Election 2023: Tony Sadowski for Centennial School Board

Candidates running in the Nov. 7 general election are providing background about themselves and their positions on the issues to voters in these profiles, which will run in Patch individually for each candidate.

WARMINSTER, PA —School board member Tony Sadowski is running for re-election in the Nov. 7 general election for one of two, four-year terms in Region 2 for the Centennial School Board.

Sadowski, a Democrat, is vying for the school board along with School Board Vice President Patti Crossan, and Republican challengers Don McHeary Jr. and Arno Carl F. Vorwerk.

Biographical Information

Name: Tony Sadowski

Age: 42

Town of residence: Warminster

Position sought: Centennial School Director, Region II

Are you an incumbent? Yes

What Towns Does Your Position Cover? Warminster, Ivyland, and Upper Southampton

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Family: Married to a girl I met on our first day of college, proud dad of a son and daughter who are current Centennial students.

Education: M.S. Digital Innovation in Marketing, Fox School of Business at Temple University; B.A. Communications, Elizabethtown College

Occupation: Vice President of Creative at Slice Communications, owner of Spec Communications, LLC

1. What are the top issues currently facing your position and how do you plan to address them?

I think the top issues facing voters are protecting Centennial from the extremism and ugly political agendas we see creeping into districts across the country (don't have to look far down the road to see how destructive that can be) and continuing the progress we're making on academic achievement and school safety rather than falling back. In this election, you have a stark choice - elect dedicated public servants and active district parents who are in this to do what's best for our students, or hand control of the district over to people with no real connection to what's happening in our schools and who are only on the ballot because their local party needed placeholders for serious candidates. This is not a "they're all the same" choice and our kids' education is not a game.

Continuing to improve student performance and school safety are the most important issues to me, and the things I will continue to focus on if elected in November. Students must be prepared to succeed in today's AND tomorrow's world, and parents must feel our kids are safe and secure. We are successfully addressing pandemic learning loss and scores are improving with a better curriculum and the support specialists students need to achieve.

The safety investments and hires we've made are critical steps in the right direction. Through improved SEAL programs, we are working to address behavioral and mental health challenges and to create a more connected, respectful school community.

Regardless of party, the kind of person you should want making policy decisions that will impact the success of our children, our community, and your property values for years to come are candidates like myself, with a genuine investment in our schools and a deep concern that our opponents will usher in a new era of rubber stamp party politics that would quickly derail the momentum we've built up over the past few years of common-sense, fiscally responsible leadership. Centennial is on a roll! I'll work hard to keep it going.

2. Identify specific goals or ideas you have to enhance life in your position:

I originally ran to be part of a better School Board atmosphere, where we communicate respectfully and work together regardless of party affiliation and focus on what actually matters - the students! That is exactly how I have served. And I can tell you that our kids will always be first on my list. We can't let our School Board devolve in the hands of people who have no concept of what is actually happening in our district and want to scare you into thinking there's some mysterious political agenda at work.

Centennial is a common-sense, student-focused district run by an excellent administrative team and featuring the best teachers you will find anywhere. Our students impress us and make us proud every day. It's a place I'm proud to send my kids and I think it's on us to better communicate all of our successes, rather than let the doom-and-gloom crowd dominate the conversation.

We have challenges to meet and problems to fix, to be sure. That will not happen in the wrong hands, and I hope you will put party aside and support candidates like myself who have a real stake in our students' education and are in this because we're truly passionate about the continued success of CSD. I believe in creating opportunities for all students, so they feel welcome and set up to succeed. I believe in letting parents choose what's appropriate for their children, informed by the recommendations of skilled educators, not dictating those decisions for all students from the board room. And I believe in the potential of our district to continue to shine as an example to others, as we tackle the challenges they share.

3. What in your experience or background prepares you for election to office?

You know what matters? Authenticity. You will always know where I stand and that my votes are coming from a place of conviction and focus on the well-being and success of our students. I have a communications and media background (including many years at WHYY PBS/NPR in Philadelphia), and am a small business owner and a lifelong community/school volunteer. I spent many years as a dedicated member of our Home & School/PTO groups, often as the only dad in the room. Community service is a family value instilled in me early by my very involved great-grandparents, and it's important to me to continue to serve and bring people together today.

With two years of School Board experience under my belt, involvement as Operations Committee Chair and liaison to PSBA, Centennial Education Foundation, Klinger, and McDonald, and a continued commitment to volunteering at school events and community organizations like the Warminster Free Library Advisory Board and Craven Hall Board of Directors, I believe I am fully in my stride and ready to continue to serve our community well.

During my time on the School Board, our "Team of 10" has worked together better, made progress on so many levels, and brought down the ugly and embarrassing temperature of 2020-21 to a place where we're able to focus on a cohesive K-12 educational experience built to send our students into the world ready to pursue their goals and contribute to our society as informed, prepared, decent young adults.