Central Bucks School Board Primary Election: Patricia Carman, Region 3

Candidates running in contested races in the May 16 primary election have been invited to provide background about themselves and their positions on the issues to voters in these profiles, which will run in Patch individually for each candidate.

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Patricia Carman is running as a cross-filed candidate and seeking nomination for one open four-year-seat on the Central Bucks School Board in Region 3. She is in a three-way race with Glenn Schloeffel and Dana Foley, also cross-field candidates and seeking the nomination.

Biographical Information

Name: Patricia Carman

Age: 53

Town of residence: Furlong (Buckingham Township)

Position sought: Region 3 School Director

Are you an incumbent? No

What Towns Does Your Position Cover? Buckingham Township, the precincts of Lower 1 and 2, Middle 1 and 2, Upper 2

Party affiliation: Republican

Family: I live in Furlong with my husband Chip and my daughter Grace. We have a dog, Ryder, and three cats.

Education: I attended Messiah College with a major in business administration. During my time there, I decided to get into the travel industry. I served as a team leader at American Express Travel for about 13 years before becoming a travel and meeting planner at the American College of Physicians.

Occupation: Virtual Hybrid Education Technologist at the American College of Physicians

Questions

1. Why are you running?

I am running because I believe that the Central Bucks School District has what it takes to once again “Lead the Way”. We have found ourselves caught up in the political culture wars that are plaguing many districts around the nation. We need to put politics aside and find middle-ground solutions that would allow us to move forward and work together cohesively and effectively. My experience communicating and managing people in my career has prepared me to be an effective team member on the school board. In addition, I have many years of volunteer work within the Central Bucks School District. I have used my organizing and planning experience to help grow programs and serve our students within Bridge Valley Elementary School where my daughter attended. I also served as an assistant coach and team mom for several years for Lenape Valley Football and Cheer organization. Most recently, I have made connections through the Facebook group that I created and run, now with more than 4,000 members. Our members are made up of Central Bucks teachers, staff, parents and students. Being part of this group has allowed me to discuss potential solutions with many different members of our community.

2. What are your top issues and how do you plan to address them?

• Learning Loss: I will strongly support the wise use of our tax dollars by investing in programs to address the learning loss identified by the district because of Covid-19. This is one of my biggest priorities.
• School safety: I will support the expansion of the School Resource Officer (SRO) program. SROs act as mentors to students and serve as a reminder of safety. I will push for additional counseling services to address our students' mental health needs.
• Staffing: I will push for our district to invest more in open teacher and support staff positions. We need to provide equal and competitive pay to fully staff our schools.
• Educator misconduct policies: I will focus on protecting our kids against anyone who attempts to harm them. More training for teachers and staff and policy updates regarding educator misconduct are necessary.

3. Identify specific goals/ideas you have to enhance the district?

One of my goals is to work with the board members and administration to fully staff our schools. This requires us to fill over 60 support staff positions in this category alone! Central Bucks needs to be competitive with surrounding districts. Support staff are the backbone of the school. We simply do not have the staff required to operate efficiently. We need to think outside the box to create positions that are attractive and pay enough for these critical positions.

I also will push for updates to the Central Bucks policies 317, 317.1, and 824, the district’s Educator Misconduct and Maintaining Professional Adult/Student Boundaries policies. Central Bucks needs to address the institutional failures of the past and correct them to protect all students in the future.

In addition to the expansion of the SRO program, I will push for district-wide student-led initiatives to promote unity and safety in our schools to complement the Safe to Say Something program. These initiatives are designed to create an inclusive culture through activities and events that promote kindness. Doing all we can to ensure our students and staff are safe is our collective responsibility. These are tangible steps we can take to accomplish that goal.