Voters will have a full slate of candidates from which to choose as they vote for the Wissahickon School Board on Election Day.
Four four-year terms on the nine-member board are up for election this year.
The Democratic field consists of sitting school board members Ron Stoloff and Tracie Walsh and newcomers Debbie Greenstein and Tiffany Hodgson. The GOP candidates are former school board members Charles McIntrye and Barbara Ullery and newcomers Jay Gelman and Rona Sisson.
All candidates were asked to complete an email questionnaire. The following information is based on the candidates’ responses.
Jay Gelman
A 22-year district resident, Gelman owns two local small businesses. He has been president of Lower Gwynedd Little League for more than 10 years and is the co-chairman of the Wissahickon Sports Task Force.
Gelman said he considered running for the school board in the past and felt the time was now right.
“We have a great district but there are also many important issues in the district that have not been addressed and I have the background to help problem solve and build a plan to resolve those issues,” he said.
Gelman said his background working in business would be an asset to the school board.
“I will bring a strong business background to the board,” he said. “My daily experience with balancing budgets, making payroll and making difficult financial decisions allows me to bring new ideas and solutions to our complex budgetary problems.”
The candidate identified budget concerns as the top issue facing the district.
“After many years of no tax increases the board has chosen the easy and somewhat painful way out by raising taxes,” he said. “We have an obligation to treat our tax payers as partners. I take this very seriously and will consider the needs of the students and our great district first. We need to make sure our students and teachers have the tools needed to succeed to keep our district a top district in the state.”
Gelman said if elected, another top priority would be creating a long-term plan to address needed repair and modernization of district facilities.
Debbie Greenstein
Greenstein did not complete the questionnaire from Digital First Media.
A retired educator, Greenstein worked in public education for more than three decades as a classroom teacher, a high school administrator, a behavior specialist and a school counselor, according to the Great School Team candidate website, which features information about the four Democratic candidates.
“This variety of roles allowed me to gain a very wide perspective on the challenges that face public school districts,” Greenstein wrote on the site. “I plan to apply my work experience to providing the best practices for students while also promoting sound spending.”
Tiffany Hodgson
A six-year district resident, Hodgson has a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She has worked in medical marketing and education, owning her own business that provides marketing strategy, research and medical content for communications firms.
Hodgson’s bid for the school board was motivated by her passion for learning.
“I believe that a strong public education system forms the basis of a strong democracy,” she said. “Educating our children well makes our community and indeed, the world, a better place. Out district is good, but it can be better. We need committed people who can think critically and creatively to strengthen our academic programs, and do more with less money.”
Hodgson said she possesses several skills that would make her an effective school board member, including her ability to think critically, her background in communications, her empathy and her knowledge of the special education program.
“Because I am an expert in learning and memory, I am able to help make policy around curriculum that ensures children are learning what their brains are best primed to learn at the time they can best learn it,” she said.
She identified fiscal challenges as the most pressing issue facing the school board.
“Our money is tight. We must do more with less and stick to budget,” Hodgson said. “Raising taxes should not be a go-to strategy. We need to think creatively and partner with our local businesses who benefit from being in our community and ask them to do more. We also need to ask tough questions about risks associated with not spending whatever amounts of money in question.”
If elected, Hodgson said, another top priority would be focusing on helping “each child achieving their unique greatness” by providing the offerings they need and working with families.
Charles McIntyre
A 27-year district resident, McIntrye worked for Unisys for 44 years before retiring from the role of national sales director for North America operations this spring.
McIntrye previously served on the school board from 2011 to 2015, being board president for the final two years.
He said he was motivated to seek another term in order to continue the efforts he made during his previous board tenure.
“The job of a school board director is to be an advocate for the taxpayer and ensure that funds are utilized to the maximum benefit, and guarantee that these funds provide every student the finest education that will prepare him or her for [whatever] challenges are ahead,” he said. “I felt that I made a strong contribution when I last served on the board, and want to continue to serve and raise Wissahickon School District to even higher levels of educational excellence and standards.”
McIntrye said he feels his background makes him well-suited to serve on the board.
“Both my career as national sales director and my previous school board service have positioned me with the skills that enable me to make the proper decisions that will best service both the school district and the community as well,” he said.
The candidate identified addressing the achievement gap as the top issue facing the district.
“I would work with and accelerate Superintendent Crisfield’s 10-year, 10-point plan by including more student participation in co-curricular activities and more parent involvement,” he said.
If elected, two other top priorities for McIntrye would be addressing projects in the engineering and architectural master plan and assessing the current budget and planned tax increases.
Rona Sisson
An 11-year resident, Sisson is an attorney and business consultant.
A desire to contribute to the district’s future success motivated her decision to run for election.
“The Wissahickon School District needs excellence in all aspects of their operations, staffing, and policy-making, and the current board as configured is not a balanced representation of Ambler, Whitpain and Lower Gwynedd stakeholders,” she said. “I am running for school director for the first time, with an interest in contributing to the future success of our great district and the students we serve. My youngest is off to college and I have the time, talent and energy to serve.”
Sisson pointed to skills gained through her professional career that she would bring to the board if elected.
“I feel I have a balanced, fair and thoughtful judgment, excellent communication skills, proven track record with budgeting/finance matters, a solid grasp of current hiring trends (both college and non-college-bound learners), and specific experience/knowledge regarding salaries, contracts and special education matters,” she said.
Sisson identified maintaining excellence in educating students in the most financially sound manner as the top issue facing the district.
If elected, two other top areas of concern would be incorporating community input into the master facilities planning and ensuring there are work, votech and higher education options for district graduates, she said.
Ron Stoloff
Stoloff did not complete the questionnaire from Digital First Media.
A 26-year district resident, Stoloff worked for 35 years as a public school teacher, according to the Great School Team candidate website.
Stoloff was elected to the school board in 2013, and since then, he has served as chairman of the policy committee, the legislative liaison to the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit and the district’s liaison to North Montco Technical School.
“I think it is key that someone with actual classroom experience be on the board,” Stoloff said on the site.
Barbara Ullery
A 28-year district resident, Ullery was a senior programmer/analyst for Unisys and Accenture, as well as working as a professional tax preparer for H&R Block.
Ullery previously sat on the school board from 2011 to 2015 and was motivated to seek another term because of how much she enjoyed her service.
“While serving on the board is a lot of work, I loved doing it,” she said. “I chaired the curriculum committee and fought to add a personal finance course to the high-school curriculum — budgeting, understanding interest rates and credit cards. By doing so I realized I could have a real impact on the students and the community.”
She said her professional background prepared her for board service.
“My professional background as a senior programmer/analyst shows I have a proven capability for complex and analytical thinking,” she said.
Ullery pointed to “recent and excessive tax increases” as the most important issue facing the Wissahickon School District.
“I realize that there is inflation and that tax increases are sometimes necessary,” she said. “I would look carefully at any expenditures that are being considered. I never voted for a tax increase while serving on the board.”
If elected, she said, two other top priorities would be addressing the achievement gap and working toward more instruction on government and geography in the curriculum.
Tracie Walsh
Walsh did not complete the questionnaire from Digital First Media.
A 10-year resident, Walsh is a Realtor and works as an administrator for a staffing agency, according to the Great School Team candidate website. She has volunteered as PTO president, a baseball coach, a PTO volunteer and an advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Walsh was elected to the board in 2013, serving as the co-chair of the athletic task force and chair of the facilities/transportation committee.
“Serving on the school board for the last 3½ years has been very rewarding,” Walsh wrote on the site. “I believe that a school board is responsible for putting in place a school system that gives every student an excellent education as well as being fiscally responsible. We are also tasked with the huge responsibility to maintain the district’s biggest assets, with that being the school buildings along with balancing a $100 million budget.”
