The Harrisburg School District Administration building on State Street.
With six mayoral and 13 city council candidates, the ballot is going to be a long one in Harrisburg.
Add to the list seven Democrats competing for four, four-year seats on the Harrisburg school board. One candidate, Ezra Match, cross-filed as a Republican. Also, there is one Democrat, Terricia Radcliff, running for the sole two-year seat on the board.
We asked the candidates to respond to a question from TheBurg. The following lists in alphabetical order each candidate who responded, We did not receive responses from candidates Brian Carter and Jorge Collazo.
We hope this helps you as you head to the voting booth on May 18.
Michael Balsbaugh
What is a goal you have for the Harrisburg School District and how will you contribute to its achievement?
One goal I have for the Harrisburg School District, as a director, is to further address the long shadow of systemic racism. I will achieve this goal by using my vote on the board to uphold the following values:
- Creating access to economic opportunities by providing Harrisburg students with a first-rate education and practical life skills; expanding after-school programs that supplement school learning and athletics. These programs also benefit working parents by providing them with childcare.
- Incorporating into our United States history curriculum the work of the 1619 Project to make all students more aware of the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans to the U.S.
- Using the resources of the district to combat urban food deserts by giving children more access to information about nutrition and healthy lifestyles, as well as providing more organic and sustainable foods with school lunch programs.
- Minimizing police involvement in our school by providing more access to mental health services.
- Using district contracts to support local businesses and ensure equitable distribution of these contracts.
Roslyn Copeland
What is a goal you have for the Harrisburg School District and how will you contribute to its achievement?
Through my personal life experiences, I have seen the burden that systems have placed upon our family structure. Families have to work long hours for small wages, daycare costs are expensive and a high percentage of our men are incarcerated. This burden has its effects on our children. Some of our youth do not have the chance to be children and are faced with real-world responsibilities. This burden can manifest into mental health issues. Our youth are being diagnosed with a broad rubber stamp. These types of labels do not come with an expiration date.
When I am elected, I plan to launch an initiative to make all children’s mental health diagnoses come with an expiration date. We must create end goals to mental health issues if we are going to make our children whole. At this moment, children that have been diagnosed with these mental health issues are on a path to be labeled for the rest of their lives. What is worse is that these children never get the true help that they deserve or need.
With help from our community, other School Board members and a good working relationship with the city council members and the mayor, we will create programs to make sure that the burden of mental health labels will come with a solution date.
Jaime Johnsen
What is a goal you have for the Harrisburg School District and how will you contribute to its achievement?
If elected as a school board director, I hope to use my qualified skillset in guiding all aspects of school operations with integrity. During a term on the Harrisburg school board, I hope to accomplish three goals: promote sustainability programs to foster positive youth development, encourage fiscal solvency while increasing academic excellence, and work collectively with all levels of the process to do what is right for the students of the Harrisburg School District. My background in mental health can help identify services and resources to better aid students with adverse childhood experiences. My involvement in the community will help continue facilitating positive partnerships with fellow board members, as well as city, county and state officials. I’m passionate about choosing to serve equitably, make thoughtful, sound decisions and work towards our students’ successful futures.
Ezra Match
What is a goal you have for the Harrisburg School District and how will you contribute to its achievement?
I’d like to see the district recruit teachers, guidance counselors and staff who reflect the composition of the student body. One of the places to find this talent is from historically Black colleges and universities, places like Cheyney and Lincoln Universities in PA, and others in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. I could partner with the district’s human resources department to ensure plans are in place so that opportunities at the city schools become known to promising students on HBCU campuses. Part of my work as a principal software engineer is with marketing teams. This outreach effort would in essence be a marketing project, whose outcome would affect the culture of the district, creating more opportunities for honest and open communication between students and staff.
Terricia Radcliff
What is a goal you have for the Harrisburg School District and how will you contribute to its achievement?
As a Harrisburg school board member, my goal is to make sure that our kids get a better education by seeing that the district gets fair and equal funding, students get the programs they need to succeed mentally, emotionally and physically and that charter school operators are held to financial and ethical standards. I believe these things can be accomplished by pushing for transparency between the community and the school district and pressuring the legislators to overhaul school funding formulas so that the district can provide the necessary resources to help ensure quality education for all students.
Danielle Robinson
What is a goal you have for the Harrisburg School District and how will you contribute to its achievement?
My goal for the Harrisburg School District is to create a competitive academic environment where every student is afforded the opportunity for a quality education.
I will work toward that goal by continuing to advocate for fair funding on the local, state and federal levels of government and working to raise the academic standards of the Harrisburg School District and the post-high school expectations of our students. This works in conjunction with retaining the quality teachers that currently work in the district and recruiting qualified teachers through partnerships with surrounding colleges and universities. I will work to strengthen safety protocols and mental health services for our students and staff adversely affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic. As well as promoting fiscal and educational accountability.
Harrisburg School District has the promise to become an amazing educational institution and I would love to continue to build on the current foundation.
All photos provided by candidates.
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