LANSDALE — Four familiar faces, and one new one, will be on the ballot for North Penn School Board seats in the May 16 primary election.
Current school board members Elisha Gee, Tim MacBain, Juliane Ramic and Cathy Wesley are being joined by newcomer Kunbi Rudnick on the Democratic “North Penn Neighbors for Progress” team, all seeking four-year terms on the board. They’ll be opposed by new candidates Diana Blystone, Michael R. Jowder, Ismaine Ayouaz, Liz Vazquez, and Vince Altieri running together as a “North Penn United” team. All but Altieri have cross-filed to appear on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots, and the top five vote-getters on both sides will advance to the November general election.
All ten candidates were asked the same questions; the “North Penn Neighbors for Progress” team’s answers are below, and the “North Penn United” team’s answers will appear separately.
Rudnick
Describe your background and qualifications for the position you are seeking (or seeking re-election).
Over the last ten years, I have been an active NP Home and School Association volunteer, successfully chaired multiple committees, and developed new ones. These experiences enabled me to engage with students and our community deeply.
My Master’s in Business Administration (Villanova) and serving my term as a Montgomery Township auditor enabled me to develop the deep understanding of financial reports and opportunities for fiscally responsible growth needed to be a successful member of our school board.
With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Engineering (UPENN) and a 20+ year career in industry, I am uniquely positioned to use my technical skills and experience with large projects to support the necessary growth of our district.
Finally, being an active parent at the middle school, where I collaborate with students, parents, educators, and administrators on creating an inclusive school environment, has further provided insights into the immediate needs of our school community.
Why are you running for the position (or seeking re-election)?
As a proud parent of two school-aged students who have gone through a pandemic, I understand the impact that experience had on them. While this is not unique to the North Penn School District, I was deeply affected by this, and I am invested in being a part of the solution to help my daughters and ALL students in our School District recover and thrive.
Our educators and public schools are under attack by those taking away focus from providing our students with a first-class educational experience. I am running to maintain that focus. I believe it takes a village to nurture and educate our students successfully, and regardless of these distractions, we must work as a community to do just that.
All students deserve the opportunity to have a safe and inclusive educational experience that enables them to thrive, discover and achieve their definition of success.
What would your main goals or priorities be as a school board member?
As a North Penn School Board director, I am excited by the opportunity to serve our community and help shape the future of our district. These are my priorities:
Mental and physical health — We must prioritize the mental health of our students. As a school board member, I will ensure that we provide the resources to support the mental well-being of our students.
*S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Mathematics) Education — In today’s rapidly changing landscape, our students must be prepared for tomorrow’s marketplace. Promoting S.T.E.A.M education helps our students develop the vocational, critical thinking, and creativity skills necessary for success in the 21st century.
Fiscally responsible infrastructure — Finally, our district’s infrastructure needs must be addressed to ensure a safe and conducive learning environment for all students. As a board member, I will work to ensure our schools have the necessary resources, including well-maintained and secure buildings, current technology, and efficient transportation.
Several school boards and municipal libraries in the area have been grappling with policies regarding content of books. What are your thoughts on this issue?
I support the rights of parents and individuals to access a wide range of books and to make their own decisions about what they choose to read or share with their children. The first amendment has no ambiguity around the right to free speech, and I believe in the importance of exchanging ideas.
That said, I also believe in the need for responsible and ethical publishing practices when it comes to works that may be deemed offensive or harmful. Publishers should be transparent about the content of their books and take a critical view of reading age recommendations. In addition, publishers should ensure that their materials do not promote hate speech or discriminate.
Our schools have well-meaning, highly-skilled librarians. I would look to them as the subject matter experts to guide us in this space, as access to a diverse range of books opens up opportunities for meaningful dialogue.
List your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Website: https://npneighborsforprogress.com/kunbi-rudnick
Facebook: @KunbiRudnick4NPSD
Instagram: @KRUDNICK4NPSD
Twitter: @KRUDNICK4NPSD
Gee
Describe your background and qualifications for the position you are seeking (or seeking re-election).
I have been a resident of North Penn for 24 years. I am a parent of a graduate of North Penn and two current North Penn High School students. I also have 20 plus years experience as a public school educator and am passionate about advocating for our schools. I believe that my lens as an educator, parent, and resident/taxpayer offers various perspectives on different issues facing the district and allows me to effectively represent the neighbors and students of North Penn..
Education: BS in Elementary Education and Special Education, University of Delaware
Master’s in Education, Arcadia University
Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Gwynedd Mercy
My husband, Norman, and I have been married for 24 years. We moved to the wonderful community of North Penn in 1999. For 24 years, we have been fortunate to join a community of kind, compassionate neighbors.
Why are you running for the position (or seeking re-election)?
In 2018 I was appointed to North Penn School Board. I was elected to North Penn School Board to continue serving in 2019. I was excited to join the board to support all students in North Penn. One of our first actions was to vote for the immediate implementation of full day Kindergarten. That one action would impact 1000 of our youngest learners that would join our school community each year. It is that kind of impact on student learning that I believe is critical in public education today. If reelected, I will focus the next four years on continuing my work in supporting equity for ALL students — meaning providing students what they need to meet their greatest potential and have access and opportunities to a quality education.
What would your main goals or priorities be as a school board member?
I am dedicated to supporting the plans to commit resources to addressing our infrastructure needs. As an educator, I also feel passionate about preparing our students for career and college opportunities through hands on learning, early exposure to STEM fields, and a robust internship and apprenticeship program. As a daughter of a senior who is on fixed income, I understand how taxes can impact our treasured Senior neighbors. For this reason, I believe it is important to be fiscally responsible and continue programs such as our tax rebate program to help those on a fixed income in our community. More than anything, I love children and will passionately advocate for every child in our district as I work alongside our amazing students, teachers, and NPSD staff.
Several school boards and municipal libraries in the area have been grappling with policies regarding content of books. What are your thoughts on this issue?
As a public school educator, I believe that providing access to library books for our students is critical to nurturing their love to read and to providing them with opportunities to be curious, learn, and think beyond their own lived experiences. There are so many wonderful books in our school district that students have access to, and I am proud to support our librarians in selecting developmentally appropriate books for our children.
List your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Website: www.npneighborsforprogress.com
MacBain
Describe your background and qualifications for the position you are seeking (or seeking re-election).
Thank you, neighbors, for taking a few minutes to learn about our candidates! As the father of two current students at Walton Farm Elementary and a 20-year veteran high school classroom teacher in a neighboring district, I recognize modern student experiences and needs, as well as the ways in which School Board decisions impact actual student experiences and outcomes. As a fellow taxpayer who cares about the community consequences of our financial choices, I also believe that the cost-effectiveness of each decision matters, and that the perspectives of all our neighbors must be heard.
I’m proud to have made good and diligent use of this opportunity to serve our North Penn community since 2018, with steps to expand all students’ opportunities, provide safe learning environments, and alleviate tax burdens upon some of our hardest-hit neighbors – all with the competent, open-minded, and civil approach which our neighborhoods, families, and students deserve.
Why are you running for the position (or seeking re-election)?
The way we treat our neighbors matters, now more than ever. Over the past five years, we’ve taken authentic, deliberate steps to reach out to our community members, students, families, and staff to find out what our district and community needs truly are, and followed up with meaningful action. I’m proud of the work we’ve done together to improve student safety, assess our facility needs across 19 district buildings, modernize our practices by offering full-day kindergarten, introduce innovative educational programs like dual-enrollment courses and VR Spatial Computing courses for high school students, and introduce new programs to prepare students to enter a modern job market through the North Montco Technical Career Center.
Yet we know there are still tasks ahead that must be tackled with the same open dialogue and community-based approach, especially as we address the glaring needs revealed by our facilities assessment at NPHS and other buildings.
What would your main goals or priorities be as a school board member?
The primary goal of any educational community must be to ensure that our schools are places where all students know that they belong, they are safe, and that the path to whatever future they want to make for themselves can start there. I’m proud of our work to realize this goal for all students, beginning years ago with climate surveys which provided a specific and reliable understanding of our diverse student and community perspectives, increased student access to social and emotional support staff, and far too many other steps to list in this reply. However far we’ve come, our work to achieve this goal together must continue. As we renew community conversations about renovations to NPHS and a potential 9th-grade center, we must illustrate to our youth how we meet challenges with the respect, civility, and understanding that we ask of them as they grow.
Several school boards and municipal libraries in the area have been grappling with policies regarding content of books. What are your thoughts on this issue?
As a parent of two elementary-aged students, I have tremendous confidence and trust in the expertise of our librarians and educators to make informed decisions about which topics best suit different student age groups.
To paraphrase a Founding Father whose books were banned centuries ago: Every neighbor has a right to differing opinions, no matter how different they may be to my own. A person who refuses any challenge to their own assumptions is ultimately trapped by them because they deny themselves a chance to better understand any issue, any neighbor, or even a part of themselves.
Our libraries must remain filled with accessible, plentiful, diverse opinions and perspectives to allow our students those essential opportunities to explore their interests, consider the experiences of others, and begin to find their path in the world.
Please list your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TimforNPSB
Instagram: @timfornpsb
Ramic
Describe your background and qualifications for the position you are seeking (or seeking re-election).
I was appointed to the North Penn School Board in January 2018 and elected in 2019 and now serve on the Facilities & Operations and Finance Committees of the Board. I am the NP representative on the board of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) and in 2022, I was appointed to serve as the MCIU Board President. I am also proud to serve as the board liaison to both the NP and MCIU Educational Foundations which work to fund innovative projects to support our district’s and county’s teachers and students.
I hold an MSW from Washington University in St. Louis and a certificate from Bryn Mawr’s Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute. I have worked in the field of program administration and immigrant services for more than 25 years, where I have honed my skills and am uniquely qualified in the areas of grants management, program evaluation, and trauma-informed care. I also possess substantive experience in fundraising, strategic planning and partnerships, and continuous quality improvement in support of student and family wellness.
My extensive work with specialized populations includes work with local communities, national organizations and in refugee camps in east Africa where I worked to support the expansion of schools for refugee youth and the training of teachers.
Why are you running for the position (or seeking re-election)?
As a committed and engaged North Penn resident and parent, I am proud to be running with fellow members of the North Penn Neighbors for Progress team who stand for transparent leadership and fiscally responsible spending. Together, we have worked to oversee the development of a 10 year facilities plan and efforts to ensure major renovation projects are inclusive of teacher, student, and community input. We have launched student-centered initiatives such as the Community Hosted Internship Program (CHIP), expanded access to student and staff wellness initiatives, have worked tirelessly to ensure school safety, and seek opportunities to retain talented school personnel while also working to attract diverse staff to join our district to work to support our North Penn students.
What would your main goals or priorities be as a school board member?
As a resident of Lansdale Borough and a proud parent of a Penndale Middle School and North Penn High School student, I am committed to making the North Penn School District as strong as it can be. I have valued my school-based volunteering and have served on Home and School boards throughout the years and as needed, working alongside parents, teachers and staff as they strive to put students first. It is because of our experience in being a part of the North Penn school community and watching our children grow that I was inspired to step up to serve my community and why I choose to run now. My primary goal in serving as a School Director is to continue to support district-wide initiatives to prepare students to thrive in today’s world. Supporting a 21st century education for all students includes supporting critical thinking, digital literacy, collaboration and teamwork, and career training.
Several school boards and municipal libraries in the area have been grappling with policies regarding content of books. What are your thoughts on this issue?
I am the proud daughter of a public school librarian who both helped foster my love of reading and also modeled efforts to ensure that all members of a community had access to the materials services provided by our local and school libraries. I have fond memories of her bringing home books and asking me to read them and share my opinions. Some of the books she shared, I truly enjoyed and others, I did not and some, well, I just could not finish. That is the beauty of a library’s collection. There is something for everyone and we can choose to check out and read books and materials of interest.
As a community, our focus should remain on the importance of cultivating a love of reading and the value and importance of making reading materials available and accessible to all of our students. Working in conjunction with our school librarians, we must ensure that our libraries support the needs and interests of our students, at every level of their development.
List your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Facebook: Juliane Ramic for North Penn School Board
Instagram: @julianenpnp
Wesley
Describe your background and qualifications for the position you are seeking (or seeking re-election).
I have lived in the North Penn School District for over 30 years. I had two stepsons who graduated from North Penn High School. I have hosted five exchange students since 1998. I have been involved in my community by ushering at mass and providing driving services to appointments for seniors. Over the last 30 years I have fostered and adopted a number of dogs. Animals being an integral part of my life.
Regarding my qualifications for running for re-election, I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. My career has been in power generation and management of large projects with long durations and significant budgets. This type of work necessitates the ability for good communication skills, collaboration, problem solving, fiscal responsibility, scheduling, creative thinking and team building. I believe I have these skills and consider them important in my role as a school board director.
Why are you running for the position (or seeking re-election)?
I am running for re-election because I want to continue the work of the board which is now in place. I am proud of the work we have completed and progress we have made concerning diversity, equity and inclusion. But there is more work to be done. I want to be part of that effort.
The district is taking the first steps to upgrade our infrastructure, particularly our high school. With my background in construction and large projects, I believe I have the skill set that would be beneficial to our community at a school board level. The district has been in an operational phase for a number of years. We are moving into a design and construction phase for a significant numbers of years. At the same time, we will still need to maintain our existing buildings reliably and safely. I believe I would be prepared to provide the board level oversight for our community.
What would your main goals or priorities be as a school board member?
My priorities, if re-elected to the school board, would be to continue to provide board level oversight for our capital project plan and any new major project work to assure taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly with a focus on quality workmanship and safety. As we can, I want to integrate environmental initiatives and sustainability into our future projects.
Most important to me, is to further advance the progress the present board had made specific to enhancing the school environment for all of our students.
Several school boards and municipal libraries in the area have been grappling with policies regarding content of books. What are your thoughts on this issue?
I am clear in my position on this subject. I trust the school administrators, teachers and librarians to manage and oversee the books in our libraries. I would find it disheartening if there would be censorship of the books in our district libraries.
List your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Facebook: @CathyforNPSB
