Posts Tagged ‘Kevin Mahler’

North suburban school district reorganizations; North Allegheny superintendent lauds parents and students

Posted: December 11, 2015 in Press Coverage
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North suburban school district reorganizations

Tara Fisher was elected president and Kevin Mahler, vice-president. Mrs. Fisher had been acting president since March.

Seven of nine members were sworn into office by District Judge William Wagner, the large number occurring because of two-year terms resulting from resignations. Returning incumbents are Mr. Mahler, Libby Blackburn, Michael Meyer and Richard McClure. Mr. Meyer and Mr. McClure had been appointed to fill vacancies, and Mr. Mahler was originally elected to a two-year term. New members are Christopher Disque, Suzanne Filiaggi and Christopher Finley.

Christopher Jacobs did not seek re-election, and Joseph Greenberg and 20-year veteran Maureen Grosheider were defeated in their re-election bids. Most of the successful candidates had been endorsed by Save NA Schools, a group formed three years ago to fight larger elementary class sizes and the potential closing of Peebles Elementary School.

To read more, click here.

North Allegheny superintendent lauds parents and students

The annual Report of Student Achievement gives the North Allegheny School District “much to celebrate,” but substitute superintendent Robert Scherrer was quick to give credit, not just to district employees, but also to parents and the students themselves.

“We thank you for all your efforts each and every day,” Mr. Scherrer said during the board’s Dec. 2 reorganization meeting. “We focus on the whole child and strive to support each student academically, emotionally and socially, allowing each student to find success in a changing world.”

To read more, click here.

Press coverage from the election

Posted: May 22, 2015 in 2015 Primary Election, Press Coverage
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Post-Gazette logo

The Save NA Schools group continued to rack up victories for school board seats.

The group’s endorsed slate of three incumbents and three newcomers swept the Republican nominations for four- and two-year terms. Incumbent Joe Greenberg was defeated on both ballots, and longtime incumbent Maureen Grosheider’s name will appear only on the Democratic ballot in November.

Candidates whose names will appear on both tickets are incumbents Kevin Mahler, Libby Blackburn and Michael Meyer and newcomer Chris Finley for four-year terms, and newcomer Suzanne Filiaggi for a two-year term. Mrs. Blackburn was elected four years ago and Mr. Mahler two years ago. Mr. Meyer was appointed to the board last year.

Newcomer Chris Disque of McCandless won a Republican nomination and longtime incumbent Mrs. Grosheider won a Democratic nomination.

To read more, click here.

 

Pittsburgh Tribune Review logo

Incumbent North Allegheny School Board member Joseph Greenberg did not make it past the May 19 primary, but the other candidates will move on to the general election in November, according to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Elections Division.

Challenger Suzanne Filiaggi received both the Democratic and Republican nominations for a two-year term and has won that seat unless there is a successful write-in campaign. She beat incumbent Maureen Grosheider, who sought only the Republican nomination for that seat.

“Transparency and accountability — that’s what we believe, and we are all humbled by the opportunity to serve as directors,” said Suzanne M. Filiaggi, 46. of Franklin Park. She was part of a slate that also included fellow challengers Christopher Disque and Christopher Finley and incumbents Libby Blackburn, Kevin Mahler and Michael C. Meyer.

To read more, click here.

Vote Today!

Posted: May 19, 2015 in 2015 Primary Election
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In a local election, every vote counts. Please get out and vote today. Your vote can make all the difference!
Vote Today to keep NA moving forward!

pic_group_Move NA Forward

Keep NA Moving Forward

Posted: May 14, 2015 in 2015 Primary Election, Community Information
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Two years ago, a bipartisan group of NA residents came together to advocate for change on the North Allegheny School Board.   At that time, most of the school board members had been on the Board for over a decade, including Maureen Grosheider–who has been on the Board for 2 decades.
 
Under Grosheider’s Leadership, NA lacked a long-term strategic plan:
  1. The Board raised taxes for 3 years in a row (2010, 2011, and 2012).
  2. Inaccurate projections led to the recommendation to close an elementary school–the District projected an $8 million deficit, but ended the year with a $5 million surplus and an increase in elementary enrollment.
  3. Elementary classes operated above class size guidelines (11 sections were above the guidelines at the start of the 2012-13 school year).
  4. Classroom technology fell behind comparator districts (including Hampton and North Hills).
  5. The District was not compliant with Board Policy #4125–which requires that the District maintain a Citizen’s Advisory Committee to provide feedback on important District matters.
As a result of these issues, the district-wide movement to Save NA Schools took hold and 3 new members were elected to the NA School Board.  After the 2013 election, board members chose new board leadership and began the process of moving NA forward.
 
Under New Board Leadership, the following changes have occurred:
 
  1. A new Budget and Finance Committee, comprised of 3 Board Members, was created to help prioritize District expenditures and develop a long-term plan with respect to fiscal management and tax increases.
  2. A new Technology Advisory Committee, comprised of teachers, parents, and taxpayers, was created to provide a variety of stakeholders with the opportunity to develop recommendations around advancing classroom technology. 
  3. A new Elementary Class Size Policy was created to provide guidelines for determining the number of elementary sections at the start of the year.
  4. A new Alternative Revenue Initiative was created for soliciting “payments in lieu of taxes” from large, non-profit organizations that reside in the District and benefit from the NA brand.  
  5. A new Citizen’s Advisory Committee was reinstated to give NA constituents the opportunity to provide feedback on important District matters.
 
As you can see, many positive changes have occurred under new board leadership.  We believe it’s important to keep that momentum going.  
 
Vote FILIAGGI, FINLEY, MAHLER, MEYER, DISQUE, & BLACKBURN on May 19th to Move NA Forward!

Meet the Candidates: Kevin Mahler

Posted: May 6, 2015 in 2015 Primary Election, Community Information
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Pic_Kevin MahlerKevin Mahler has been a resident of the North Allegheny district for 20 years.  He has an undergraduate degree from Duke University and earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.  Mr. Mahler is a Research Director for Schmidt Market Research, which is located here in the North Hills area. He has previously held marketing positions with the Pitt Auto Electric Company, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the Software Engineering Institute at CMU.

Mr. Mahler has three children. His daughter, Kate, is a 2010 NA graduate and a 2013 New York University graduate. His son, Andy, is a 2014 NA graduate currently enrolled at Case Western University. His youngest child, Ryan, started NA Kindergarten in 2014. His wife, Viki, is a pediatrician with many patients in the NA school district.

Mr. Mahler has a history of involvement with the community, including time spent coaching several NA youth recreational sports leagues. He was a regular attendee at NA School Board meetings before becoming a School Director 2013.

In 2013, Mr. Mahler ran in a special election for a two year seat on the North Allegheny School Board. He believes that the District needs a new approach to issues like budgeting, taxes, decision-making, and community relations. To attract young families and keep our property values high, he believes we need to think strategically and look for win-win solutions to keep NA strong. He is running again in 2014 in order to continue working toward those goals.

Mr. Mahler is running for a four year seat.

For more information on the candidates and their platform, please click on the following link: www.moveNAforward.com

2015 Primary Ballot

Posted: April 29, 2015 in 2015 Primary Election, Community Information, Take Action
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The Republican and Democratic Primary Ballots are shown below.

To read more about the election, visit our endorsement website at www.movenaforward.com.  Please share this link with family and friends.

ballot

2015 Primary Election

Posted: April 28, 2015 in 2015 Primary Election, Community Information, Take Action
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SaveNASchools has reinstated its Political Action Committee (PAC) to support candidates for the North Allegheny School Board in the 2015 Primary Election. The name of the PAC is “The Committee to Save NA Schools” and it is registered with the Allegheny County Board of Elections.

The Committee to Save NA Schools endorses the following 6 candidates:  Libby Blackburn, Kevin Mahler, Suzanne Filiaggi, Christopher Finley, Christopher Disque, and Michael C. Meyer.

Group photo

First row: (l-r) Libby Blackburn, Kevin Mahler, Suzanne Filiaggi Second row: (l-r) Christopher Finley, Christopher Disque, Michael C. Meyer

 

These candidates comprise a District-wide slate as residents of Franklin Park, Marshall, and McCandless. Three are incumbents with Board experience and three are newcomers with fresh ideas.

In 2013, the NA School Board – which included 3 newly elected members – chose new Board leadership and began the process of moving NA forward. The 6 candidates on this slate are the only individuals who can be counted on to keep that momentum going, particularly through their support of three general principles:

Avoid Annual Tax Increases by growing alternative revenue and prioritizing District expenditures. The incumbents on this slate are the only candidates who supported the 2014-2015 budget – which did not raise taxes. They’re also the only candidates who supported the Administration’s recommendation to retain a consultant to provide suggestions for expanding the District’s fundraising efforts.

Advance NA’s Education Model by supporting small class sizes, improving classroom technology, and promoting STEM initiatives. The incumbents on this slate are the only candidates who voted for a policy to support smaller elementary class sizes.  This slate of candidates also supports new initiatives to help NA forge ahead with classroom technology and STEM education, areas where NA fell behind comparator districts under prior Board leadership. 

Encourage Community Involvement by supporting the Citizen’s Advisory Committee which was reinstated last year under new Board leadership.   Under prior Board leadership, the District was not compliant with Board Policy #4215, which requires that the District maintain a Citizen’s Advisory Committee to provide feedback on important District matters.  This slate of candidates values the community and their input.

To read more about these candidates, click here.

 

 

New Board Members Take Office

Posted: December 10, 2013 in Community Information, NA School District Communications
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Recently-elected School Board members – Mrs. Tara Fisher, Mr. Kevin Mahler, Mr. Ralph Pagone, Mr. Scott Russell, and Mr. Tom Schwartzmier – took the Oath of Office at the Reorganization meeting on December 4, 2013.  To read more, click here.

To review the E-Report from Wednesday’s meeting, please click here.

The next meeting of the NA Board of School Directors is scheduled for December 18, 2013 at 7pm.

Vote Today to Move NA Forward!

Posted: November 5, 2013 in Community Information
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In a local election, every vote counts.  Please get out and vote today!

Election card2

Vote FISHER–PAGONE–RUSSELL for a 4-year term on the NA SCHOOL BOARD.

Vote MAHLER for a 2-year term on the NA SCHOOL BOARD.

Do not to select the “straight party” voting option.  Instead, make individual candidate selections.

Thank you for your support!

Redistricting Scenarios

Posted: November 2, 2013 in Community Information
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The two redistricting scenarios presented to the school board on October 23, 2013, will move considerably more elementary students than the redistricting scenario presented last year.

On November 14, 2012, the administration presented a redistricting scenario that only moved 264 elementary students if Peebles Elementary remained open. The same presentation showed 500-600 elementary students would be moved if Peebles Elementary were to close.

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Now the administration is proposing two scenarios that would redistrict 400 or more elementary students, despite the fact Peebles Elementary will remain open.  The October 23, 2013 presentation does not account for the number of middle schools students who would be impacted.

10.23presentation

These inconsistencies illustrate the need for more transparency surrounding the redistricting process. The administration has not released maps, enrollment projections, or other details upon which these scenarios are based.

The administration’s October 23, 2013 redistricting presentation may be viewed here.

The candidates endorsed by SaveNASchools are running on a platform for more transparency and more community involvement in the board’s decision-making processes. Please visit www.movenaforward.com to learn more.

Note: It’s extremely important that NA residents are aware of the special election for a 2-year board seat. The redistricting plan will be voted on by the new school board and Kevin Mahler is a strong advocate for the community.

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