SCHOOL BOARD | Sharpsville Area

Voters in the Sharpsville Area School District have 11 candidates vying for five school board seats in Tuesday's primary. All 11 have cross-filed on the Republican and Democrat tickets seeking to win nominations on both. Candidates Leonard Grandy and Burt DeVries didn't respond to The Vindicator's request for a candidate r & eacute;sum & eacute;. Candidate supplied photographs. A * denotes incumbent.
KIM BARRINGER*
Age: 44
Home: 4260 Blue Jay Way, Sharpsville
Employment: Teacher in the Sharon City School District.
Education: Graduate of Girard (Pa.) High School; bachelor's degree in biology and master's degree in science education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.
Family: Husband, Scott; three children.
Priority: To ensure that Sharpsville continues its commitment to improvement; find ways to enrich curricular offerings and opportunities for learning.
ALICE CONNELLY
Age: 63
Home: 1645 Ridge Ave., Sharpsville
Employment: Retired schoolteacher and administrator, having worked in the Harrisburg and Philadelphia schools.
Education: Graduate of Sharpsville High School; master's degrees in elementary and special education; elementary principal's certificate.
Family: Single.
Priority: To work for all the residents of Sharpsville by keeping academic standards at the highest level possible; be accountable and accessible.
LORI GILL*
Age: 44
Home: 133 S. Mercer Ave., Sharpsville
Employment: Registered nurse for Dr. John H. Brown.
Education: Graduate of Conneaut Lake High School; graduate of Sharon Regional Health System's School of Nursing.
Family: Husband, Jeffrey; three children.
Priority: To continue to improve educational avenues for students through curriculum programs; seeking state remedy to eliminate school dependence on property taxes.
GERARD T. HANLEY
Age: 53
Home: 218 Oak St., Sharpsville
Employment: Works at Reznor, a division of Thomas Betts, in Mercer.
Education: Graduate of Sharpsville High School.
Family: Wife, Patricia; two children.
Priority: Quality education, even during times of budgetary concern; stop the burden of increased property taxes; improve communication between board members and taxpayers and among board members themselves.
DENEEN M. JOSEPH
Age: 38.
Home: 924 Mayfield Road, Sharpsville.
Employment: Self-employed marketing and advertising consultant.
Education: Graduate of Mars Area High School; Bachelor's degree in elementary education from Grove City College.
Family: Husband, Joseph; four children.
Priority: To ensure that the quality of education that Sharpsville is capable of providing isn't compromised; aggressive involvement with local municipalities that make up the school district in the development of long-term economic development plans to increase a shrinking tax base.
JOSEPH KNAPP
Age: 69
Home: 424 S. Seventh St., Sharpsville
Employment: Retired from Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s engineering department.
Education: Graduate of Sharpsville High School; graduate of Shenango Valley Business School; attended Youngstown State University.
Family: Wife, Shirley; three children.
Priority: To do extensive budget reviews and attempt to keep academics, technology and the athletic programs on a competitive level; control spending; improve communication with the public.
SUSAN POKORNEY*
Age: 49
Home: 930 Forest Lane, Sharpsville
Employment: A nurse for Dr. Dale Pokorney.
Education: Bachelor's degree in nursing.
Family: Husband, Dale; four children.
Priority: The students, their education and their overall welfare; maintaining a standard of excellence with minimum tax increases; support programs that give students the instruction and remediation needed to achieve government standards in reading, writing and math.
PAULINE L. RADASEVICH
Age: 69
Home: 602 Milliken Ave., Sharpsville
Employment: A retired registered nurse.
Education: Graduate of Sharpsville High School; graduate of the St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing; bachelor's degree in nursing from Penn State Shenango; master's degree in nursing administration from Gannon University.
Family: Single.
Priority: To enhance communications and keep the public informed of school system activities; continue to strive toward being competitive with the state and national technology and academic standards; strengthen and build on the curriculum.
CHRIS M. RUFFO*
Age: 39
Home: 120 S. Ninth St., Sharpsville
Employment: Member of the therapeutic support staff at Community Counseling Center; community enrichment teacher in the Sharon City School District; basketball coach in the Jamestown Area School District.
Education: Bachelor's degree in education from Slippery Rock State University.
Family: Wife, Wendy.
Priority: To make sure that Sharpsville remains comparable to the other top school districts in the nation; a safe, student-centered atmosphere in the schools.