SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY – APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED THROUGH FEB. 13
Feb. 4, 2022
School Board vacancy – applications accepted through Feb. 13
The Upper St. Clair School District is currently accepting letters of application from individuals interested in serving as a School Board member. The deadline to apply is Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022.
Please submit a letter of application and your resume. Your letter of application should include the following information:
Describe how your primary occupation, education background, and/or professional experience would be an asset to the Board.
Describe your reasons for wanting to join the Board, including two key issues you would want to address as a Board member.
Describe any of your volunteer or employment experiences in the School District and/or in the Community.
Letters of application and resumes may be submitted to Sarah MacDonald, Board Stenographer, via email at smacdonald@uscsd.k12.pa.us or Upper St. Clair School District, 1775 McLaughlin Run Road, Upper St. Clair, PA 15241.
The selected candidate will serve the remainder of a vacant term, which expires in December 2023.
By law, Pennsylvania School Boards must fill a board member vacancy within 30 days. The Upper St. Clair School Board intends to appoint its new member on Monday, Feb. 28.
The USC Democratic Committee would like to give a brief update on the pending lawsuit over universal masking in the district schools:
WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING WITH THE LAWSUIT?
On Sunday, January 23, a temporary injunction was granted by the Third District Court of Appeals to force the district to continue universal masking in the schools pending a hearing of the original legal case.
Two new legal filings were made this week regarding that case:
A motion to intervene was filed in the lower district court on behalf of several USC parents and children. They are seeking to intervene in the lawsuit. They do not want their children to have to wear masks and have divided themselves into three categories: (1) those who are diagnosed with cancer, autoimmune, or respiratory illness; (2) those who fall under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act); and (3) those who believe their children’s mental health, well-being, and social development are being overlooked.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pennsylvania Chapter of AAP filed a motion to be able to file an amici brief (“friends of the court”) on behalf of the plaintiffs (in favor of the original 5 families who sued the district). The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals granted their motion. The AAP argues in this filing that
COVID-19 is a serious childhood illness.
The medical literature uniformly supports masking to prevent injury and death from COVID-19.
Virtual schools are not equal to in-person schools, nor are they the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of children with disabilities.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
A school board meeting will be held on Monday at 7pm in the USC High School theatre. All residents are encouraged to come and show support for universal masking, either by speaking during the public comments section at the end of the meeting, or simply showing up (with a mask on, of course) and allowing the school board to see substantial numbers of people attending in support of universal masking.
Email the school board and let them know that you support universal masking. The board receives, and reads, many emails from local residents, and those who have pushed the district to remove the school mask mandate have not been shy about writing the board.
Ready to Run™ Pennsylvania provides non-partisan political training to encourage women to run for government leadership positions. The day-long program targets women considering or recently deciding to run for political office, providing training and mentoring by campaign professionals, political women, and officeholders.
Ready to Run™ Pennsylvania is part of the Ready to Run™ National Training Network of the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University (NJ).
Please save the dates for the upcoming US Senate Candidates Series, organized by the SWPA Grassroots Coalition!
The SWPA Grassroots Coalition includes: Indivisible Grassroots Pittsburgh, Progress PA, Partners for Progress SWPA, Indivisible Forest Hills, Murrysville-Export Democratic Club, and the Order of the Phoenix. Extra special thanks to Debra Fyock for leading the charge on this and to Alison Shepherd Duncan for the beautiful graphics!
All four Democratic US Senate candidates were invited to participate in this series. We are appreciative of Congressman Conor Lamb, Commissioner Val Arkoosh, and Representative Malcolm Kenyatta for participating and giving voters the chance to hear from them.
Similar to a number of other candidate series and forums, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman has opted not to participate in this US Senate Candidate Series as well.
Please join us via Zoom in hearing from these three wonderful candidates and mark your calendars! Thank you!
Due to increasing concerns about rising Covid-19 cases in Allegheny county and unknowns about the newest variant, the USC Democratic Committee New Year party will be postponed to later in the Winter. Stay tuned for a new date. Thank you for your understanding and continuing to do your part to keep our community safe.
Please join the USC Democratic Committee for our New Year Celebration!
Chair Mary McIntyre began the meeting at 7:00 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Treasurer Peg Babnik reported the committee’s bank account balance of $6,651.00. Vice Chair Jason Fincke noted that this is the most money the committee has ever had in the bank.
Picnic Summary – Mary McIntyre
Mary thanked everyone for their involvement and contributions for the Committee’s picnic held at South Park on Sunday, September 12th. She noted the event was quite a success with approximately 125-150 attendees, including many judicial candidates for the November 2nd election, as well as our Democratic candidate for School Board: Jen Schnore. The exact amount of funds raised will be reported at the next committee meeting, but it is believed to be in the $3,800 – $4,000 range.
A discussion followed as to where to hold future fundraisers. The prevailing opinion was that since the Alpine Club did such a great job with the food that the establishment would be the best choice for future fundraisers, either at the restaurant or by using its catering services. Mary noted that the establishment is a Democratic-friendly venue as many other Democratic fundraisers are held there.
There was a discussion regarding the township’s policy of not permitting the rentals of its facilities for fundraising events. It was suggested that the committee investigate how to get the policy modified.
Candidate Tom Caulfield
Magistrate District Judge Tom Caulfield, who has been chosen as the 10th Democratic candidate for Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, spoke to the committee. He discussed his background and his “highly recommended” ranking by the Allegheny County Bar Association. The 10th judgeship became available when Judge Guido Angelis recently announced that he would not run for a retention vote.
School Board Meeting – Mask Mandate and Redistricting – Deb Allen
Deb Allen summarized the USC School Board meeting that was held on September 28th. She noted that 16 people were in the audience: two attendees chose to present comments to the Board. They thanked the Board for upholding the current mask mandate in schools and for their concern for the safety of the district’s students.
School Board members outlined the many penalties that the district would face if the mask mandate issued by Gov. Wolf was not followed.
She pointed out that security was present at the meeting and restricted anyone not wearing a mask from attending the meeting.
Deb Allen also noted the need for the committee to closely watch the progress of proposed bills coming from the state’s Republican legislators that would undermine Gov. Wolf’s school mask mandate, such as SB846. She suggested that we contact Senator Devlin Robinson to express our opposition.
She also encouraged everyone to research and get involved in the redistricting process currently being undertaken in Pennsylvania by visiting www.senatorhaywood.com/event/redistricting or calling his office at 215-242-8171 to learn more about redistricting educational workshops Senator Haywood’s office will be sponsoring.
Committee Next Outreach Project – Mary McIntyre and Bernadette Fincke
Mary and Bernadette spoke about the committee’s next outreach project which involves sending letters to the townships’s non super voters, explaining the importance of November’s election and listing the endorsed candidates. Packets including voter lists and envelopes were distributed to volunteers. Postage stamps, which will be paid by the committee, were not available at the meeting. It was decided that stamps will be distributed on Sunday, October 3 from 12 – 2 pm at the township’s Old Rec Center parking lot. Additional packets will also be available as more volunteers are needed. Mary will send out an email notification.
