Seven Cross-Filed Candidates Competing in State College School Board Primary

Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final post highlighting local races in Tuesday’s primary election. The previous stories covered the races for judge of the Centre County Court of Common Pleas; for the county Board of Commissioners; and for State College Borough Council. Additional information on these races can be found on the StateCollege.com Politics page.

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Republican and Democratic voters in the Centre Region will pick from a field of seven cross-filed candidates Tuesday in the State College Area school-board primary race.

Five seats on the nine-member school board are in play this year. Incumbents Ann McGlaughlin, the board president; Jim Pawelczyk, the vice president; and Dorothea Stahl all are running for the reelection.

The other two sitting board members whose terms will expire in January 2012 have declined to run again. They are Chris Small and Richard Bartnik.

Meanwhile, challenger candidates Dave Cannon, Amber Cistaro Concepcion, Samuel Settle and Laurel Zydney have jumped into the race.

Voters in each party will select five nominees to appear on the general-election ballot in November. As many as all seven primary contenders — or as few as five — could make the general-election ballot, depending on voters’ choices Tuesday. (A strong primary write-in campaign — or campaigns — could alter that political forecast, though.)

C-NET has recorded interviews with all seven school-board candidates who will appear on the primary ballots; those interviews are posted on this page. A League of Women Voters forum event featuring the candidates is posted here, also via C-NET.

Links to the candidates’ respective campaign websites are posted on StateCollege.com’s politics page.

Additional information about Tuesday’s primary races is available at the Centre County Election Office website, and at VotesPA, the Pennsylvania Department of State’s online voting information and resource center.

Earlier coverage

• Five Democrats Running in State College Borough Council Primary (May 16, 2011)
  

• 13 Candidates Running for Centre Co. Commissioner (May 12, 2011)

• Three Vie for Seat on Centre Co. Bench (May 11, 2011)

• State College Candidates Address Budget Issues, Quality of Life (April 28, 2011)
  

• Centre Co. Commissioner Candidates Outline Management, Budget Ideas (April 27, 2011)

• Hopefuls File Petitions in State College, Centre County Races (March 09, 2011)

• Exarchos Announces New Bid for Centre Co. Commissioners Board, (Feb. 14, 2011)

• Former Commissioner Sue Mascolo Joins Centre Co. Race (Feb. 07, 2011)