Bethlehem Area School District elections (2015)
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Five seats on the Bethlehem Area School District Board of Directors were up for general election on November 3, 2015. A primary election was held on May 19, 2015. One seat representing Region 2, one seat representing Region 3 and three seats representing the district at-large were up for election.[1]
Incumbent Craig Neiman ran unopposed and won re-election to the Region 2 seat. He cross-filed in the primary election and won both the Republican and Democratic nominations for the seat. He originally filed to run for an at-large seat as well but withdrew from that race.
Region 3 candidates included incumbent Eugene McKeon and newcomer Dan Treffinger, who also ran for an at-large position in the primaries. McKeon won both primaries for the Region 3 seat and was, therefore, the sole candidate to advance to the general election for the region. While Treffinger did not advance in the Region 3 race, he did advance from the Republican primary for the at-large seat.
In addition to Treffinger, the race for the at-large seat included Dean Donaher and Thomas Thomasik running as cross-filed candidates, as well as Karen Beck Pooley running as a Democrat. Donaher, Thomasik and Pooley defeated Treffinger in the general election.
Other candidates that ran in the primary election but did not win a nomination were incumbent Basilio Bonilla, Inez Aguilar and Samuel Nazario. No independent candidates filed to run in the general election.[2][3]
Three of the nine candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey. Check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section to see their answers.
About the district
The Bethlehem Area School District is located in east-central Pennsylvania in Northampton County and Lehigh County. According to the United States Census Bureau in 2013, the population of Northampton County was 299,731, and its county seat is Easton.[4] The population of Lehigh County was 355,092, and the city of Allentown is the county seat.[5] In the 2012-2013 school year, the Bethlehem Area School District was the sixth-largest school district in Pennsylvania and served 14,300 students.[6]
Demographics
According to the United States Census Bureau in 2013, Northampton County and Lehigh County underperformed in terms of higher education achievement compared to the rest of Pennsylvania. The percentage of residents over 25 with a bachelor's degree or higher was 26.6 percent and 21.8 percent in Northampton County and Lehigh counties respectively; 27.5 percent of residents in Pennsylvania attained the same level of education. Northampton and Lehigh counties' median household income was $60,907 and $54,923 compared to the state's median of $52,548. The state had a poverty rate of 13.3 percent, while Northampton and Lehigh counties had rates of 9.7 percent and 13.7 percent.[4][5]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Voter and candidate information
The Bethlehem Area School Board of Directors consists of nine members elected to four-year terms. Three members represent three geographical regions, and six members represent the district at-large. One seat representing Region 2, one seat representing Region 3 and three seats representing the district at-large were up for election. A primary election was held on May 19, 2015. The general election was held on November 3, 2015.[8]
The state of Pennsylvania allows candidates in school board elections to file in both the Republican and Democratic primaries in a practice called cross-filing. Bethlehem Area School District also allows school board candidates to run for multiple seats on the board. If a candidate wins both seats, the candidate chooses one of the seats, and the board appoints someone to the empty seat.[1][9]
School board candidates had to file for this election with Northampton County by March 10, 2015. Those wishing to run as independent candidates had until August 3, 2015, to file. To vote in the primary election, residents had to register by April 20, 2015. To vote in the general election, residents had to register by October 5, 2015.[8]
Elections
2015
Candidates
Region 2
Craig Neiman  
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Region 3
| Eugene McKeon
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Dan Treffinger | ||
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At-large
General election candidates
| Dean Donaher
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Karen Beck Pooley 
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| Thomas Thomasik
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Dan Treffinger 
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Candidates defeated in primary
| Basilio Bonilla | Inez Aguilar | Samuel Nazario | |||
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Withdrawn
| Craig Neiman | |
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Election results
Region 2
| Bethlehem Area School District, Region 2, General Election, 2015 | ||||
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican |  Craig Neiman Incumbent |
100.0% | 7,891 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.04% | 3 | ||
| Total Votes | 7,894 | |||
| Source: Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Lehigh County Chief Clerk of Registration and Elections Timothy Bento," December 17, 2015 Northamption County, Pennsylvania, "Summary Report Northamption County Official Results," accessed December 17, 2015 | ||||
| Bethlehem Area School District, Region 2 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Craig Neiman Incumbent |
99.9% | 1,620 | |
| Democratic | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 2 | |
| Total Votes | 1,622 | |||
| Source: Lehigh County, "Municipal Primary - May 19, 2015: Bethlehem School District," accessed July 7, 2015Ballotpedia confirmed these results are official by phone. and Northhampton County, "May 19, 2015: Summary Report," accessed July 7, 2015 | ||||
| Bethlehem Area School District, Region 2 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Craig Neiman Incumbent |
99.8% | 936 | |
| Republican | Write-in votes | 0.2% | 2 | |
| Total Votes | 938 | |||
| Source: Lehigh County, "Municipal Primary - May 19, 2015: Bethlehem School District," accessed July 7, 2015Ballotpedia confirmed these results are official by phone. and Northhampton County, "May 19, 2015: Summary Report," accessed July 7, 2015 | ||||
Region 3
| Bethlehem Area School District, Region 3, General Election, 2015 | ||||
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican | Eugene McKeon Incumbent |
99.9% | 5,100 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.1% | 5 | ||
| Total Votes | 5,105 | |||
| Source: Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Lehigh County Chief Clerk of Registration and Elections Timothy Bento," December 17, 2015 Northamption County, Pennsylvania, "Summary Report Northamption County Official Results," accessed December 17, 2015 | ||||
| Bethlehem Area School District, Region 3 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Eugene McKeon Incumbent |
66.7% | 1,229 | |
| Democratic | Dan Treffinger | 33.1% | 610 | |
| Democratic | Write-in votes | 0.2% | 3 | |
| Total Votes | 1,842 | |||
| Source: Lehigh County, "Municipal Primary - May 19, 2015: Bethlehem School District," accessed July 7, 2015Ballotpedia confirmed these results are official by phone. and Northhampton County, "May 19, 2015: Summary Report," accessed July 7, 2015 | ||||
| Bethlehem Area School District, Region 3 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Eugene McKeon Incumbent |
54% | 615 | |
| Republican | Dan Treffinger | 46% | 524 | |
| Republican | Write-in votes | 0% | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 1,139 | |||
| Source: Lehigh County, "Municipal Primary - May 19, 2015: Bethlehem School District," accessed July 7, 2015Ballotpedia confirmed these results are official by phone. and Northhampton County, "May 19, 2015: Summary Report," accessed July 7, 2015 | ||||
At-large
| Bethlehem Area School District, At-Large, General Election, 2015 | ||||
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican | Dean Donaher |
33.2% | 11,853 | |
| Democratic/Republican | Thomas Thomasik |
32.1% | 11,451 | |
| Democratic | Karen Beck Pooley |
20.8% | 7,420 | |
| Republican | Dan Treffinger | 13.9% | 4,978 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.05% | 19 | ||
| Total Votes | 35,721 | |||
| Source: Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Lehigh County Chief Clerk of Registration and Elections Timothy Bento," December 17, 2015 Northamption County, Pennsylvania, "Summary Report Northamption County Official Results," accessed December 17, 2015 | ||||
| Bethlehem Area School District, At-Large Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Dean Donaher |
22.2% | 2,949 | |
| Democratic | Thomas Thomasik |
17.3% | 2,297 | |
| Democratic | Karen Beck Pooley |
16.4% | 2,178 | |
| Democratic | Basilio Bonilla Incumbent | 15.4% | 2,042 | |
| Democratic | Samuel Nazario | 13% | 1,732 | |
| Democratic | Inez Aguilar | 8.6% | 1,138 | |
| Democratic | Dan Treffinger | 7.1% | 944 | |
| Democratic | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 10 | |
| Total Votes | 13,290 | |||
| Source: Lehigh County, "Municipal Primary - May 19, 2015: Bethlehem School District," accessed July 7, 2015Ballotpedia confirmed these results are official by phone. and Northhampton County, "May 19, 2015: Summary Report," accessed July 7, 2015 | ||||
| Bethlehem Area School District, At-Large Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Dean Donaher |
26.5% | 1,662 | |
| Republican | Thomas Thomasik |
25.6% | 1,602 | |
| Republican | Dan Treffinger |
17.1% | 1,068 | |
| Republican | Samuel Nazario | 16.5% | 1,032 | |
| Republican | Karen Beck Pooley | 14.3% | 893 | |
| Republican | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 5 | |
| Total Votes | 6,262 | |||
| Source: Lehigh County, "Municipal Primary - May 19, 2015: Bethlehem School District," accessed July 7, 2015Ballotpedia confirmed these results are official by phone. and Northhampton County, "May 19, 2015: Summary Report," accessed July 7, 2015 | ||||
Endorsements
Donaher, Thomasik, Neiman, McKeon and Pooley received official endorsements from the Bethlehem Education Association.[10]
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported in the election, according to the Lehigh County Voter Registration department.[11]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2013At-large
District 1
District 2
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What was at stake?
2015
There were five open seats on the Bethlehem Area Board of Directors in 2015. Region 1 incumbent Craig Neiman ran unopposed. The Region 3 incumbent, Eugeon McKeon, faced challenger Dan Treffinger in the primary election. McKeon won nominations in both the Democratic and Republican primaries and advanced to the general election unopposed. Incumbent Basilio Bonilla faced six challengers for one of the three open at-large seats. Bonilla did not earn a nomination in the Democratic primary election. With the defeat of Bonilla, three new members joined the board.
The Bethlehem Area school board had to look to Pennsylvania state law to make decisions in two important issues in the district. A charter school in the district took its battle with the board all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in order to clarify state law that would limit charter schools to one location. The high schools in the district made plans to apply new state laws requiring testing and project-based assessments for graduation.
Issues in the district
Charter school's battle for expansion
The Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School faced multiple legal hurdles in order to get the approval they needed to expand their school. The school offers dual language instruction in English and Spanish for native Spanish speakers as well as native English speakers. It serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The charter school reached its capacity in 2013, after adding a grade every year since its inception. The charter school board presented a plan to the Bethlehem Area school board to move the school's middle school grades to a new building. The board rejected the plan stating that a provision in state law allowing charter schools to expand only applies to schools in Philadelphia. This decision prompted the charter school to reduce its kindergarten program to a half-day schedule and operate on a modified schedule that required middle school students to attend in the evenings and on weekends. The modified schedule caused many problems for students and parents. The charter school decided to send its middle school students back to their home districts until they could come to an agreement with the Bethlehem Area school board regarding expansion.[12]
The charter school appealed the decision to the Charter School Appeals Board (CAB). The CAB agreed with the Bethlehem school board in the interpretation of the law allowing for expansion of charter schools in Philadelphia only. The charter school then appealed to the Court of Commonwealth who overturned the CAB's ruling and allowed for expansion of charter schools upon the district school board's approval of the new building.[13][14]
The charter school returned to the Bethlehem Area school board with a plan to move the school's middle school grades to a building that once housed a private school. The school board denied their requests to enter into a lease with the former Catholic school, stating a concern with issues regarding the separation of church and state. The building has a large cross on the front of it, and there was also language in the lease stating the tenant must not reflect poorly upon the former use of the building. The school board feared the owner of the building might apply this clause to curriculum that contradicted the church's beliefs. The charter school began the appeal process again.[15]
Meanwhile, the district appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding the Court of the Commonwealth's ruling that charter schools can expand. The Supreme Court dismissed the case in September 2015.[16][17]
The school board and the charter school were able to come to a compromise. The charter school presented a new plan to the Bethlehem Area school board to relocate their entire school to a former school building that is big enough to house all grades and administrative offices. The plan was approved in August 2015. The approved plan included renovations and an estimated opening date of January 2016.[18]
State graduation requirements a problem in district schools
The state of Pennsylvania developed a new graduation requirement system called Keystone Exams. According to the new requirement, students in the class of 2017 must show proficiency in algebra, biology and English by passing state-wide standardized tests. Students get one chance to pass biology and two chances to pass algebra and English. Students who do not pass the tests must complete project-based assessments in the subject they did not pass. These project-based assessments are made up of online modules that are estimated to take anywhere from eight to 40 hours to complete. The Pennsylvania Department of Education grade the modules. A student would not be able to move on to the next module until the completed module is graded by the state.
The school district had many discussions to come up with a plan to comply with the state law while continuing to offer vocational and elective courses for students. There were also concerns regarding taking time away from specialized classes for special education students.
The district's plan is to create an additional elective class that will give students the necessary time to complete the online assessment. This class will run from nine weeks to 18 weeks depending on a student's needs. Even with the additional elective, district officials fear that waiting on the grading from the state will keep students in the class longer than necessary or not allow them additional chances to complete the online-modules. The board approved this plan in June 2015.[19][20][21]
Ballotpedia survey responses
Three of the nine candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from incumbent Basilio Bonilla as well as candidates Karen Beck Pooley and Thomas Thomasik.
Top priorities
When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, incumbent Basilio Bonilla stated:
| “ | If re-elected my top priority will be working to balance out growing budget with minimal tax increase. It will also be my goal to create a district wide tax rebate program for our senior citizens.[22] | ” |
| —Basilio Bonilla (2015)[23] | ||
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, challenger Karen Beck Pooley stated:
| “ | High quality public schools are the most important investment we make in our neighborhoods and in our children. My main priority is simply to ensure that all Bethlehem Area School District schools continue to be key community assets and that all Bethlehem Area School District students graduate well equipped for whatever educational or employment opportunities they will tackle in life.[22] | ” |
| —Karen Beck Pooley (2015)[24] | ||
When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, challenger Thomas Thomasik stated:
| “ | Balancing the budget and backing full day kindergarten![22] | ” |
| —Karen Beck Pooley (2015)[25] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidates were asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays the candidates' rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | ||||
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| Issue | Bonilla's ranking (At-large) |
Pooley's ranking (At-large) |
Thomasik's ranking (At-large) | |
| Expanding arts education | ||||
| Expanding career-technical education | ||||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||||
| Improving college readiness | ||||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||||
| Expanding school choice options | ||||
Positions on the issues
The candidates were asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. Links to the candidates' responses can be found below.
- Basilio Bonilla survey responses
- Karen Beck Pooley survey responses
- Thomas Thomasik survey responses
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Scranton School District election in 2015:[8]
| Deadline | Event |
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| March 10, 2015 | Partisan candidate filing deadline |
| March 11, 2015 - August 3, 2015 |
Independent candidate filing period |
| March 25, 2015 | Withdrawal deadline for primary election |
| April 20, 2015 | Voter registration deadline for primary election |
| May 8, 2015 | Pre-primary election campaign finance deadline |
| May 12, 2015 | Last day to file for absentee ballot for primary election |
| May 15, 2015 | Absentee ballot deadline for primary election |
| May 19, 2015 | Primary election day |
| June 18, 2015 | Post-primary election campaign finance deadline |
| August 10, 2015 | Withdrawal deadline for general election |
| October 5, 2015 | Last day to register to vote in general election |
| October 23, 2015 | Pre-general election campaign finance deadline for general election |
| October 27, 2015 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| October 30, 2015 | Absentee ballot deadline for general election |
| November 3, 2015 | General Election Day |
| December 3, 2015 | Post-general election campaign finance deadline for general election |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2015
This election shared the ballot with primary and general elections for county offices such as council, controller and district attorney. City and township offices on the ballot included mayor, controller, council member, constable, supervisor, auditor, commissioner and tax collector. There is also a magisterial district judge position on the ballot.[9]
Recent News
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Bethlehem Area School District Pennsylvania. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Bethlehem Area School District | Pennsylvania | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bethlehem Area School District, "Board of School Directors Meeting Guide," accessed March 11, 2015 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "board" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, "Unofficial List of Candidates, Municipal Election, November 3, 2015," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ Northampton County, "Unofficial General Municipal Ballot," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quick Facts: Northampton County," accessed March 17, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 United States Census Bureau, "Quick Facts: Lehigh County," accessed March 17, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Bethlehem Area School District," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Election Results," accessed August 9, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Pennsylvania Department of State, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Northampton County, "2015 Unofficial Ballot," accessed March 17, 2015
- ↑ Twitter, "Bethlehem Education Association," May 18, 2015
- ↑ Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ Lehigh Valley Live, "Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School expansion rejected," August 12, 2013
- ↑ Lehigh Valley Live, "Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School can't have two locations, state says," October 29, 2013
- ↑ Lehigh Valley Live, "Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School wins Commonwealth Court reversal," July 22, 2014
- ↑ Lehigh Valley Live, "Bethlehem school board votes down charter school move over religious concerns," November 17, 2014
- ↑ Lehigh Valley Live, "Bethlehem charter school battle heads to Pennsylvania Supreme Court," May 6, 2015
- ↑ The Morning Call, "Pa. Supreme Court dismisses BASD charter school case," September 30, 2015
- ↑ Lehigh Valley Live, "Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School gets nod to move," August 18, 2015
- ↑ Lehigh Valley Live, "'It's a mess,' Bethlehem schools chief on Keystone Exams project-based tests," May 4, 2015
- ↑ Lehigh Valley Live, "Bethlehem schools adding Keystone Exam class," June 8, 2015
- ↑ Bethlehem Area School District, "Meeting Agenday and Minutes," accessed November 11, 2015
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Basilio Bonilla responses," March 13, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Karen Beck Pooley responses," March 30, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Thomas Thomasik responses," May 16, 2015
| 2015 Bethlehem Area School District Elections | |
| Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and Northampton County, Pennsylvania | |
| Election date: | Primary election: May 19, 2015 General election: November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Basilio Bonilla (D) • Incumbent, Craig Neiman (D/R) • Inez Aguilar (D) • Dean Donaher (D/R) • Samuel Nazario (D/R) • Karen Beck Pooley (D/R) • Thomas Thomasik (D/R) • Dan Treffinger (D/R)
Region 2: • Incumbent, Craig Neiman (D/R) Region 3: • Incumbent, Eugene McKeon (D/R) • Dan Treffinger (D/R) |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
