AP and GH Government Classes Hold School Board and County Commissioner Debates Prior to November Seventh General Election 

Students in Mr. Cloak’s Advanced Placement American Government and Politics class and Mrs. Klingensmith’s Gifted Honors Government class hosted three political debates in the AHS auditorium in the month preceding the Nov. 7 general election for school board and county commissioner. 

The Armstrong School District (ASD) is subdivided into three geographic regions. Nine members serve on the school board, and in the 2023 election, five positions were up for grabs. In Armstrong County, three commissioners have been elected out of the four running candidates.

Region II Debate

The first debate, held on Oct. 19, featured two candidates running for election and two candidates running for re-election in ASD region two. Mr. Todd Luke, the Democratic and Republican nominee, appeared at the top of the ballot. Mr. Luke resides in West Franklin Township. Mr. Brady Shafer, also the Democratic and Republican nominee, resides in Kittanning Borough. He was unable to attend the debate. Both Luke and Shafer were incumbent candidates for region two.

Mr. John Thomas, the Libertarian nominee, was also present at the debate. He resides in Kittanning Borough as well. Ms. Melissa Wadding, the second Libertarian nominee, resides in East Franklin Township. 

Of the three candidates present at the Oct. 19 debate, Mr. Luke was the only incumbent. He defended the school board’s decisions regarding the purchase of the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) reading curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade students, the implementation of CharacterStrong, a social emotional learning program in all ASD schools, and other recent controversial decisions.

Mr. Thomas and Ms. Wadding announced their views and combatted Mr. Luke’s position. They prioritized the necessity of traditional values and transparency. 

On Nov. 7, Todd Luke and Brady Shafer won the region two school board election.

Region III Debate

The second debate, held on Oct. 24, featured two candidates running for election in ASD region three. Mrs. Melissa Venesky, the Democratic nominee, resides in Kittanning Township. Mrs. Ashley McIntyre, the Republican nominee, resides in South Bend Township. 

Mrs. Venesky largely voiced her support for the current school board’s decisions and programs, while Mrs. McIntyre questioned their intentions and effectiveness. At the conclusion of the debate, Mrs. Venesky refuted Mrs. McIntyre’s implication that she ran for school board for inappropriate reasons.

On Nov. 7, Ashley McIntyre won the election. No debate was scheduled for region one, as the race was uncontested.

County Commissioner Debate

The final debate on Oct. 26 featured four candidates running for the office of Armstrong County Commissioner. Out of two Democratic candidates and two Republican candidates, only three have been chosen to serve as commissioners. 

Mr. Pat Fabian, the only incumbent candidate, is a Democrat who resides in Manor Township. Mr. Rich Farah, of North Buffalo Township, is also a Democratic nominee. 

Mr. Anthony Shea, a Republican nominee, resides in Gilpin Township. Mr. John Strate, of Wayne Township,  is also  a Republican nominee.

A majority of the questioning centered around the current commissioner body’s decisions, which Mr. Fabian defended. The candidates were also given the opportunity to voice their key values and concerns, which for nearly every candidate was the Armstrong County Jail.

Mr. Fabian also covered the topic of money awarded to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained that his own businesses did benefit from the funds, although they were the last in line to do so.  

This comes just as Pat Fabian released an announcement regarding his involvement in Armstrong Indoor Athletics (AIA) after receiving an anonymous email accusing him of financial malpractice. 

On Nov. 7, John Strate won the most votes, making him a likely candidate for chairman of the board of county commissioners. Anthony Shea won second place, and Pat Fabian came in third.

Debate Preparation

In preparation for the debate series, the AHS government students spent over two weeks researching, collaborating, and preparing. As questions were created — primarily by tenth grade GH students — the AP students curated, modified, and intensified them. 

The students studied Leader Times articles, press releases from the candidates, podcasts, interviews, and social media accounts. Many of the questions of the debate were formulated based on that research. 

AP Government students Kiefer Riskosky, Harper Volk, Shelby Cloak, and Nathan Ferraro served as moderators. Wyatt Prunty and Emmy Pore contributed with speaking roles, and Ethan Weigel participated in the research phase. 

In preparation for the school board debates, senior Shelby Cloak and I visited the ASD administration office to research the CKLA curriculum further. We met with the assistant superintendent for elementary education, Dr. Charles Kreinbacher, who gave us an overview of the content. 

The visit was crucial for us to understand the recent controversy surrounding the curriculum, which has been a focal point of this year’s school board race. 

“We came to the conclusion that the curriculum [is] more advanced,” said Shelby. We did not come across any explicit or graphic details that were referenced in the article. Rather, at the time of our visit, Dr. Berry reported that no students had ever been unsettled by the content of CKLA lessons. 

Shelby restated that the old Pearson curriculum was outdated, and that the lessons she learned in elementary school did not prepare her for high school to the degree that she believes CKLA lessons will. She described CKLA as a “breakthrough.” 

In contrast to the school board debates, Shelby said that the county commissioner debates required more thorough research. She wasn’t as familiar with the policies that are of primary concern in the commissioner race. 

Shelby noted that all four county commissioners candidates stated that their main goal is transparency. “It’s a very political term,” she said. 

Debate Response

The candidate that stood out to Shelby the most after her time moderating the region two school board debate came to a close was Mr. Luke. In Shelby’s opinion, “His goal is to improve the overall education system.” She believes that his primary concern is the students, then the taxpayers. 

Harper agreed with Shelby, and added that Luke’s experience also gave him a considerable advantage. 

It is worth noting that Todd Luke is Shelby Cloak’s third cousin. She reported that they are not close. 

The candidate that stood out the most to Wyatt was Mr. Thomas, who was “combative with his policies and speeches.”

In the county commissioner race, the most appealing candidate to Harper was Mr. Fabian, based on his responses

The most rewarding part of the debate series to Shelby was “all the positive feedback we got. It felt really good because we put a lot of work into it.” 

The research was the hardest part, she said; however, researching each of the candidates’ personal lives was paramount to the process. “Who are they, outside of this? I think that’s a really important detail.”

Considering the community’s response, Shelby said “I think all the debates were a complete success.”

The Hawks’ View will refrain from summarizing the debates in detail, as the live streamed videos are available to view on High Top Sports Network and Youtube. The Leader Times also covered each debate, which can be read on their website. 

At the time of publishing the Fall Issue, the Nov. 7 general election already occurred. Any obsolete information is unintentional, and the results reported are unofficial. The Hawks’ View does not endorse any political candidate or ideology.