Dombrowski Running for Bellefonte School Board

Paul Dombrowski is running in the primary election for Bellefonte Area School Board, citing among his strengths his more than 30 years of teaching experience.

“I firmly believe that the Bellefonte Area School District community deserves a school board that will work earnestly for the betterment of our students, teachers and community,” he said in a news release. “Parents want better for their children than they themselves had—broader horizons, greater opportunities, fuller capabilities—while also honoring their treasured heritage and traditions.”

His experience as an educator is “grounded in teaching, program direction, and dealing with state and federal agencies,” and would bring a perspective from the “output end of the education pipeline to inform board developments at the front end,” he said.

The Bellefonte community is growing, he said, and he believes schools should “have a hand in that growth while retaining our prized historical character.”

“Quality education at the hands of talented, enthusiastic teachers will make our community appealing for home-buyers relocating,” he said. “Teachers make it all work.”

To that end, he said equitable funding for school districts is necessary and teacher salaries and working conditions should be attractive to current and future community needs. A long-planned new elementary school is a key part of that, he added.

A military veteran with a master’s degree in counselor education, Dombrowski said his decades of teaching experience have shown him the importance of factors beyond test scores. “

Among these is learning to offer social support for others through kindness, mutual respect and fairness,” he said. “The result is a sense of community responsibility and participation while at the same time pursuing personal aspirations.”

Dombrowski, who with his wife, Judy, has raised two daughters, said his perspective is party-neutral.

“I welcome whatever inputs best serve our students and community and America,” he said.

He is one of 11 candidates running in the primary for five Bellefonte School Board seats up for election. In addition to Dombrowski, the other candidates seeking election are the Win4Bellefonte slate of Jenn Barnhart, Patrick Buck, Timothy Kessling, Darrell Sharp and incumbent Kimberly Weaver; incumbents Nate Campbell, Julie Fitzgerald Donna Smith; and Denelle Korin and Joe Yech.

Each of the candidates is cross-filed for the Democratic and Republican primary ballots.

Primary Election Day is May 16 and the General Election is Nov. 7.