In Parkland, 14 running for six school board seats

List includes 5 incumbents, familiar faces at board meetings

In the Parkland School District, six seats are up for election on the nine-member board, a number that, depending on the outcome, could alter the philosophical makeup of a board that typically has had a healthy majority on the votes it takes. 

Five of the seats are for four-year terms while the sixth is for the two years that will be left on a seat that was held by Republican Jarrett Coleman, who was elected to the state Senate in the 16th District in November. 

Fourteen people in all are on the ballot with all seeking a four-year term. Five of the 14 are also in the running for the two-year term. 

Incumbents seeking reelection are Carol Facchiano, Patrick Foose, Jay Rohatgi, Lisa Roth and Marisa Ziegler. 

Their four-year challengers include Michael Deering, Joanne Dillman, Beth Finch, Natalie Janotka, Bobby Lanyon, Mike Millo, Christopher Pirotta, George Rivera and Laura Warmkessel.

Many are familiar faces at school board meetings, speaking out on mask policies, board appointments, books and transgender policies.  

Deering, Finch, Janotka, Lanyon, Millo and Rivera are running on a slate of “Elevating Excellence in Parkland,” a group whose Facebook page was not available on Monday.

The group said it stands for parent choice, exemplary education, accountability, reasonable spending, improved communication and transparency.

The Parkland School District, whose boundaries include South Whitehall, North Whitehall, Upper Macungie and a part of western Allentown, serves about 9,500 students in 11 schools. The district also includes a small part of west Allentown: the 17th Ward/4th District and 18th Ward/2nd District.

In June 2022, the board voted 6-3 to raise taxes by 1.2% to 15.90 mills to help balance a $216,244,747 budget, the first hike in two years. The 2022-23 budget used $5,074,177 from the fund balance, a rainy day type fund, to help close the gap. 

Other recent issues include the vote to build a nearly $20 million operations center on Stadium Drive across from Orefield Middle School. No current members voted no. 

The board has come under criticism for transparency. Coleman sued the board over votes taken on Oct. 26, 2021, and Nov. 16, 2021, on a new teachers contract that he alleged violated the state’s Sunshine Act.  

On Jan. 3, the board was criticized for appointing Robert Bold, a former, longtime board member, to replace Coleman without opening the post up to the public.  

Looming for the school board is keeping up with its growing enrollment. Projections show that the high school could exceed capacity by 2025, according to the district. Both middle schools also could exceed capacity before seeing enrollment drop, the article said. 

Here is a look at the candidates. Information on the candidates was found on their campaign websites, Facebook pages, Linkedin sites, newspaper articles, League of Women Voter guides and from Parkland School Board meeting minutes and videos. 

Carol Facchiano - R - Incumbent (Cross-filed for two- and four-year terms.) 
Currently board president, Facchiano has a business administration degree from Bloomsburg University in 1986. She is an office administrator at the Parkland Aquatic Club. Active in the PTO and other school-related groups, she was first elected to the school board in 2015 and reelected in 2019. In June, she voted yes on the 2022-23 budget, saying the district is not exempt from the rising costs and that she didn’t want to use the entire fund balance and leave future boards with no cushion.  A healthy fund balance is considered to be 5%-8% of a district’s general operating budget. On Jan. 3, Facchiano explained Bold’s appointment, saying no prior discussion was held on his selection. She said appointing a member this way is the preferred option when the term is short and the person doesn’t intend to run for office. Bold is serving until December when the new board will be seated. She said when the terms are more than a year,  it’s best to open the post to the public and hold interviews, which happened when Rohatgi was appointed in January 2022. 

Patrick Foose - R - Incumbent (Cross-filed for four-year term)
Foose is a customer service representative for HNL Lab Medicine who has a bachelor’s degree in English and literature from Moravian University and a master’s degree in education from Kutztown University. Foose, who was first elected in 2019, said he stands for transparency and accountability, “We need to have visionary leadership that puts the interests of taxpayers, students, faculty, and staff first and leave ego outside of board chamber,” he said on Facebook. He voted no to buying an approximately $80,000 scoreboard for the high school pool, saying the building and grounds committee, of which he is a member, was left out of the purchase discussion. Board Director David Hein responded by saying not every agenda item goes through every committee but that members have access to all documents ahead of votes. Foose voted no on the ‘22-23 budget. He voted no on approving annual library tax of .1 mill . He also voted no on the appointment of Bold, saying interviews should have been conducted. In February, he was the lone vote against a revised health and safety plan, saying he didn’t think it was needed. 

Lisa Roth - R - Incumbent (Cross-filed for two- and four-year terms.) 
Roth, who has worked as a business support specialist, has been on the board for more than a decade, serving as president in 2022. As board president at the time, she defended the district’s 2021 votes on the teachers contract, saying the district could not put the terms of the contract on the agenda 24 hours in advance (as required) because of the timing of the teachers’ vote, which was happening on the same day.  She voted yes on the ‘22-23 budget, saying the board was using money from the fund balance to limit the tax hike and that the board must plan for demographic growth.

Jay Rohatgi – D – Incumbent (Cross-filed for two- and four-year terms.) 
Rohatgi, a parent of two who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in India, is a principal at Pegasystems Inc. He was appointed to the board in January 2022 after David Kennedy resigned. Rohatgi ran for school board and lost in 2019 and 2021. His volunteerism includes the Parkland Education Foundation, Parkland Community Advisory Council and Pennsylvania Regional Science Olympiad tournament. He voted no to the ‘22-23 budget, citing the nation’s high inflation rate and district taxpayers on fixed incomes. He wants to continue Parkland’s excellence in academics, arts and athletics. “As a parent and a current board member it’s important for me that we keep cultural wars, division and politics to gain higher office out of our board. Let’s focus on providing the best education for our kids,” he said. 

Marisa Ziegler - D – Incumbent (Cross-filed for four-year term)
Ziegler is the board’s vice president. The public school teacher has a bachelor's degree from Temple University and master’s degree from Kutztown University.  She was first elected to the board in 2019 and was the top vote-getter. A mother of twins, she is Parkland's first openly LGBTQ+ board director. “During my time on the board, I have voted to maintain and enhance the options, opportunities, and resources available to our students,” she said. Among her issues, Ziegler wants to “prioritize the mental health of students, pass fiscally responsible budgets that maintain strengths in academics, arts, and athletics programs, build community relationships that ensure multiple perspectives and plan for future capital projects that adapt to enrollment growth.” Ziegler defended a unanimous August 2021 vote that mandated mask wearing, telling WFMZ that it was based on data. She voted for the ‘22-23 budget, saying the district hadn’t raised taxes in two years, that Parkland had the lowest tax rate in Lehigh County and the district was facing a shortfall.

Michael Deering - R (Republican ballot only for four-year term)
Deering, an Elevating Excellence candidate, is a married father of three who served in the U.S. Army and works as a real estate investor. He is a volunteer youth baseball coach. He wants to improve communications between the district and taxpayers. He wants to show fiscal responsibility by comparing cost estimates with market rates. 

Joanne Dillman - D (Democratic ballot only for four-year term)
Dillman, who was born in England, is a former high school teacher in the Allentown School District who taught German and Social Studies and is a certified ESOL specialist. On her Facebook page, she said she works for the German American Chamber of Commerce, helping businesses with apprenticeship programs that create high-paying jobs for students right out of high school. Dillman said she would work to keep taxes low and deliver the highest standard of education to students, including social and emotional learning that encourages compassion and empathy, technical and vocational training, and critical thinking, problem solving, communication and teamwork skills. Dillman said education has become a contentious issue because of talk about critical race theory and book bans. “I am not going to give any more oxygen to those issues. They are just noise and distraction from what the purpose of education is – to turn students into career ready and productive citizens of our country.”

Beth Finch - R  (Cross-filed for four-year term)
Finch, an Elevating Excellence candidate, is a married mother of three. Frequently speaking at board meetings, she said, “...  it’s a true passion of mine, as well as a privilege, to be a voice for children, parents, taxpayers, educators, staff, and our community as a whole.” A believer in school and parent choice, she founded Freedom for Choice PA, a grassroots group that advocates for those who feel that their rights are in jeopardy, including educating teachers about their rights to opt out of unions. She raised money to support a successful lawsuit backed by Freedom for Choice of the Lehigh Valley over mask mandates. In 2021, Finch started a petition on change.org to show support for keeping masks optional in the Parkland School District.  Finch spoke on that issue at a Feb. 15, 2022, school board meeting.  Finch unsuccessfully sought to be appointed to an open seat on the school board in January 2022. She won a write-in campaign in the May 2022 primary to run as a Republican in the 132nd House District race. She lost in the November election to incumbent Democrat Mike Schlossberg. Finch criticized Bold’s appointment, saying the board “had a solid idea” of who it wanted on the board and pointing out that Coleman is a Republican while Bold a Democrat. She said the tax increase was unnecessary. On April 19, Finch discussed her campaign and where she stands on issues on the Bobby Gunther Walsh radio show on WAEB.

Natalie Janotka - R  (Cross-filed for four-year term)
Janotka, an Elevating Excellence candidate, is a married mother of two who is a licensed professional counselor. She is listed as a moderator for the Moms for Liberty Lehigh County website. She said she understands the importance of protecting children with emotional and mental health issues. She wants parents to have the right to voice their concerns. Janotka sought to be appointed to the board in January 2022. She frequently speaks at school board meetings. On Aug. 16, 2022, she questioned the board’s motive behind social distancing in the elementary schools – suggesting it could be because the district “wants to make students think they are going to school to become sick and die.”  In questioning the financing for the pool scoreboard, she asked “if there is a kick back?” Commenting on Bold’s appointment on Jan. 3, she told the board, “I appreciate the opportunity for you to pretend that you care.” At the same meeting, Foose tried to nominate Janotka for the position, but failed to get a second on his motion. 

Bobby Lanyon - R (Cross-filed for four-year term)
Lanyon, an Elevating Excellence candidate, is a married father of three school-age sons who is from Australia.  He is CEO of AIG Safety, according to the Elevating Excellence Facebook page. He believes all children, including his son with Down Syndrome, should receive the best education possible. According to his Facebook page, Lanyon said he thinks parents need to take a lead in the education of their kids. “I think we’ve gone soft a little bit,” he said. “I think we need to take the reins back a little bit.” He said children should go to school to learn, saying it’s not a “social engineering platform …They are there for reading, writing and arithmetic. Let’s not complicate it.” A small business operator, he said he doesn’t think there is any good reason to raise taxes. 

Mike Millo - R (Cross-filed for two- and four-year terms.) 
Millo, an Elevating Excellence candidate, is a married father of two sons. He is a former high school teacher and college instructor. According to Elevating Excellence, he is running to invest in the future and believes that quality leadership, transparency, communication, among other things, will help train students for the future. He has spoken at meetings against the district’s mask policies. He sought to be appointed to the board in January 2022 when Rohatgi was appointed. Millo later said Rohatgi “seemed to have been pre-selected.” He opposed Bold’s appointment, telling the board it was “nothing more than a placeholder to protect your precious 8-1 vote.” Millo won a spot on the Republican ballot in 2021 but said on Facebook that he dropped out of the general election because of the birth of one of his sons  Before the 2021 primary, Millo and Coleman were visited by conservative activist Scott Presler, who posted a video supporting their campaigns and parental choice.  Presler also paid a visit in April, according to Millo’s Facebook page.

Christopher Pirrotta - D (Cross-filed for two- and four-year terms.) 
Pirotta is a father of three who graduated from Penn State University and works as a marketing vice president at Sideshow Collectibles. “My extensive global business experience, commitment to reason, and ability to work with individuals of all convictions make me a passionate advocate for the students and staff,” he said. He has been chairman of the Cetronia Elementary Book Fair and is an involved “cookie” dad in the Girl Scouts. Pirrotta said he supports maintaining “a stable, predictable environment” for students and staff, providing resources to help students, teachers and staff achieve their potential, ensuring a secure and safe environment and encouraging nonpartisanship through teamwork and collaboration.” Pirrotta has spoken at board meetings. At the Dec. 6, 2022, meeting, Pirrotta said he wondered how much Coleman’s lawsuit was costing the district, questioning why Coleman, a fiscal conservative, would file a suit that cost taxpayers money.  He supported Bold’s appointment to the board and the district’s mask policies. 

George Rivera - R (Cross-filed for four-year term.) 
Rivera, an Elevating Excellence candidate, is a married father of three. He is a managing partner for Darden Restaurant Inc. He wants to use his experience to make sure Parkland is fiscally responsible and wants to improve transparency. “In order for our entire country that I love so dearly to come together, it is going to take a grassroots effort that starts with our school boards and local offices,” he said. “Join me in what doesn’t need to be a fight, but a shift in mindset that encourages folks to be different as individuals, but like minded as Americans.” 

Laura Warmkessel - R (Cross-filed for four-year term) 
Warmkessel, who has a grown stepson, graduated from Salsibury High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Kutztown University in 1995. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cedar Crest College. She works in medical packaging. Warmkesssel has worked on political campaigns, including Coleman’s run for state Senate. She has been attending school board and committee meetings for about two years. “They just aren’t transparent,” she said. Recently, she has spoken about district policies on transgender students and LGBTQ issues. At the Sept. 29, 2022, school board meeting, Warmkessel said the district “is putting our kids in danger” by allowing boys who identify as girls but have not transitioned to use girls’ restrooms and locker rooms. Alluding to a case at a Virginia high school, she said the situation could lead to “possible sexual assault and rape.” Superintendent Mark J. Madsen responded to the comments at the Oct. 18, 2022, meeting. He said a district team addresses the needs of transgender and gender non-conforming students on a case-by-case basis with a goal of treating them with empathy and respect, getting them to involve their parents and figuring out how to best serve them. At the Dec. 6, 2022, meeting, Warmkessel questioned three books that she said were listed on a Parkland online library catalog, saying there is a difference between book bans and having books that are inappropriate based on age and maturity. The books are “Gay Issues and Politics,” “Queer, There and Everywhere,” and “On Top of Glass: My Stories as a Queer Girl in Figure Skating.” Said Warmkessel of the books, “What does this have to do with reading, writing and arithmetic … Who is approving this?”

Editor’s note: This section has been updated to clarify Warmkessel’s opinion on boys who identify themselves as girls using restrooms for girls.