WFMZ<\/a>.<\/p>\nHeather L. Christein \u2013 Republican
Christein is a certified fundraising executive who graduated from Nazareth Area School District and earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from Lehigh University in 1998 and an MBA from Moravian University in 2021. Her son graduated from Liberty High School in 2023.<\/p>\n
Christein said she plans to prioritize core academics \u2014 math, reading, science as well as critical thinking.<\/p>\n
She said she would propose a policy prohibiting political or ideological discussions in the classroom. \u201cTeachers should remain unbiased, ensuring students are free to learn without influence from personal beliefs,\u201d she said in an email.<\/p>\n
Christein supports a comprehensive audit of district spending and wants to take a conservative approach to budgeting to ensure transparency and accountability for taxpayers.<\/p>\n
Michael E. Faccinetto \u2013 Democrat, incumbent
Faccinetto is an assistant principal at Southern Lehigh Middle School. He has a bachelor\u2019s degree from Penn State and a master\u2019s degree in education from Lehigh University. He is the school board president and has been on the board for 16 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe BASD, like many other districts, is facing financial uncertainty in the next 5-10 years,\u201d Faccinetto said in an email. \u201cOur long-term projections indicate some difficult decisions are on the horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faccinetto said he wants to keep student-to-teacher ratios low and support services in place while recognizing needs and concerns of the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means responsible tax increases when necessary,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is not practical to say we will hold the line indefinitely on taxes, but when we do ask for an increase, we must be transparent and communicate the challenges we are facing with solutions and not cast blame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silagh White \u2013 Democrat, incumbent
White, who is seeking her second term, is the managing director of the Ice House Performing Arts Collaborative and a part-time executive assistant to Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds. She has a master\u2019s degree in education from Lehigh University.<\/p>\n
She was part of the school board\u2019s decision in 2024 to approve the $8 million purchase of The Factory, a building at 315 Columbia St., Bethlehem, as a satellite campus for the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School, which serves students from Bethlehem Area, Northampton Area and Saucon Valley school districts.<\/p>\n
White said the purchase will allow BAVTS to accommodate more students and offer more programs without a previously proposed $46.6 million expansion project at the main campus on Chester Avenue in Bethlehem Township.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important policy vote for any school board director is the annual budget,\u201d White wrote in an email. \u201cThis single decision dictates how resources are allocated for everything from teacher salaries to curriculum and extracurricular programs, directly impacting educational quality and the community\u2019s tax burden.\u201d<\/p>\n
White plans to focus on students\u2019 mental health. \u201cWhile no single policy will \u2018correct\u2019 the issue, new policies \u2014 such as restricting electronic devices during learning time, adhering to restorative practices, and increasing mental health services \u2014 can support students\u2019 learning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Shannon L. Patrick \u2013 Democrat, incumbent
Patrick was first appointed by the board in 2011 and won her seat in the 2013 election. She is the board vice president and was the Hanover Elementary School PTA president for three years.<\/p>\n
According to a candidate platform on Lehigh Valley for All\u2019s website, Patrick plans to address the housing crisis and work with community partners to solidify programs and assistance for families in need of help.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents need a stable place to live,\u201d Patrick wrote. \u201cThey cannot be successful and learn if that is not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick said she will seek to ensure fair funding for public schools from state money and she will work for charter school reform as well. \u201cWe cannot continue to send money to for-profit schools that have no public oversight,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
Patrick also said immigrant communities should be treated fairly and the school district and city should continue to welcome everyone.<\/p>\n
Winston Alozie \u2013 Democrat, incumbent
Alozie was appointed to his seat in 2020 and he was elected in 2021. He won the Democratic nomination as a write-in candidate. He is the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club in Bethlehem. Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, Alozie graduated from Freedom High School and attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He did not respond to an email request seeking comment for this story.<\/p>\n
Michael Kastelnik \u2013 Republican
Kastelnik did not cross-file in the May primary. He said the school board is typically filled with Democrats or candidates who cross-file, which is permitted in school board races. He said he wants to give voters a different option \u2013 \u201ca complete outsider from the government school system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kastelnik is a clinical therapist with Integrity Counseling Services, which specializes in therapy for Catholics. The goal is to provide therapy from a Christian perspective that may differ from other therapists\u2019 world views.<\/p>\n
He said he plans to bring his life experience as a therapist and as someone with Christian values to the school board.<\/p>\n
A major focus would be to listen to the electorate about what they are looking for in their school board and develop sustainable solutions to the school district budget, Kastelnik said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By John Best The Bethlehem Area School Board election features contested races for three at-large seats and one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11092,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-11091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}