In East Penn, 11 candidates, including two slates, seek 5 seats
With only 2 incumbents running, door is open for at least 3 new directors
In the East Penn School District, 11 candidates are seeking five seats on the nine-member school board.
All but one have cross-filed, meaning they will appear on both ballots. Only Republicans and Democrats can vote in the May 16 primary.
Only two incumbents – board President Joshua Levinson, a Democrat, and board Vice President Jeffrey Jankowski, a Republican – are on the spring ballot – leaving open the door for at least three new school directors.
The other candidates include Republicans Paul Barbehenn, Kristofer DePaolo, Lawrence Huyssen, Timothy Kelly, Matt Mull and Angelic Schneider and Democrats Shonta Ford, Gabrielle Klotz and Brian Wessner.
Barbehenn, DePaolo, Huyssen, Mull and Schneider are running as a slate under the name Your Voice on the Board.
They have been endorsed by the Lehigh County Republican Committee, which is also backing the Elevating Excellence in Parkland and the Southern Lehigh Putting Families First slates.
The Your Voice candidates listed priorities on their Facebook page, including:
Fostering constructive discourse with the goal of implementing practical and common sense solutions.
Creating open and honest dialogue with parents, teachers, students and taxpayers.
Ensuring that students have the strongest academic foundation possible, diverse opportunities for extracurricular activities and that teachers have the resources and support necessary to be successful.
The five also want to address concerns over the safety of students and teachers in the classroom involving behavioral issues, focus on accountability and transparency and take fiscal responsibility seriously.
One topical issue the slate did address on its Facebook page was book bans:
“Adults should be able to discuss the age appropriateness of specific books in specific libraries. Doing so is not radical; it is prudent and responsible. Parents should always have the final say in the resources that their children are allowed to access or check out from any school library. Hopefully we can collectively spend our time and energy talking about issues that really matter to the majority of voters in the East Penn School District.”
Ford, Klotz, Levinson, Jankowski and Kelly are also running as a slate, asking people to vote for directors “who value education & fiscal responsibility.”
The group says it stands for keeping taxes low, maintaining safe and welcoming environments, offering mental health support, having engaging curriculum, closing learning and opportunity gaps and providing resources for students and teachers.
Ford, Jankowski, Kelly, Klotz and Levinson were endorsed by Defend East Penn, a local group that says it is proud of East Penn’s accomplishments and aims to stop what it calls the nationwide movement of extremism.
The group described such positions as instituting book bans, victimizing vulnerable student populations, harming education under the guise of “rooting out CRT” and the spreading of misinformation about student academic performance.
On its Facebook page, Defend East Penn linked the movement to the slate.
In an email to Armchair Lehigh Valley, Defend East Penn pointed to a post by East Penn Pro Education, which said campaign literature for the Your Voice on the Board candidates was available at a February meeting of Moms for Liberty - Lehigh County. Nationally, Moms for Liberty members have challenged books in various school libraries.
A speaker at the meeting, according to people who attended, was Frank Dumbleton, who led a June meeting on CRT sponsored by Restoring Excellence in East Penn Education (REEPE) and who has spoken at recent school board meetings.
In addition, the East Penn Democrats sent out a mailer calling the five Republicans “extremists.”
Moms for Liberty and Dumbleton could not be reached for comment.
Your Voice on the Board did not respond to two Facebook messages asking the group to discuss the election and seeking comment on the claims by Defend East Penn and the East Penn Democrats.
However, Barbehenn posted a video on Monday on the Your Voice on the Board Facebook page that, in part, alluded to the claims.
Barbehenn said he was “tired of hearing loud and extreme voices dominate our discourse,” saying “these loud voices have come out of the woodwork and have engaged in the politics of personal destruction as they typically do, coming after us personally, coming after our businesses in some cases.”
He said they have engaged in “guilt by association” and attempted to tie the slate to positions the members have not taken.
He said he “wants to be a more constructive member of our community in terms of how we do dialogue and in terms of how we address issues, especially issues that are controversial and of consequence.”
East Penn covers the boroughs of Emmaus, Macungie, Alburtis, and Upper Milford and Lower Macungie townships. It has about 8,100 students in 10 schools.
In June, the school board adopted a $174,075,364 budget for 2022-23 that raised the property tax rate to 19.7903 mills. Both incumbent candidates voted yes.
Here is a look at the candidates. Information on the candidates was found on their campaign websites, Facebook pages, Linkedin sites, news articles, board meeting minutes and videos and other sources.
Paul Barbehenn - R - Cross-filed
Your Voice on the Board candidate
Barbehenn is a married father of two students in the district. He is senior wealth adviser at Mercer Global Advisors. He graduated from Freedom High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Penn State. Barbehenn sought to be appointed to the school board in January 2022 to fill a vacancy. He serves on the board of the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown and is treasurer of the organization’s foundation. He is a board member of the Priority One Foundation, a relational Christian outreach ministry. In an April 10 interview on the Bobby Gunther Walsh radio show on WAEB, Barbehenn says he is running because he sees “a lack of leadership” on the board and believes with his business and nonprofit background he could help in a constructive way. He said his biggest concern is violence and behavioral issues in the classroom. Barbehenn was asked by Walsh about whether he would support teaching CRT in schools. Generally speaking, he said, he does not favor curriculum that could be seen as “widespread and divisive on (the) race front, on (the) gender front, on any front along those lines.” He said such topics need to be addressed on a case-by-case basis. He also said the district needs to “focus the curriculum on things that are going to be effective.” On gender issues, he said “having a discussion with any student about changing their gender should be happening at home, not in schools.” If a complaint is made about a book, he told Walsh that reasonable discussions should be able to happen over whether it is appropriate for a school library.
Kristofer DePaolo - R - Cross-filed
Your Voice on the Board candidate
DePaolo is a married father of two students in the school district. He is the CEO of Werner & Company CPAs, PC, located in Wescosville. DePaolo went to Freedom High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2001 from Bloomsburg University. He is a licensed CPA. He is vice president of the Camelot for Children board of directors and is treasurer of the Hillside School. He says he is running for school board to support teachers and parents, improve the quality of education and encourage an open dialogue with parents. “I believe that both my professional experience as a fiscally responsible leader will help to continue to help the district get back its reputation as the ‘District of Choice.’ ” DePaolo posted a video addressing the claims by Defend East Penn and the East Penn Democrats.
Shonta Ford - D - Cross-filed
Endorsed by Defend East Penn
Ford, a mother of two grown children, is the owner of Indigo Blooms, an event planning and floral design company. Ford grew up in New Jersey, has a degree in speech language and hearing from Rutgers University and previously worked in health care. Ford said she is a licensed minister and volunteers as an outreach coordinator, working with nonprofits supporting food pantries, displaced families and school benevolent programs. Ford sought to be appointed to the school board in January 2022 to fill a vacancy. She says she values public education, crediting her guidance counselor with helping her get into college and secure a four-year scholarship. She says she believes in fiscal responsibility and is a problem solver, saying she is “ready to harness all my education, business acumen and people skills to take part in this move forward into a bright future for the East Penn School District.” Ford, who is Black, spoke at a December 2020 school board meeting in support of East Penn School District Equality Coalition, a group of students and former students who spoke on behalf of Black students who felt invisible, called on the district to recognize that racism exists in the high school and asked for ongoing and yearly anti-racist training for all staff.
Lawrence Huyssen - R - Cross-filed
Your Voice on the Board candidate
Huyssen was born in the Philippines, where his parents were missionaries. He graduated from Emmaus High School in 2015. Hyssen, who then went to Penn State, works at First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union. Huyssen says he is running for school board because now is the time to act. “If I sit by and wait to have my own children in school, it will be too late to impact their education. I believe that the actions of the board today create the district of tomorrow.” Eight years out of high school, he said, he has seen firsthand how the actions of the board impact students. He believes it’s imperative that parents be involved in their children’s education.
Jeffrey Jankowski - R - Incumbent – Cross-filed
Endorsed by Defend East Penn
Jankowski, an Emmaus High School graduate, is a married father of three who serves as board vice president. He is a vice president and deputy general counsel-corporate at PPL Utilities. Jankowski earned undergraduate and law degrees from Pittsburgh University. He was first elected to the board in 2019. Jankowski voted yes in the 7-2 vote to pass the 2022-23 budget. He was a no vote on the 6-3 vote on Dec. 12 to start with ninth grade to phase out English and social studies general preparatory track classes. The issue drew criticism from teachers, students, parents and taxpayers. Jankowski supported the decision but wanted to wait a year, saying the district needed more time to prepare and to get buy-in for the idea. He joined the unanimous vote to make masks optional in March 2022. Jankowski says he has brought a unique perspective to the board as an attorney and “a middle- of- the- road thinker.” He said, “It has certainly been a trying five years, and I have not always agreed with the majority of the board or the administration.” He said he has immense respect for colleagues on the board and the administration, their perspectives and the hard work and dedication they put in for the district. “That is what makes our board and administration unique and makes this a great school district for my kids to grow, learn and develop as students and individuals.”
Timothy Kelly - R - Cross-filed
Endorsed by Defend East Penn
Kelly is a father of six children. He has been a math teacher the last 18 years. He sought to be appointed to the school board in January 2022 to fill a vacancy. As a teacher and parent, he says he is familiar with curriculum writing, evolving educational methods and technology. He says he is also aware of the difficulties parents face with technology, communication and the struggles of supporting students’ learning at home. His priorities include ensuring the district provides engaging curriculums and extracurricular activities. “I see an opportunity to have a positive impact by helping our current board ensure that everyone involved in our school community is welcomed in a safe and professional environment,” he said. “I want to ensure that the open seats on the board are filled by people that promote those same ideals.”
Gabrielle Klotz - D - Cross-filed
Endorsed by Defend East Penn
Klotz is a single parent of a student in the district. She says the pandemic led her to become a remote worker and move to Emmaus. She is a personal lines excess/surplus lines insurance underwriter. She has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from St. Andrews Presbyterian College. She is vice president of the Lower Macungie Middle School PTO. Klotz says her insurance background has prepared her to work with multiple stakeholders. She says she wants to ensure all students are future-ready. “In order for our children to be successful and happy in our world, we have to exemplify civility, tolerance and acceptance. We cannot expect our children to grow intellectually when they feel isolated and unwanted,” she said. She said she is running “because I know we can do great things, we can help our children have even better lives than we do.” She said: “I want to be a part of making that happen while focusing on keeping our budget manageable. I’m a single parent – I am very aware of every dollar I spend, and the rising costs of existing today.” On her Facebook page, Klotz has discussed topics such as book banning, saying “I think censorship belongs at home… Don’t tell somebody what their student or their family can’t read.” She says she can get along with people of different opinions. “I firmly believe that people are inherently good, and can achieve great things when we work together. I also believe that sometimes the loudest voices are not the majority.”
Joshua A. Levinson - Incumbent - Cross-filed
Endorsed by Defend East Penn
Levinson is a married father of two who serves as school board president. He is a product engineer at EMD Electronics and has a bachelor's and master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree and doctorate from Stanford University. Levinson was appointed to the board in 2018 to fill a vacancy and ran for a full term in 2019. He serves on the East Penn School District Education Foundation both as a board representative and as a community member. Levinson voted yes in the 7-2 vote to adopt the 2022-23 budget. He was a yes vote on the 6-3 vote on Dec. 12 to start with ninth grade to detrack English and social studies general preparatory track classes. He joined the unanimous vote to make masks optional in March 2022. Levinson says his engineering background allows him to look for ways to maximize outcomes while minimizing costs and resources to reach quality outcomes. Levinson said he championed the expansion of tax relief for low-income residents. Under his leadership, he said, the board, among other successes, used pandemic-related relief funds to effectively address student learning needs, began live-streaming and archiving board meetings and streamlined the school calendar, including eliminating “disruptive” half days.
Matt Mull - R - Cross-filed
Your Voice on the Board candidate
Mull is a father of three graduates of Emmaus High School. A graduate of Penn State with a degree in industrial and manufacturing engineering, he is the senior commercial operations manager at Solesis. Mull was a board member of Bear Creek Camp from 2012-2019, including serving as president. He is a member of the Emmaus High School Facilities Committee. Mull sought to be appointed to the board in January 2022 to fill a vacancy. Mull says having two parents who were teachers has given him a unique perspective on the need to support educators and students while keeping aligned with the community’s priorities. Mull believes the district has much to offer students. If elected to the school board, Mull wants to help guide the district to the next level of service for all of its students and community members.
Angelic Schneider - R - Cross-filed
Your Voice on the Board candidate
Schneider is a married mother of two students in the district. She has been a teacher in the Parkland School District for 25 years, teaching middle school. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Cedar Crest College and a master’s degree in elementary education from Kutztown University. Schneider says she is running to support, attract and retain good teachers. She thinks there is low morale among the staff. She also wants all stakeholders to have a voice in the success of the district. “Having the opportunity to be a part of our school board will allow me to add insight, ideas, and suggestions that will improve and enhance our district, not only for my children but all the children,” she says. In an April 10 interview on the Bobby Gunther Walsh radio show, Schneider was asked whether she supports CRT being taught in school. She replied that from her experience it is not being taught in school and she doesn’t see it fitting into state curriculum standards. Walsh also asked her about book bans. She told Walsh she doesn’t think books should be banned from a school library and also said she doesn’t think sexually explicit and graphic books should be in a school library. If a school board allows such books, she said parents should be required to fill out a form requesting it for their child.
Brian Wessner - D -Democratic ballot only
Wessner, who is not part of either slate, is a married father of four who also is raising two nephews. He is a 1988 graduate of Emmaus High School who works in the operational excellence division at Becton Dickenson. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Lock Haven University and a master's degree in business administration from DeSales University. Wessner says he has strong ties to the district. His father Ronald taught math at Emmaus High School and his mother Marian worked in the administrative offices. His wife Martha is a staff assistant at Jefferson Elementary. His brother Dan is an assistant high school track and field coach. Wessner has been on the superintendents’ parent advisory council, the facilities inquiry team and served on the East Penn Instrumental Music Committee. “I am not part of or supported by one of the other groups currently supporting other candidates,” he says. “I am a concerned parent and East Penn resident. I am an independent and critical thinker that does not have a set agenda but wants to serve on the board and to keep the excellence of East Penn School District.”
Correction: Joshua Levinson is part of a slate that also includes Shonta Ford, Tim Kelly Gabrielle Klotz, and Jeffrey Jankowski. Brian Wessner is not part of the slate. A previously version of this story incorrectly stated the slate.