Perkiomen School Board picks Kolar to replace Flynn

PERKIOMEN >> Reena Kolar was chosen from among five applicants Monday night to be the newest member of the Perkiomen Valley School Board.

She will replace Richard Flynn, who resigned at the Jan. 25 board meeting, and will serve the remaining two years of his term, expiring Dec. 2, 2019.

The other candidates interviewed were Matthew Dorr, Reena Kolar, Rosaleen Oskanian, La Toya Samuels, and Kevin Sherman, according to the school district’s Twitter feed.

Three other candidates who had initially applied – Andrea Galambos, Nikki Ricketts and Elizabeth Barrett – were not among those interviewed.

In an email, Jessica Lester, the district’s manager of community engagement, wrote “in between the time the agenda was posted and the evening of the meeting, the three other candidates dropped out for various personal reasons.”

It is the board’s second resignation in the last three months.

On Nov. 13, just days after the general election in which several incumbents were ousted, Ann Mantey, who was not up for reelection, submitted her resignation.

The board selected Sarah Evans-Brockett to replace Mantey.

As the public interviews got underway, school board President Judy Lofton said “we have an immense body of knowledge and skill before us and we will have a very difficult decision tonight,” according to the district’s Twitter feed.

Kolar told the board she decided to apply because she has three children in the district and after getting to know the teachers and administrators, decided she wanted to advocate for all the children in the district, not just her own.

Among the challenges she sees as facing the district are the budget, the fast pace of change for technology and programs and the difficulty in deciding where to put resources as a result.

Kolar, who works in the mental health field, also said mental health is a “huge challenge” for schools, according to the district’s Twitter feed.

After a round of questioning, the board eliminated Samuels and Sherman and continued to question Dorr, Kolar and Oskanian.

Kolar told the board that the problem with the current assessment systems is they assess a narrow view of the child. More valuable, would be to determine how the students are doing socially and emotionally, as well as academically, and to make the best use of the data available.

Faced with the necessity of making cuts to the budget, Kolar told the board she believes the best way to approach such a decision is to determine the difference between “wants” and “priorities,” and look at the impact any cuts being suggested would have on students, according to the district’s Twitter feed from Monday’s meeting.

After the second round of questioning, Kolar was appointed after receiving six of the eight votes.