Five candidates vying for four open seats on the Scranton School Board outlined their main goals and priorities for the district, from expanding early education programs, to bolstering after-school programs, ensuring children have ample counseling support, and meeting the needs of special education students, leading up to the municipal election Nov. 4.
Danielle Chesek, the board’s vice president, secured the most votes in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.
Director Jenna Strzelecki, who was appointed to the board in April following the resignation of Katie Gilmartin, and retired district Chief Information Officer Joe Brazil also won nominations on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.
Gilmartin had served on the board since 2017 and was board president in 2020 and 2021.
Carol J. Cleary, who was previously appointed to fill a vacant seat on the school board in January 2022 and served until December 2023, won a nomination in the primary, running only as a Democrat; and former Scranton City Council candidate John Howe won a nomination on the Republican ballot.
Several seats opened up as board President Ty Holmes and Director Sean McAndrew are not running for re-election. McAndrew is running for a seat on Scranton City Council.
The board previously experienced additional turnover when Tara Yanni, who had previously served as both board president and vice president, resigned in September. She was first elected in 2019 and won reelection in 2023 to a second four-year term.
Board members voted in September to appoint Joseph Triano, a former West Scranton High School principal and vice principal, to fill Yanni’s vacant seat for the two-plus years remaining on her unexpired term.
School directors serve without compensation.
Danielle Chesek (COURTESY OF DANIELLE CHESEK)
Jenna Strzelecki (COURTESY OF JENNA STRZELECKI)
Joe Brazil (COURTESY OF JOE BRAZIL)
Carol Cleary (COURTESY OF CAROL CLEARY)
John Howe (COURTESY OF JOHN HOWE)
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Danielle Chesek (COURTESY OF DANIELLE CHESEK)
Chesek, 40, pursues a second four-year term on the board, having first won election in 2021. The board voted 6-3 in December to make her vice president.
She pointed to the district exiting financial recovery (in 2023) and the return of the district’s preschool program in January as successes during her tenure.
“I want to keep that progress going,” Chesek said. “With the financial recovery, we’re now in a monitoring phase. We still have to be careful, but I think it’s important the board has the authority to make decisions that best suit the community. I want to make sure we’re mindful of that.”
Chesek — a certified veterinary technologist who works as the academic team lead for Penn Foster’s Veterinary Academy — hopes to expand the early education program to more schools, and improve mental health services and school safety as well as boost the music and art programs.
“We’re improving the infrastructure in a lot of our buildings, and finding more modern ways to make our buildings safe for our students and faculty,” she said.
Chesek couldn’t shed much light on the reason for the two resignations, but feels good about the current state of the board and optimistic about its future.
“I haven’t had any contact with the two (former) board members since they resigned,” she said. “I know there is often speculation within the community, but nothing has been stated to the board as far as their exact reasons. Our board dynamic changed two years ago; it’s going to change again, and it also changed because of those resignations. Right now, we are very mindful of the community, and we want to do what’s best for our students. I feel the board dynamic has changed in a positive manner. We’re not always going to agree on everything, all the time, and that’s OK. I can pretty much talk to anybody. I may not vote the same, but I have respect for everybody that sits up there.
“I believe we have improved communication greatly over the last four years. It’s one of those things where when you get nine people together, nine people with different backgrounds, you really have to figure out how to communicate with each other. I feel we’re doing that now and I feel that after this upcoming election, however the board dynamic changes again, we’re going to continue that because we have a really strong foundation.”
Strzelecki, 41, the business administrator for the city of Pittston, has enjoyed her time on the board and hopes to have the opportunity to continue in the role.
She said she strives to bring fiscal responsibility to the board and feels directors have thoroughly researched different vendors, contracts and systems.
“Everybody works together really well, and everyone has the best interest of the students in mind when we’re making decisions,” she said. “Everything is done by taking a deep dive and looking into what we’re spending the money on to make sure we’re spending the taxpayer dollars in the most fiscally responsible way possible while also benefiting the greater good of the school district.”
Strzelecki also aims to expand after-school programs.
“I think they’re a cornerstone of the educational process,” she said. “Having enriching programs that aren’t just sports or the arts, but that give students the chance to explore different interests and different career paths is something I’m passionate about.”
Strzelecki also listed improving school safety as a big priority.
“I think it’s at the forefront of everyone’s mind — parents, students, teachers and staff all want to come to a safe environment every day,” she said. “We’re currently doing great things in the school district, but there are always new things introduced. Staying at the forefront of school safety is very important to me.”
During her six months on the board, Strzelecki said she developed a strong rapport with the other school directors and thinks that would continue, if reelected.
“I know, working with some of the other board members who still have two years on their term, that our priorities align and that we can come together on some positions,” she said. “We’re not always going to agree on everything, but as long as we all know we’re working with the best interest of the students, teachers and staff in mind, I think that’s going to create a cohesive board and give us stability for the next few years.”
Brazil, 67, retired district director of information technology, would push to bring back quality after-school and summer programs for students if elected to the board.
“Whatever we do, I want to mix it with a physical component,” he said. “We have gyms in every one of our schools, there’s no reason we can’t have a little more physical activity for the kids, and some kind of reading remediation. When I was there before, we would bring kids in who were below the reading level and provide them and their families with a dinner, and if they had siblings they could be in the gym playing basketball or kickball while their siblings were getting remediation in math or reading.”
Brazil would also want to explore what was working well with test scores, before the pandemic, and try to reimplement those things, he said.
“They’re my three main goals: after-school programs, summer programs and doing what we can to increase our achievement,” he said.
Brazil feels the district made some positive financial strides in recent years and believes that progress should continue once the state budge impasse concludes.
“I think we’re going to be in pretty good shape,” he said. “We just have to be very careful on any new types of things we buy into. I don’t mind funding things as long as they have a proven track record.”
Brazil stressed that sometimes school board resignations are going to be inevitable and vowed to work with the other directors in a positive manner.
“Personal things come up all the time that you have no control over — people are going to resign for family matters or health reasons,” he said. “I like to think people are going to serve out their terms, but things come up in people’s lives and I wouldn’t hold that against anyone. I believe I can work with anyone. I’m willing to listen to ideas and follow the direction of the superintendent.”
Instead of applying for one of the board vacancies as Cleary and Howe did, Brazil chose to put the decision in the public’s hands.
“I just felt I would want to win one, not be appointed,” he said.
Cleary, 66, a retired school counselor who spent nearly 27 years in the Stroudsburg Area School District, feels her experience on the board and background as a school counselor would make her a valuable addition to board.
“I feel like I kind of just got started, and there are things I’d like to finish,” she said. “I’m interested in the counselor-to-student ratios. When I was on the board previously, there were a lot of elementary schools that didn’t have school counselors at the time, and I worked to get some additional counselors in some of the elementary schools. I think it’s very important to meet students’ needs as early as we can so we don’t have bigger problems later. It’s difficult for principals to deal with those issues, as well as running the school, and if you throw in students that have emotional and mental health issues it becomes more complex and difficult for students to get what they need.
“I’ve worked with a lot of the administrators previously, but as anything it takes a while to establish relationships with people and understand how their system is set up. It’s a big learning curve, so having two years under my belt, I feel like I don’t have as big a learning curve this time and I can hit the ground running. I would continue to make the best decisions I can with the information I’m given, and also doing my own research. I feel like looking at the data, and looking at all the information available to you, is very important as a school board director.”
Cleary wants students to receive the best possible education and expressed optimism in working to provide the best course materials.
“When I was on the board, we implemented, or had started, some career development and mental health curriculum,” she said. “I’d like to see where that’s at because having not been on the board for the last few years I don’t know how that’s still being implemented, and if it’s working, or if there is another way we should implement it to best meet our students’ needs.”
Cleary said she recognized it can be challenging for nine school directors to find common ground on all issues, but stated communication is important.
“The more personalities you have and the more people you have to reach out to, you have to talk,” she said. “Even if you disagree with somebody, sometimes by hearing their side you can either at least understand their position or maybe even change your position, because you didn’t think of it from their perspective. I think it’s really important to reach out to all board members, not just the two or three you’re friendly with.”
For, Howe, 37, co-owner of ABA Supervise & Learn LLC, the needs of special education students in the district would be his top priority.
“We need to make sure we take care of the special education influx,” he said. “I think (students) who have IEPs, 504 plans, or autism support classrooms, require the same attention and availability to free public access to education. I know (Superintendent) Dr. (Erin) Keating and the board have been working toward that; I would just like to help complement them. We don’t have the space, currently, for the influx. Being able to address that and provide the space we need to educate all students is one of the big issues. We need to be able to budget that properly and understand the finances. I want to make sure we can afford things, common-sense things, and try to get funding for the things we might not have.”
Howe would also push for additional resources for teachers to help boost standardized test scores in the district.
“I believe we have the best teachers in the county, I just think we need more people on the board who support them and understand their needs, and how their needs impact the education of our students and our testing,” he said. “We get a lot of our funding through our test scores from the state and federal government.”
Working to secure more funding to support students would be another priority for Howe.
“I want to fight and advocate with the other members of the board, and hopefully create enough buzz to get more fair funding for our school district,” he said. “Let’s get some more libraries and some more arts programs — things we can provide these students so they can continue to do better once they leave here.”
Howe maintains constructive collaboration is imperative for a board to run smoothly.
“As stewards of the trust of our community, even thought we might have different opinions of how to get to a solution, we have to respect each other and work toward that goal,” he said. “I might not have the answer and that’s why it’s a board of nine, to be able to come together and communicate, and make sure the No. 1 thing is the betterment of our district for our students. We have our own opinions, ideas and beliefs, but we have to understand we’re working as a team. I don’t think there needs to be contentious, adversarial commentary or beliefs on the board.”
Additionally, Howe believes his involvement in activities throughout the entire city makes him qualified for the position.
“I coach for North Scranton, I coach for West Scranton, I’m in South Scranton, I’m all over,” he said. “I’ve proven I have the ability to work for every school and every student.”
Originally Published: October 26, 2025 at 12:00 AM EDT