5 candidates on ballot for four seats
3 incumbents running for re-election
FRANCONIA » Five candidates are on the ballot for four four-year seats on Souderton Area School Board.
They are William J. Brong, Janet Flisak, Andrew D. Landis, Stephen Nelson and Scott P. Swindells. Brong, Flisak and Nelson are incumbents. Incumbent Matt Holliday did not run for re-election this year. School board members are allowed to cross-file on both party ballots in the primary, which all five did. The top four vote-getters for each party in the primary are on that party’s ballot in the general election, where Flisak, Landis and Nelson are on both the Democratic and Republican ballots, Brong is on the Republican ballot and Swindells is on the Democratic ballot.
There are also three recentlyannounced write-in candidates, Dan DeMeno, Larry Dick and Alex Wisser, about whom information can be found at soudertonforresponsibleleadership.com.
Each of the candidates on the ballot was sent the following questions for an article that ran prior to the primary elections:
Describe your background and qualifications for school board
Why are you running for this office?
Please list your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
For the general election, the following question was added: What is the most important issue to you in schools this fall?
William J. Brong
Describe your background and qualifications:
“Revitalizing the trades and launching kids into successful careers”
In addition to my incredible track record as “the grandpop” of Souderton Youth Wrestling, I bring 40 years of construction expertise to make every building project a calculated, longterm investment.
I am a carpenter by trade, I have worked for 40 years in the construction industry with 15 of those years as the
owner of VonBrong Builders. For the past 16 years I have served on the Souderton School Board with 15 of those years serving as the chairperson for the board’s operations committee. I have been heavily involved with all the construction projects that the district has completed over the past decade, stating, “Our experienced School Board will continue to meet the challenge of maintaining the lowest possible tax burden while providing the highest quality educational programs.” My wife Lesa and I have 2 children, both graduates of SASD. For 16 years I have served on the North Montco Career Technical Center Board with 14 of those years serving as president. I have been committed to revitalizing the trades and giving kids successful businesses with zero college debt. I have been a wrestling coach for 36 years — president for Souderton youth wrestling for 26, and president of East Penn wrestling league for 12. I often say, “I might not have grandkids yet, but every year I have 22 kids I get to be ‘grandpop’ for.”
I have a big heart and a vital skill set that I bring to the Souderton School Board and would be honored to continue my service to our community through a 5th term.
Why are you running for this office?
As a 16-year member of the Souderton School Board, I have seen firsthand the difference you can make in the community when devoting your time and energy into the kids, teachers, and families. I have seen how vital my work has been through overseeing the construction projects within the district and mentoring kids through Vo-tech and wrestling programs. This is what makes me passionate about the education system in Souderton, and it is why I want to continue my service on the Souderton School Board.
Please list your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Website: www.keepsoudystrong.com
Email: blbrong@gmail. com
What is the most important issue to you in schools this fall? The most important issue the district is dealing with is the covid virus. We must keep our students safe and the schools open. Will continue with cleaning of the schools to help stop the spread of the virus. Continue the monitoring and testing of the possible infected students, keeping the sick students home and stopping the spread of the virus. We continue to work towards unmasking the students when is safe to do so.
Janet Flisak
Describe your background and qualifications:
I have been on the board for two terms and hope to continue for another. I am the chair of the Policy committee, a member of the Operations committee, and Souderton’s Board Director liaison with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. It has been a great experience working beside and with our teachers, principals, and school administrators. The best part about board participation is seeing the growth of our students as they journey through their classes and extra curricular activities. Because I have this previous experience of serving on the board the Souderton Community, and the voters can see, that we put them and their families first. I work in the private sector with a small biotech in clinical development and manage clinical studies around the world. I am the proud parent of four children, the youngest being a Souderton graduate who has a PhD in Chemistry. I believe in the high integrity of our Souderton community not only in student education, but also in the value of investing in the character of our students.
Why are you running for this office?
I have a heartfelt desire to continue to contribute to my community with active participation in the successful education of our students who are the future of America. In these formative years the students are developing the skills and competencies to make them successful in life. In Souderton, it is the heart, knowledge, and passion for student instruction and education embraced by our educators, administrators, and school board directors that makes us successful. I want to keep that passion here in Souderton which is why I am eager to serve a third term on the school board.
Please list your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you. Keep Soudy Strong What is the most important issue to you in schools this fall?
The top priority for schools is always the safety, health, and education of our children regardless of the situation around us. Adherence to local, state, and federal regulations is required and given this environment there is not much flexibility afforded to school districts. Notwithstanding, this board has a proven track record of keeping our students safe and healthy while providing optimal education. We were the only school district in the county to open full time in the 2020/2021 school year. Effective district processes were required from frequent disinfection measures of the student and staff environment to testing for COVID-19, contact tracing with quarantine rules and everything in between. We remain flexible in our approach but always with our priority goals for safety, health, and education.
Andrew D. Landis
Describe your background and qualifications:
I have over 15 years’ experience on various boards, including officer positions (President, Hands In Service, Treasurer, Keystone Opportunity Center). I have also been actively involved in the community for most of my life, serving at my church, volunteering for a number of nonprofit organizations, and coaching baseball in Harleysville for nine years. Professionally, I have been with Univest Bank and Trust Co for over 23 years. As part of the Commercial Lending Group, I have reviewed the financial statements and budgets of hundreds of small businesses and non-profits over the years, while working with them to meet their financial goals. My financial background, combined with my time on boards developing and then work within budgets, provides me with what I feel is a unique perspective when it comes to the sense of fiduciary responsibility I will bring to the board.
Aside from my professional experience and qualifications, I have been a part of this community my entire life. I was born and raised in Harleysville, graduated from Souderton in 1992, and my wife and I now reside in Salford Township. I now have two kids of my own who have gone through Souderton and shared the same positive experiences I had 30 years ago. I bring not only a strong financial background to the board, but I have also lived the Souderton experience as a student, parent, and tax payer.
Why are you running for this office?
Souderton has always been a great school district, which not only benefits the students it serves but also enriches the entire community, making the district a highly desirable place to live and work. Growing up here and having my kids go through Souderton schools makes me proud of what we have here. Now that my youngest is graduating this spring and my commitments to baseball and horse shows have waned, I am looking for new opportunities to give back to my community. Being born and raised in Souderton, I feel my appreciation of the region and my understanding of our community gives me the ability to represent our students, parents and teachers in a unique way.
Please list your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
www.keepsoudystrong.com
What is the most important issue to you in schools this fall?
As I have walked our neighborhoods and met with hundreds of parents and grandparents in our district over the past few months, the concern shared by many has been the intense pressure on our schools to change the way we view (and teach) the history of our country. While our history as a nation is far from perfect, we cannot change the past by rewriting it and recasting the great men and women who got us to where we are today. What we can do is accurately and honestly teach the future generations about our history so they can continue to improve upon it. The United States is by far the most diverse, tolerant, and prosperous nation on earth, as evidenced by people from all over the world continuing to risk their lives to get here to experience the opportunities that we tend to take for granted. Our community is also diverse, and what I have heard from parents of all backgrounds, those born and raised in Souderton like myself, and those who have come recently from other districts, other states, or even other countries, is that they see Souderton as a place where everyone is welcome and where their children have an equal opportunity to learn and succeed.
Stephen Nelson
Describe your background and qualifications
Bio: Stephen Nelson is part owner of H&K Group, Inc. and works as the director for Risk, Safety, and Human Resource. Stephen started with the company in 1987 and worked as the CFO from 2002-2010. He has already served one 4-year term on the SASD School Board. Stephen’s private sector skill set allowed our schools to fully re-open for full-time, in-person education in September 2020, while keeping safety guidelines for all students, teachers, and staff on the forefront. Stephen has coached baseball in Harleysville and has served his church as a youth leader, elder, and deacon. He has served many positions within the Associated Builders and Contractors, including president in 2000 and 7 years on the board of directors. In addition, Stephen has served 4 years on the board of directors for the Penn Foundation. As an ‘84 graduate of Lebanon Valley College, he later served as a trustee on the Advancement Committee and on the Academic, Student Affairs, and Enrollment Committee. Stephen deeply values his role on the Souderton school board and desires to continue serving the students, teachers, and families of this community by winning re-election to a second term.
Why are you running for this office?
After serving on the Souderton School Board for one term now, I have seen the impact we have made on students, teachers, and families as we come together as a team to serve our community and represent their needs. I was taught by my parents that if you are given a skill, you must use that skill to help others. I’m so grateful I was able to use my expertise in risk and safety as a guide to the re-opening process of our schools this past year. Stephen brought his private sector experience with CDC guidelines vs. mandates to the board this past year, helping Souderton schools to re-open for full-time, inperson education!
I’ve seen how valuable this work is and that is why I hope to continue on the school board for a second term.
“Working as a TEAM to get the job done”
Please list your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
www.keepsoudystrong. com
What is the most important issue to you in schools this fall?
Whenever I am asked what is the most important issue for this school year, I answer the same as always: to prepare students to demonstrate competencies needed to contribute and to succeed in a changing world by building on a commitment to excellence and innovation, by working in partnership with family and community and by assuring a quality education in a safe and nurturing environment. How we get there is the key. I believe that all stakeholders have different roles and responsibilities. I have been in business for over 35 years and find the more unified and the more focused we are on the mission, you achieve that goal quicker. The more we look to the future, the better it is to achieve a plan that is positive and effective. I have been taught the past is only a reminder and a teacher of how things have worked and what things have not worked. I also believe that unity does not come in the form of a rally or public meeting, but from focused meetings so all stakeholders have a true seat at the table. I will end with a lesson I have learned; when we think and speak, we need to do it with respect for that person. We may not agree with what they say and they may not agree with what we say, but in order to move forward we must treat others the way we want to be treated.
Scott P. Swindells
Describe your background and qualifications
I am a resident of Lower Salford, where I live with my wife, Sarah, and our two children, AJ and Penelope. We have been residents here for 16 years, and one major reason we bought our home was because we wanted to raise children in SASD. Salford Hills was an amazing elementary experience for our kids. The teachers,
staff, and administrators became like family to us. We loved our years there, and we’ve already been impressed with our experience at Indian Valley Middle School as well, where we have found talented teachers who put students first.
In addition to being a parent, I am a teacher with 20 years in education. I spent five years in the middle of my career on special assignment as a learning coordinator and tech integration coach. During this time, I oversaw curricular budget lines for several departments for my district. I also coached faculty and staff in all 18 of the district’s buildings, from grades K-12, training close to 900 different teachers, staff, or administrators
over the years. I went “forward” to the classroom in 2013 and I’ve been teaching again ever since. I teach English 1012, Creative Writing, VHS, and I still help with technology integration, facilitating sessions on in-service days.
Why are you running for this office?
I am running to give a voice on the board to teachers, parents, students, and community members. The board currently consists of dedicated, hardworking individuals who work well together, but are also very similar to each other in their careers, interests, and perspectives, which seems to have informed their priorities as board members. As a result, there is a widespread perception in our district that the board does not welcome communication with all stakeholders in our district, and operates
without listening to diverse voices.
As I considered a run for school board, I spoke with current students, recent graduates, teachers and support staff, as well as fellow parents in the many community activities in which my family is involved, such as swim, baseball, scouts, church, etc. I’ve also met with residents who have no children in the schools, or whose children have graduated, and seniors who have grandchildren in SASD. In so many conversations around our community, I hear the areas where our school board could use the most improvement are in their transparency, communication, and planning. These are areas where my decades of experience teaching in public schools can help. I have a lot of respect for our board members. They are volunteers
who acted as school directors in one of the most difficult times in recent memory, navigating the covid-19 pandemic. However, I wouldn’t be running if there weren’t some things I know I could improve.
I’d like to see our district form an equity action plan, ensure IEP and GIEP students are not overlooked in curricular decisions, renovate some of our aging infrastructure, streamline our technology and communication, and bring more support staff into our decision making. Since I’ve always wanted to get involved and give back to the community, running to join this school board and offer the perspective of my experience seems like the perfect fit.
Please list your campaign website, social media pages, and/or anywhere else our readers can find you.
Campaign website: www. swindellsforschoolboard. com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/swindellsforschoolboard
FB Group: www. facebook.com/ groups/714093132638253
#swindellsforschoolboard.com
What is the most important issue to you in schools this fall?
I’ve frequently discussed health and safety issues, which should be at the forefront for all of us right now, so I’d like to address civility. Our children look to their parents and adults in the community to guide them in how to treat others. What they are seeing at school board meetings over the last year has not always been the example we want to send. School board members must listen respectfully during the
open comments at action meetings, of course, but they should distance themselves from misinformation and partisan rhetoric. I’m very happy to run with the bipartisan team of Dan DeMeno, Larry Dick, and Alex Wisser for this reason. Our team will work to restore civility by promoting clear and respectful communication with the community. With all the reports of bullying that have been reported in schools and on buses this year, we need leadership from our elected board members to send a clear message, through initiatives as well as policy, that we will continue to be a community where character counts, where all our students are safe to learn, where all are treated fairly, and where we treat each other with civility, even when we disagree.