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Sunday, May 5, 2019

John E. Levan, Sr. (Write in for Region II)

  About the Candidate
Tell us about you: (Such as your family, children, are they CASD graduates etc.)
I have four (4) sons all of whom graduated from Coatesville

Tell us about what you do for a living:

Retired- But every morning I get up at 6am and go up to my one son's house and help get my grandchildren ready for the sitter, and one, Landon I get on the bus for school. And every Tuesday at 2:30pm I go and pick-up one of grandsons at PHPII and then wait on son's house till Landon arrives home and I wait for their mother to arrive. I’m also involved the Caln Senios and the Knights of Columbus.

Public Service:

Retired Federal Investigator (35 yrs  12 years with the PLCB

Campaign Website: None

Campaign Facebook Page: None 

“I am running for the school board as a write-in because I see the some of the problems. I will admit that I don’t confess to have all or even some of the answers, but it is our responsibility to prepare students for the real world.   Lowering of standards does not prepare them.  As Bill Gates once said, “If you think your teacher is tough, wait till your get a boss".  And “Life is not fair, - get used to it".”


What motivated you to run for the school board?

I was made aware of some shady doings i.e. putting a gag order on a citizen by the District. That action disturbed me because as a citizen and taxpayer you have the right to voice yourself. That led me write a letter requesting the Legal Expenses incurred by the District which when the response was received noted that 3.8 million dollars had been spent since the current Administration came to power. In the same response it was noted that "WE HAVE NO RECORDS". That floored me. As a retired Federal Investigator you have to have records for money spent.


What skills or experiences do you have that makes you different from the current board members or those running?

I am somewhat hardnosed from the standpoint that I don’t accept everything that appears in writing. I also firmly believe that Teacher teat and should not be forced to do things that are wrong. As a board member the Superintendent answers to the Board not that the Board answers to the Administration. Wrong doing by anyone is not allowed. Any action taken by the Administration that involved staff must have the approval by the Board as well as a written legal opinion before taking any action.

Do you primarily see yourself as a representative of the community or as a representative of the school system?

Community      |       School System

Please Explain:  The Community elects the Board, but your main goal is to make the school and students better.



What type of opportunities/strengths do you feel CASD has and how do we accomplish them?

We have some young teachers some or most of them graduated from Coatesville and want to give back to the school and district from which they graduated. The take pride in their work, however, the current Administration interferes with the educational process.

What is the most pressing issues facing the CASD and how would you address them when you are on the school board?

First and foremost is accountability by the current Administration, Secondly, the issue of no records for the 3.8 million dollars spent for legal fees for the four year of this administration shall be accounted for. We have to take a hard look at why students left to go elsewhere, And along with everything else, we have to star holding the line with taxes. Too many of our citizens are retired and on fixed incomes and raising taxes every year does not help.

Please share your ideas on the challenge of balancing the budget, while not cutting too many programs or jobs?
 
Tis is somewhat difficult but there are answers. First I would freeze all Administrative salaries. Secondly, I would take a hard look at the contracts currently in place. And without doubt that would not be any new construction activity In addition, I would look at the maintenance of our buildings and wherever possible use volunteers, that’s the way it was done when my children went to school, especially Clan.

The hiring and retaining of highly qualified teachers and administrators has become more and more challenging. How would you help CASD address this issue?  

Retaining good teachers and staff is possible, however the current administration does not see it that way. Wrong doers are fired with a negative mark. Illegal hiring practices are terminated. There have been instances where former graduates have applied for a position in the district and didn’t even get a reply, but got a job in another district. The wrong doers are let go. In short if there is not a paper trail you are gone.

What are your thoughts on the current discipline problem and what will you do to address it?

One problem is the use of cell phones. As for the current discipline problem, both students and parents must be held accountable.  Sending students a JP is not the solution, it cost money. It’s time that we instill that you cause a problem you get a suspension or serve detention after school. In short we have to look at the current policy and if necessary re-write a new one. Again, it comes back to accountability by the Administration.

What are some of your ideas for improving school safety and significantly reducing bullying in our schools? 

As a retired Federal Investigator I served on the Pennsylvania Hate Crimes Task Force which met two (2) a month.  Both the students as well as the teachers and administrators should take responsibility for listening to any complaints and deal with the problem immediately. Too often the administrators don’t want to deal with the problem when reported, which has been the cause many times. I would lecture both students and administrators of their responsibilities.

If a parent comes to you with a particular school issue, how do you see your role as school board member to resolve that issue?

If the problems is a written approved school policy I would sit down and explain it. If there was written policy I would try to seek a solution. However, sometimes the problem could be self-made, to which a common ground could be found. In short gather all of facts before making a decision.

How transparent do you feel the district is now?

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Looking forward, what are your views on transparency and what kinds of school-district information should be made public? (Excluding information that pertains to student records and the particulars of personnel records that would constitute an invasion of privacy.)

Too often than not, many of the printed materials sent out to the parent via the post office, do not tell the truth. As an example, committee meetings should be held at least 1 week prior to the regular board meeting. The public has the right to have answers to questions when raised during the open comment period, instead of put in writing and you might get an answer. Too often especially with Administration they like to use "Executive session" to do their work this way there is no record.

Are you committed to a yearly survey of families, students, graduates, community residents, faculty and staff about what they see as major strengths and shortcomings of the district and its schools?  

Are you committed to yearly surveys?  

Are you committed to publicly sharing the results?

Why or why not?   The public are the taxpayers who deserve to know what is happening with their tax dollars.


Have a question for the candidate?
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