GOP challengers cross-file as team
LANSDALE >> A team of four Republican challengers are running in the May 18 primary for seats on the North Penn School board.
The “North Penn Stronger Together” team of candidates Jessie Bradica, Frederick Froehlich, Michael Kennedy and Harry Snyder have all filed on both the Democratic and Republican ballots, as have current board members Tina Stoll, Christian Fusco, Jonathan Kassa and Al Roesch.
All eight candidates were asked the same questions, and below are the answers for the “North Penn Stronger Together” team.
Jessica Bradica
Describe your background and qualifications for school board.
I have three children in North Penn schools, and have been an active volunteer both in the schools and our community since we moved here seven years
ago. I gave up my career as a Regional Marketing Manager for a $6.4 Billion Company to raise my children and serve my community. I have been volunteering and working with children and families ever since. My volunteer and work experience includes: President of Mom’s Club of Norriton, Chairing and serving on several HSA committees, organizing and promoting several community events, teaching at Harleysville YMCA preschool as an assistant, and leading/ teaching youth and family programs both at Gwynedd Square Presbyterian Church and Corpus Christi Parish.
Why are you running for this office?
I am running for the NPSD Board of School Directors to ensure our community and district remains strong for our children and future generations. Our district performance has been declining for several years as our taxes have gotten higher, and our budget has remained in deficit. We need to come together and work towards fixing that as we begin remediating the affects this pandemic has had on our children’s educational and mental health. Opening schools, for those who choose, is just the beginning. I am committed to do what is necessary to provide an environment that students want to walk into, in a healthy and safe way.
I pledge to work hard to represent and value EVERY student and community member, and ensure we are being fiscally responsible in providing resources to our students, teachers, and staff that maximizes ALL students’ potential and high quality academic experiences. We do that by working with all facets of our North Penn Community, and making sure our agenda is child driven and not politically driven.
We consciously chose to raise our family in the North Penn School District because of its strong tradition of quality academics and programming, diversity, and low taxes. I will strive to not only keep that tradition strong, but make it even stronger, together, with you.
Your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Facebook: BradicaNPstrongertogether
Frederick Froehlich
Describe your background and qualifications for school board.
My experience in education includes teaching in Norristown Area’s School District as well as the School District of Philadelphia for the past 11 years. In addition to my daily duties, I have held various positions in the summer and evenings in Pennridge School District (Twilight Program Facilitator, ESL Summer Camp Teacher, and Remedial Summer School Teacher), Central Bucks School District (Summer ESY Autistic Support), and Cheltenham School District (Summer Remedial Teacher). In addition, I am an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Temple University and an Instructor for the University of the People. My educational background includes my Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Temple 2021), Master’s in Educational Psychology (Temple 2013), Bachelors in Secondary Education Social Studies with a dual major in History (Temple 2010), and an Associate’s Degree from Montgomery County Community College in Social Sciences. Prior to entering the education field, I held several management positions that afforded me the opportunity to gain valuable experience in the business and finance world. In addition, I have spent time as a college and career planner for AnB Education, WyzAnt Tutoring, and Fro Life Educational Planning helping students in need find a path to higher education.
Why are you running for this office?
I have always wanted to give back to my community and with my experiences, serving as school director would allow me to use my expertise and experience to foster student growth while assisting in bringing school budgetary concerns in line with the needs of our students, faculty, and community. With the completion of my doctoral studies, I felt the time had come for me to take that step. I have had concerns about elements of our district’s more recent policies and the manner in which items have been presented to the public who, I believe, have a right to full transparency. With the constant changes to instructional delivery, I firmly believe the district needs to adopt increasingly more supportive professional development to improve the student experience during these trying times. To support those efforts, we need to investigate new methods to safeguard the virtual environment from unwanted content while making our offerings more robust. Most importantly, I believe that the priorities that have been laid out in recent years have been confusing and not necessarily in the best interest of the district. Our top priority is the children. We are an educational institution first. Our focus and tax payer money should be spent on projects that benefit the largest possible population of students and bring the absolute best experience to every classroom. School should be a wonderful learning environment that has every supply necessary coupled with proper conditions regardless of the time of year or building attended. I believe that, despite some of the wonderful changes that have been brought to select schools, not one dollar should flow into any large projects until every school has proper curricular materials, classroom supplies, air conditioning, heating, and is free of leaking ceilings.
Your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Facebook: FroehlichNPstrongertogether
Michael Kennedy
Describe your background and qualifications for school board.
As a dedicated father of six, educator, and coach of various sports here in the North Penn area, I have always strived to create a community for which we can all be proud. For the past fifteen years I have been a dedicated teacher in the Philadelphia School District at the high school and middle school levels. While teaching history and serving as a dean of students, I have become very versed in various strategies that are essential for success in and out of the classroom. In the past I sat as a chair of our ninth grade academy, helping to establish curriculum that aided our school in reaching our goals of increasing our overall graduation rate at the same time as increasing our college/ trade placement and career readiness. As a leader of our ninth grade academy I saw firsthand the success of bridging the gap from middle schools to high school. I understand the significance of ninth grade and its impact on creating a successful lifetime learner. As a father, my children have flourished here in North Penn. My wife and I are proud to raise our family here and I look forward to being a voice for all.
Why are you running for this office?
We have stood together through these trying times, but there are still great hurdles to overcome. The decisions ahead of us should not be driven and decided by political ideology, but collaborated by the people of our community. I firmly believe that the foundation of our communities influences the next generation. I have taught my own children and students to be generous, to serve, and to actively participate in life rather than be a spectator. I’ve been a proud member of the North Penn community for over 25 years and I believe that my life experiences, both in and out of the classroom, will help me unite our community. I look forward to supporting the parents of North Penn in preparing our students to go after their dreams, desires, and careers. The strength of North Penn School District has always been its diversity and access to opportunities for all. Its rich tradition of guiding and opening of doors for everyone has shaped our community into a model that others strive to replicate. I would continue this tradition by fighting vigorously with every intention to do what is best suited for our students and schools. In today’s politically heated climate our schools must be institutions for learning the various skills to be successful in today’s world. I am a firm believer that politically driven ideology should have no place in our classrooms and only creates division in an area where unity should be the priority. As a united group each school board should work towards putting forth policies that are effective in creating successful students and schools. Concurrently they should look to evaluate polices that are ineffective and remove them to prevent policy clutter. We are one community and should have a strong, united voice.
Your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you
Facebook: VoteKennedy2021
Instagram: Votekennedy2021/
Harry Snyder
Describe your background and qualifications for school board.
With more than 30 years of Facilities and Property Operations experience, I believe I would bring a unique set of assessment skills and analytical traits that would benefit the school district with all its deferred maintenance issues, 10-year capital improvement plan, janitorial programs, security and building access and safety programs. It is my position that although we currently have a comprehensive list of deferred maintenance issues throughout the district, we have not been responsible fiduciaries when spending the money to address the listed deferred items. For instance, under the current pandemic situation we know we must consider the long term impact of spending money we do not have. We should never be okay with borrowing to pay for wants vs. needs. Nor should we consider raising taxes to pay for our future simply because we can. We must be able to persuade a majority of taxpayers and stakeholders in the community that a tax increase is the right option, not the only option. Lastly, I am a founding member and Past President of the Pennsylvania Assisted Living Association. This is a statewide association advocating for providers and seniors living in assisted living and personal care homes in Pennsylvania. I am also a Past President of the Jenkintown Lion’s Club.
Why are you running for this office?
I decided to run for School Board Director after learning that the current School Board decided not to open North Penn Schools to inperson learning and my wife and I watched our son (a 4th grader) try to learn using a virtual platform. It was evident right from the beginning that the virtual platform was not going to be very effective. Our son was often bored and not engaging in the same manner he would if he were in a physical classroom. For the Board and Administration to believe the format they instituted for virtual learning would be an effective alternative to in-person learning escaped us. How could anyone expect young children would be able to effectively navigate asynchronous instruction? I felt the only way a poor plan such as this could be corrected was to bring a different perspective to the governing body of the District. Since beginning my candidacy I’ve learned the current board is made up like minded individuals and as a Board, they are not challenged when making decisions that affect the students and the community. It has become very clear the Board is not balanced resulting in decisions being made and policies being implemented that have not been in the best interest of “ALL” students and/or the North Penn Community as a whole.
Your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Facebook: HarrySnyder4NPSB/
For more on the “North Penn Stronger Together” team of candidates, visit www.npstrongertogether. com, search for “North Penn Stronger Together” on Facebook, for “NPstrongertogether” on Instagram or email npstrongertogether@ gmail.com.