Five vie for seats on Indiana school board

Of the seven original candidates who ran for seats on the Indiana Area School Board this year, five have survived to be listed on the general election ballot Tuesday.

All four incumbents -- Leonard Anderson, Alison Billon, Diana Paccapaniccia and Walter Schroth -- will appear on Tuesday's ballot, along with one challenger, David Ferguson. The other two challengers, Dr. James Strong and Bo Villemain, were eliminated in the primary.

Anderson secured a nomination by finishing fourth place in the Republican primary. He is seeking his second consecutive term on the board after also serving from 1973 to 1995.

Anderson is currently retired but spent time as an educator, Christmas tree farm operator, vegetable farm operator and beagle kennel operator.

Anderson graduated from Indiana Area High School and earned bachelor's degrees in biology/sciences and political science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He also earned a master's degree in biology/science from Penn State University.

He has been married to wife, Janet, for 46 years, and they have three children and five grandchildren. Anderson has lived in the school district for most of his life.

Anderson said he is running for re-election because, "If good and honest men fail to serve as trusted representatives in a democratic society, the government will fail its people when self-serving unscrupulous individuals take over the reins of government by marginal majority vote. I refuse to let that happen."

Anderson said his success with his own farm business affairs make him a good candidate for the school board.

Frivolous spending, exploiting one's credit cards and living beyond one's means only leads to personal financial disaster," Anderson said. "School board members should heed these business axioms and realize that they are spending someone else's money which is a sacred privilege and not a rite of office."

In the next four years, Anderson sees a 2012 expected increase in contributions by school districts to teacher pension plans as a potential problem that could devastate local tax payers.

Billon, who has served on the board for nearly eight years, secured both a Democratic and Republican nomination, finishing second with the Republicans and third with the Democrats.

Billon manages accounts payable at the medical practice of her husband, Dr. Andrew Billon, and in the past has held positions in nursing supervision and cardiac care.

She graduated from Newark High School in Delaware and earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of North Dakota and a master's degree in nursing from the University of Delaware.

The Billon family has four children, including two currently enrolled in Indiana Area schools. Billon has lived in the district for 20 years.

Billon said she is running for re-election because she has found her work on the school board to be a significant way to contribute to the community.

"I know that our community has a demonstrated commitment to education," she said. "As American citizens, it is our obligation to provide, for all children, a high-quality education, so that they may achieve to the best of their ability and become contributing, responsible members of a global community."

Billon said she is qualified for the position because of her experience, as she is the only current board member who has served the last eight years. She also has experience working on the YMCA Board of Directors as well as experience communicating with elected officials like Rep. Dave Reed and Sen. Don White.

She said over the next few years, the district will be faced with the task of providing a quality education within the restrictions of Act 1, which limits the amount of tax increases school districts can impose on the community.

"Fortunately for Indiana, our history of responsible financial management and cost-saving maneuvers has helped us continue to provide a strong educational curriculum even under Act 1," Billon said.

Ferguson, the lone remaining challenger, received the most votes among Democrats and received a Republican nomination as well by garnering the second most votes in that primary.

Ferguson teaches courses in the music department at IUP. Prior to coming to the area, he taught music in the public schools in Decatur, Ill., for six years.

He graduated from Kankakee High School in Illinois and earned a bachelor's degree in music from Millikin University as well as his master's and doctorate in education from the University of Illinois.

Ferguson and his wife Laura have two children, with one currently enrolled in elementary school. Ferguson has lived in the district for eight years.

Ferguson said if elected, he will be a reasonable voice on the board who can work with others, even when they disagree.

"We owe it to ourselves, and to the children of this community to provide tools and training for effective learning," he said, "but we also must show them a model of civility and reasonable public discourse."

Ferguson said his 15 years as an educator have made him very knowledgeable of the school system.

He said a priority of his will be to make sure district resources are allocated to viable projects that impact the academic and emotional success of the greatest number of students.

"In particular, I see an increased need for technology literacy, school programs, such as the arts, that encourage development of creativity and higher order thinking, and an attention to innovation in the area of reaching lower performing students," Ferguson said.

Paccapaniccia secured her nomination by finishing fourth place among Democratic voters in the spring. She has served on the school board for nearly four years and has been president for almost two years.

Paccapaniccia has worked in several nursing-related fields, including intensive care, long-term care and has been a nursing instructor.

Paccapaniccia graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School in New Jersey and earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from the College of New Jersey, as well as a master's in nursing education from IUP.

She and her husband, Dominic, have three children, including one who is a seventh grader currently. Paccapaniccia has lived in the district for 17 years.

"As a parent and tax payer, I support all areas of education," Paccapaniccia said, "and I will fight hard to maintain the arts in the district."

Paccapaniccia said she has learned a lot during her last years on the board and has attended several state conferences in order to become a more informed board member. She said her nursing experience can also help.

"Communication skills, assessment skills and leadership skills essential in nursing have allowed me to become a productive board member," Paccapaniccia said.

She said it will be important for the board to address the current district-wide feasibility study of its buildings as well as continue to solicit private donations to the district.

Schroth, who has served on the board for nearly four years, received the most votes in the Republican primary and also finished second in the Democratic primary.

He is the owner and operator of Schroth Industries, a wood treatment plan and lumber yard located in Indiana. He has owned the small business since 1988. He also served for four years in the U.S. Air Force.

Schroth graduated from Indiana Area Senior High and earned a bachelor's degree in forest management from Colorado State University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Idaho.

He and his wife Sandra have one son who just graduated from Indiana Area in the spring. Schroth has lived in the district for most of his life, including the last 25 years.

Schroth said he was encouraged to run for the board again because of feedback from the community, and he enjoys the satisfaction of hearing about improvements in the district, such as higher standardized testing scores.

"People keep saying it's a thankless job, but in reality it isn't," he said. "You do get thanks. It's not in the form of a paycheck, but there is a certain satisfaction in doing it."

Schroth has served on the Indiana County Airport Authority Board as well as the associate vice president of the Armstrong-Indiana Builders Association. He said that experience and his strong management background make him a good candidate for the board.

"We're educating our children -- it's a school system," he said, "but when you look at it from a broader perspective, it's an organization not too different from any other large organization that has 200 to 300 people employed and a $42 million budget. There are a lot of similar issues."

Schroth said the district will need to spend wisely if it makes any improvements based on the feasibility study. He's also concerned about school districts' increasing contribution to the teachers' retirement fund in 2012.

"The bottom line is the dollars that they're forecasting at this point in time that will be necessary to correct the problems are going to be astronomical," he said. "That is going to be huge and have a dramatic impact on the district."