Austintown board race is crowded, interesting

Looking over the eight candidates vying for seats on the Austintown Board of Education, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that some of them haven't really thought through what it takes to run a school district that spends almost $40 million a year, employs a staff of 430 and educates nearly 5,000 students.
Some candidates -- and not just in Austintown -- are simply convinced that they can do a better job. They haven't developed a plan. They can't articulate how. They just know they could.
An example: During a discussion of one of the hot topics in the district -- a revised busing schedule that impacted parochial school students -- one candidate said any way would have been better than the plan the district followed. "Just divide the district into four and go from there," the candidate declared. As if dividing a district into four equal parts would somehow facilitate cutting 1,000 miles a day off the bus routes or would eliminate the cost of running eight buses, which is what the present board managed to do.
Such candidates remind us of the adage: For every problem there is an answer that is quick, easy -- and wrong.
Only one incumbent, Joyce Pogany, is seeking re-election to the board, to which she was first elected in 1982. Two present members, Ray Slivochka and board president Brad Gessner, are not seeking re-election.
The incumbent
Pogany says the last two years have been "rough" for the board, in part because of personality clashes, in part because the board has had to make some tough decisions to remain within its budget. Those included the busing changes, not replacing 10 teachers and making 18 cuts among classified personnel, including the eight bus drivers already mentioned. The board has also overseen a construction project to replace a dilapidated middle school and hired a new superintendent.
Pogany, 70, says she remains committed to all students and parents in the school district and wants to provide the best education possible while being fiscally responsible.
We endorse her re-election.
We were also impressed by Harold M. Porter, a 35-year-old township businessman who ran unsuccessfully for township trustee in 2001. Those who have been watching the political posturing and alliances in Austintown may find this an unlikely second pick to Pogany.
But Porter was candid, saying that the board is not going to be able to continue operating without making cuts or eventually passing a levy. He noted that employees (among them his wife, a teacher) have an excellent health plan and a 10 percent co-pay is not unreasonable. He opposes open enrollment, doesn't believe an income tax would be a good alternative for the school district to raise income and believes that since Austintown is second to Poland in the county in school millage, more economies are possible.
One of two
Based on our interviews with the candidates, the third spot on the board should go to Peter C. Fraser or Constant A. Prassinos.
Fraser, who is retired from the U.S. Army and works as a letter carrier, says he has the background and temperament to work with both sides of a split board. He says the board should operate in a more open fashion and he is open to new ideas.
He suggests that much of the community's tension over the busing changes could have been avoided if the board had been more open.
Prassinos, 63, is a lawyer who no doubt has a commitment to education and an appreciation of its value. If anything, his view may be too large, too global. He spoke of a national malaise in education, of a need for the state to find a new way of equalizing education and of rethinking the way things are done -- including the use of alternate fuels and solar power in schools.
We admire Prassinos' tendency to think globally, but for a spot on the Austintown Local School District Board of Education, we endorse Fraser.
The other candidates
All of the candidates except one attended endorsement interviews with Vindicator editors.
Michael Jordon, 47, said he is sure there are cuts to be made, but acknowledged that he wouldn't be running if it weren't for the board's action in cutting parochial school busing.
Traci Morse Merlo, 31, started out strong, citing her six years experience as a teacher, but by the end of the interview she could do no better than to put forward her quadripartite theory of bus scheduling.
Richard R. Zimmermann, 43, has obviously thought about the need for the district to economize, but when challenged on his suggestions that money be saved by requiring department heads to also carry full teaching loads, or eliminate what he believed to be unnecessary classroom aides, he had no specifics. He couldn't say how many aides there are or pinpoint even one as unnecessary.
Given the challenges facing the Austintown school district and the transition that will come with the retirement of two veteran board members, this is an important election for the community.
For the three seats on the Austintown board, The Vindicator endorses incumbent Joyce Pogany, Harold Porter and Peter Fraser.