Spring-Ford

Spring-Ford, which is one of the biggest school districts with one of the lowest taxes in the county and surrounding area, fiscally responsible and financially stable. Also after two years of high emotions caused by COVID, I will work towards unifying the board and community working towards the best bi-partisan decisions for our students, staff and community.”

Given one guaranteed accomplishment in office, DiBello chose “all students receive the best educational experience possible while eliminating all related student related issues.”

Abby Deardorff

Deardorff, 41, lives on Colin

Court in Royersford and has never held elected public office.

She works as a registered nurse and holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Millersville University and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from West Chester University.

Deardorff wrote that she is running for office because “the current board majority has proven to be ineffective, uncooperative, and unwilling to follow local, state and federal health and safety standards. I decided to seek this office as a way to take real action to ensure the majority of students, staff, families and taxpayers’ needs are met.

Given one guaranteed accomplishment in office, Deardorff wrote “for the School Board to regain the trust of the community. This can be done ensuring that

students and staff feel safe in school, that our children are being prepared to be well rounded, impactful members of society upon graduation and working collectively not against each other.”

Erica Hermans

Hermans, 42, lives on Abbey Drive in Royersford and has never held elected public office.

She works as a corporate training specialist in the financial services industry and holds a bachelor’s degree in management science and information systems from Penn State University.

In her response, Hermans wrote “prior to the primaries, I shared three reasons for seeking office with our Pottstown Mercury readers. Those reasons, in no particular order, were to 1) to influence

and enhance our student experience at Spring-Ford, 2) to restore district-community relations, and 3) to bring a renewed scrutiny to how our tax dollars are being spent. These reasons still stand.”

Hermans added, “being a first-time candidate, I’ve appreciated the opportunity to meet with the public and take in what is important to you. One theme that I have been hearing recently from the community is that school board directors tend to only engage or “come around” in election years. So I am also seeking office to change that. I believe it is not good enough to place the majority of the responsibility on the public to reach out if they want to speak to a board member. Board members need to proactively engage the public to hear their experiences,

seek their viewpoints, and get their feedback, and this should be done in a variety of different ways to meet the needs of our community. The district also has a responsibility to foster a collaborative and inviting environment that is conducive for the students, staff and community to engage with the district, and as a school board director, I will be committed to furthering that goal.”

Given one guaranteed accomplishment in office, Hermans chose “to find an effective way to work with our local municipalities to address the impact of rapid residential growth on our schools and on our taxpayers. Rapid residential growth and overdevelopment, like we have seen in Limerick Township, impacts school quality and taxes. It impacts school

quality in a number of different ways. In a district of roughly 8,000 students, where will the district educate new students who move into these developments? Classrooms are pushing capacity, and there isn’t ample underutilized space in most buildings, especially at the elementary level. If we continue to give the go-ahead to sprawling residential development, there will be an impact to the community fiscally. Additionally, we can cite the increased traffic congestion, putting student safety at heightened risk while waiting for or riding buses throughout the day. We need to get ahead of these issues by strengthening relationships with our local townships to have real conversations regarding the connection between overdevelopment, school quality and taxes.”