We feel the perfect candidate would be Hank Cacurak. He's a Manor Township resident, hes a father of children in the district and he's a retired PA State Trooper. If you would like to get a taste of what Hank is all about, here is something that he wrote, publicly during the whole "let's make Lenape half day" period.
School Director Job Description
School board members have Job Descriptions/Expectations for all employees that work for or at a school. Do the School Board Members have a job description for their position? Are expectations of what School Board Members do clearly posted anywhere? We know what is expected of students, administrators, teachers, custodians, aids, secretaries, et cetera. I have taken liberty to produce such a list. The list is not intended to be all-inclusive but touches on some basic, core beliefs many members in our community have developed thanks to the newly elected School Board. The Description/Expectations are as follows:
School Board Member Job Description/Expectations List:
You shall represent the voters of the district that elected you. Assuming that you actually live in the district that elected you, your voting and actions should represent the will of your electorate and not the interests of a municipality in which you have substantial monetary interests (eg own a business). Refrain from generalities and referring to “doing what is best for the tax payer” – as an elected public official you agree to serve your electorate. You do not serve the generic taxpayer. You serve a specific group of taxpayers who elected you.
You must conduct yourself with the highest possible ethical values. Treat people with dignity. When a board member berates a citizen you must do your best to pull in the reigns on the out-of- control board member or you will be seen at the least as being ineffective and at best aligning yourself with a bully. Do not use generic terms such as “skaters” or “misfits” to describe people you believe to be lower than you on the social ladder. It demonstrates pre-judging people (aka prejudice) and makes it impossible for you to render an unbiased judgment which affects those lives. If you cannot clear your mind of prejudice then you must recuse yourself from any votes affecting people for which you consider lower life forms. Also, no racial or ethnic slurs, either.
If you apply a standard to a group of people then expect to have that standard applied to you. For example, if you accuse a school of being a failure based upon PSSA testing scores without considering the totality of the circumstances, then you must pass a test. A “Blue Ribbon Panel” of knowledgeable Voters from the district electing you shall put together an examination based upon facts and circumstances encompassing issues before the Board. You must pass the examination or else abstain from the vote. Your experience, background and accomplishments will not be considered—only the test results (similar to PSSA Exams). If you wish to reopen a school, you will be quizzed about how much money will it cost each person and business IN YOUR VOTING DISTRICT. You will need to understand the results of a cost effectiveness study (if you have to wait three months for the facts then you must wait three months for the facts. This will curb the impulse to be impulsive.). If the vote involves millage increases then an essay explaining what millage is and how it applies to the topic will be required. You will also need to be able to correctly solve a couple of millage “problems” to further demonstrate your understanding of the issue. Testing along these lines will ensure that the Board Member will make enlightened decisions for “the taxpayer”. Testing of Board Members will serve as a reality check and demonstrate that he or she is capable of making an informed decision or vote. If the member does not pass the test then the member can be considered to be a Failure and be placed “in corrective action and have his vote reduced by one-half (which would be called a “hybrid” vote).
You must undergo another test - a random drug test. Anyone working in the school with children is subject to one. Board Members, who make decisions with millions of taxpayer dollars and directly affect the lives of children, must not be chemically impaired.
Not agreeing to random drug testing equals no right to vote at a board meeting. The way some board members think and act begs the question: “What the heck have they been smoking?!”
The Board President should be firm and fair. When a member becomes obsessed with a single topic (such as the procedure on how another school district arrives at their costs) or gets a glassy-eyed stare and begins ranting about a mythical “super school”, you must advise him he is out of order. Board Members need to remind each other that mythical schools cannot exist in a county which has a severly eroded tax base. Part of each School Board Quiz will involve asking members if they realize that PPG and Eljer aren’t here anymore to foot the bill. You must also remind everyone that Armstrong County does not have an economic tax base that can even tie the shoe string of Butler, Indiana or Westmoreland Counties. Armstrong County is not the land of Oz but more resembles the dustbowl days of Kansas.
Members need to submit to psychological examination. Just because someone graduates High School or College does not necessarily mean that they have the maturity or stability to hold a position of public trust. Just because someone is elected to public office does not mean that they actually possess mental stability. Why does a person take on a demanding job that does not provide a paycheck? If the non-paid elected public servants are taking on this job for the proper reasons we would not be witnessing some individuals behaving as if they are part of a “Saturday Night Live” Comedy Skit. Test results may explain why a school board member is a lap-dog at one meeting and then becomes an attack-dog at another meeting.
You need to make the secret Executive Meetings public as well. What kind of back-door deals are being cut. Are weaker, indecisive members being bullied by overbearing, opinionated members? Let the public examine how all the gears of the body politics work – warts and all.
I have to thank many members of the school board. You have energized an ever widening base of average people who are becoming interested in grassroots government. The riff-raff, garlic eating, skating electorate is now beginning to understand that a candidate can be elected without disclosing his true agenda until after the election. Once elected, “buyers’ remorse” cannot undo the reckless and intentional “in your face” type of damage done by an elected official who does not consider himself accountable to the electorate of his district but actually considers himself as a superior to the electorate and not as its servant. The bottom line of the above School Board Job Description is Accountability. If a board member does not wish to be held to the above standards then do the respectable thing – Resign the position. Just think about It!
Hank Cacurak, Manor Township
