Candidates for the Allentown School Board emphasized the need to improve teacher retention and address school safety at a candidate forum Monday.
Democrats Evette D’Amore, Cereta Johnson and Denzel Morris joined Republicans Dianne Michels, Tom Houck and Robert E. Smith Jr. at the forum. Republican David Zimmerman did not attend. Those seven candidates will compete for four-year terms in November.
Democrat Nick Nicholoff also attended Monday’s forum, organized by the League of Women Voters and hosted by Lehigh Valley Public Media. He is currently on the school board and is running unopposed to finish out a two-year term.
Here are a few takeaways from Monday’s forum:
Improving teacher retention
To address a teacher shortage, the district must do a better job retaining staff, candidates said.
Smith proposed a “keeper program” in which graduating seniors would receive college tuition credits in exchange for returning to the district as a teacher for five years. Johnson also endorsed some form of tuition reimbursement, saying it had been an effective strategy to retain staff at the child care and early education centers she manages.
D’Amore and Houck both said the district should do more to identify why staff are leaving, and Nicholoff said providing a defined avenue for complaints is important.
Addressing school safety
Partnering with police and parents is necessary to confront school safety concerns, candidates said.
Morris emphasized the need to gather data on topics such as bullying incidents. Smith called for a safety audit of each school. Johnson also called for more information gathering, saying students and parents should be surveyed to identify safety issues.
Houck offered a detailed list of security strategies he’d like to see the district implement, including metal detectors, clear backpacks, and secured entrances and exits covered with cameras. D’Amore said schools cannot be secure without adequate staffing.
Absenteeism and parent engagement
Morris repeatedly called attention to chronic absenteeism, signaling that would be his No. 1 policy priority. He advocated for more phone calls home, a strategy that Johnson also highlighted.
Parent surveys sent through email and other means accessible to those who don’t have time to attend board meetings or school events would generate valuable insight, Nicholoff and D’Amore said.
Smith argued that the school board should return to meeting twice a month, saying that the current schedule in which committee discussions and board meeting votes are held on the same night does not provide the public with enough transparency or avenues for engagement.
Controlling spending
Candidates drew attention to fiscal responsibility, with D’Amore, Houck, Johnson, Michels, Morris and Smith all highlighting their experience managing budgets in their professional roles.
When asked how the school board can balance providing a quality education with the need to avoid burdening taxpayers, candidates emphasized that spending should focus on building needs rather than administrative salaries.
Smith said “the increase in administrators is out of control” and also called for a reduction in consultant spending. Michels said “we need more on the bottom than on the top,” advocating for a focus on funding teacher and instructional aide salaries. Filling building vacancies should be prioritized over hiring administrators, D’Amore said.
Downplaying artificial intelligence
Although Superintendent Carol Birks has been a cheerleader for AI in education, school board candidates expressed much more skepticism about the drive to incorporate AI into curriculum.
“At the end of the day it’s a tool, so the student needs to use their mind,” said Morris, who works on generative AI in his role as a software engineer. He compared today’s AI to Google Search, saying it’s an emerging technology that will eventually become mainstream, but said the district must address absenteeism before moving into new technologies.
Existing district technology also needs attention, candidates said, with Smith and D’Amore noting that a delay in distributing laptops has affected students this fall.
Absenteeism, test scores and teacher retention are all higher priorities than AI, Nicholoff said, and Johnson argued that improving campus safety and student attendance should come first.
Reporter Elizabeth DeOrnellas can be reached at edeornellas@mcall.com.
