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Rash decisions and quick action will not be at the top of Sara Yassem's agenda if she wins her bid for a seat on the Armstrong School District board of directors on Tuesday.

Yassem, 45, of Goheenville, Boggs Township, is on the general election ballot, running for the seat to be vacated by veteran director Terry Rupp in December. Region 1 includes Rayburn, Boggs, Pine and Wayne townships and Dayton Borough.

Yassem, a political newcomer, bested challenger Kelly Walker of Dayton in the May primary election.

Yassem's name is the only name on the ballot, but she does face opposition in the form of a write-in campaign by Dayton resident and Lenape Technical School administrator Joseph Fullerton.

Fullerton is on Tuesday's ballot as the Republican nominee for a seat on Dayton Council, leaving him with a choice of positions if he were to win the school district seat.

"If I win the school board seat, I will step down as councilman and accept the position," he said. "Either way, I want to be able to continue to serve the public, whether it is for the people of Dayton, or the school district."

Fullerton said he is running a low-key campaign for the school board seat and hopes people support him based on his performance as a councilman and his positions on various issues.

"I believe that the students come first and the district needs to do whatever it can do for the students of the entire district, not just in a particular region," he said. "Too many times there have been board members who make decisions based only on how they would benefit their own region, rather than the entire district."

Fullerton said he plans to think of the students first, regardless of the issue at hand.

Yassem also said she plans to focus her efforts on the students.

"The kids need someone to speak for them," she said. "We need to do whatever we can to provide the best education for them so that they can become successful adults. They need to have opportunities to make them competitive with the rest of the world."

Yassem said she plans to research and press for investments in the latest technology to allow students to take more online courses including advanced level courses and foreign languages.

She said she recently learned the district's technology department is understaffed.

"We need to be doing all we can do to give the technology department the staff and tools they need to be able to provide the essential services our students need to succeed," she said.

Fullerton agrees:

"The district needs to combine the use of technology with an updated curriculum to give our kids the best education we can. The district has put a lot of time and effort into building its curriculum to fit the needs of the students and I want to make sure that continues through the use of technology and on-line classes."

Both candidates said communication between directors has been poor, and both said they hope to change that.

"I plan to read everything I can and take the time to understand something and ask questions before I make my decision," Yassem said. "Communication is the key to any successful group and I am hoping that I will be able to participate in discussions and be able to make informed decisions."

"The school directors have been known to not communicate well at times, but when there is an important topic being discussed, they all seem to ask questions and gather the information before casting their votes," she said. "I feel that rash decisions and quick actions are costly and have a negative effect on the students and taxpayers in the district."

"I'm the type of person who is honest, forward and direct," Fullerton said. "I take my time to understand and research the issues and when I make a decision, I stick with it. People will always know where I stand on an issue, but I will always take the time to listen to the thoughts and beliefs of others."

Yassem said communication also must extend beyond the board and and administrators during meetings.

"The board needs to listen to what the teachers are saying, what the taxpayers are asking and what the needs of the local officials are," Yassem said. "I have met with the township and borough officials and told them that I intend to keep them informed about district issues and decisions and hope that they will keep me informed of their actions and needs."

"The school district can't function without the input of everyone in the district," Yassem said. "There needs to be interaction and communication with everyone who is affected by the actions of the school board."

Yassem and Fullerton continue to follow the possible secession of the Elderton attendance area from the district.

"I have said before that I favor community schools and I continue to do so," Yassem said. "Even if Elderton High School stays closed, I hope that the community can still benefit from its use. The district is currently allowing the school to be used for various team practices and other events, and I hope that it will be able to be used and serve its community."

If the secession does not happen, Yassem said, she is unsure about the possibility of the school board voting to reopen the school in the future.

"I honestly don't know if the school can be reopened once it's closed," she said. "But before I would even consider reopening the school, I would have to take a long, hard look at what effect it would have on the budget."

"No matter what the board decides to do when it comes to buildings, we need to make sure we have the money available to do what needs done," she said. "Spending needs to be watched closely and we need to explore every option before making decisions, especially about the buildings."

Fullerton said he believes that as the board makeup changes in December, an effort will be made to reopen Elderton High School in the future if the secession plan fails.

'I don't agree with the reopening of the school," he said. "I think the kids are adjusting well and the glitches that were predicted have been very minor and that the combined schools are working just fine."

"Smaller schools are a luxury that I don't believe this county can afford and there is no reason that I can see changing things back after just one year," he said. The schools we have now are still not considered to be large schools, but to put things back the way they were, would cause an added tax burden on the residents that they can't afford."

Fullerton said he hopes the district will continue to look into its building issues, such as the aging Kittanning Junior High School and Ford City High School.

"There have been a number of studies done on the buildings in the districts," he said. "But the board needs to quit studying the buildings and come up with a plan for the future and make decisions that will address the problems."

Yassem, a Kittanning native, has lived in the district all of her life. She is married to Michael Yassem and they have two children, Jenny and Bobby, who both attend West Shamokin.

Fullerton lives in Dayton with his wife Rebecca and two children, Alexis, a sophomore at West Shamokin High School and son Ethan, a third grader at Dayton Elementary School.

Running unopposed for the Region 9 seat, being vacated by director Rosemary Waratuke, is Mike Markilinski. The region represents Manorville Borough and Manor Township. Markilinski, director of Ford City Ambulance Service, served on the school board in the 1980s. Calls to his office seeking comment were not returned this week.

Two other school director seats are up for election this week as well. Board president Joe Close is running unopposed for his Region 4 seat, which represents North Buffalo and West Franklin townships and Worthington Borough. Director D. Royce Smeltzer is running unopposed for his Region 5 seat, which represents Elderton Borough and Plumcreek and South Bend townships.

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