the Central Bucks School District. Three seats fall in Region 3 (Warrington, Chalfont Borough, and New Britain South 1 and 2; West 1 and 2). The other seat falls in Region 2 (Warwick, Buckingham Lower 1, Doylestown Borough 3-1 and 3-2; Doylestown Township 1 to 8, New Britain Borough and New Britain East 1.) Only one incumbent Democrat is running for reelection.
The Central Bucks School Board is composed of nine school board directors.
The Central Bucks School District currently has eight Democrats and one Republican serving on the board.
Where is the balance? Where is the diversity of thought? How is this current board representing our entire community?
These are the questions all voters need to ask themselves when voting on November 4 in Regions 2 and 3.
CBSD has always had a good reputation and many families move into this district because of it. But how can a family afford to move into this community when there’s been a 12% increase in taxes within two years? Moreover, how can our senior citizens in our community continue to pay these increasing taxes? The tax rebate recently put in place by the current school board is a good idea but the threshold to apply for such a rebate only applies to a small group of seniors.
CBSD has good academic ratings but has slipped in recent years. As of the latest rankings by Niche this September, CB East slipped from 15th to 17th in the state and CB West slipped from 27th to 34th in the state. CB South made improvements from ranking 35th to 31st in the state. While our three high schools are in the top 50 of public high schools in Pennsylvania, there is always room for continued improvement.
CBSD has implemented full-day kindergarten (FDK) in six of its fifteen elementary schools this fall. That is good as we all know that early literacy and numeracy are pivotal for all children to ensure proficiency by Grade Three. More time in a kindergartner’s day allows for exploration, socialization, and increased instructional time in academics.
I know full well the benefits of FDK, as I defended my dissertation in 2011 on the values and perceptions of district leaders on FDK in southeastern suburban school districts. Historically, Southeastern Pennsylvania has been slow to implement FDK due to cost and space. In addition, as the director of elementary education, I spearheaded the implementation of FDK in 2019 in the largest school district in Montgomery County. All thirteen elementary schools successfully began FDK at the same time with no need to phase schools in. Has the current board guaranteed implementation of FDK in the remaining nine schools for September 2026? Let’s hope they don’t backpedal on this important initiative.
There is “good” happening in the Central Bucks School District.
But, how do we move to “excellent?”
We on the CARE4CBSD team believe we can do that with a balanced school board composed of members who have experience, integrity, transparency, and no political agendas. These should be the qualifications Central bucks residents require of their school board as they vote on November 4 or ahead of time via absentee or mail-in ballot.
Our children depend on you!
Elizabeth (Betty) Santoro is a registered Republican from Warrington running for school board in Region 3. She writes on behalf of the CARE4CBSD slate: Sharon Beck, Region 3, Roman Szewczuk, Region 3, and Andrew Miller, Region 2.
