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Jennifer Bottorf to wage write-in campaign for KC school board seat

By BOB ROLLEY

brolley@lockhaven.com

MILL HALL — Jennifer K. Bottorf of Rote has announced that she will run a write-in campaign for the Region II seat on the Keystone Central School Board after a candidate who won enough write-in votes in the May 16 primary election declined to seek election in November.

Region II represents Lamar Township and Mill Hall borough.

It’s current school board representative, retired educator and coach Tom Shafer, did not seek re-election this year after serving a number of years on the board.

On Friday, Clinton County Voter Registrar Maria Boileau confirmed to The Express that Dan Chappell had formally declined the bid.

The deadline to do so was 5 p.m. Thursday.

Chappell had won more than 10 write-in votes in the primary to be listed on the ballot in November for the Region II.

Chappell’s write-ins came mostly in Mill Hall Borough. He had won enough write-ins on both the Republican and Democratic tickets

Bottorf, meanwhile, said she’s eager to serve.

The 35-year-old wife and mother of a 6-year-old daughter works as the victim-witness coordinator in the Clinton County District Attorney’s Office, a position she has held for 10 years.

A native of Trevorton in Northumberland County, Bottorf graduated from Line Mountain High School in 1999.

She came to Clinton County in 1999 to attend Lock Haven University, graduating from LHU in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She also minored in social work and sociology.

She and her husband, Bill, were married in 2007.

Bill Bottorf is a lifelong resident of Clinton County, graduating from the former Bald Eagle Nittany High School in 1997.

“We have a beautiful, 6-year-old daughter, Rylee, who just graduated kindergarten at Mill Hall Elementary,” Jennifer said.

Bottorf offered The Express some comments on her desire to serve on the Keystone school board.

“What I want people to know is that I don’t have a political interest for wanting to be on the Keystone school board. My husband and I don’t own any businesses, therefore, I also do not have a business interest. My husband and I have a daughter who will be in the school district for the next 12 years, so what I do have is a personal interest,” she said.

“It is extremely important that our school district is successful so we send successful, well-educated students into the community when they graduate. As a district, we want to make sure that we provide students with the necessary tools from the start to be successful after they graduate. I want to do what I can to make sure the students are at the heart of the decisions made by the board. I want to see that the board is doing what is right and fair for our teachers,” she added.

Keystone Central is facing some challenging financial decisions and an uncertain budget after the upcoming school year, something not lost on Jennifer.

“I know that there are some tough decisions ahead and some decisions that no one wants to make, but the reality is that those tough decisions need to be made and I want to make sure they are well thought out and have the least impact on our students,” she said.

Regarding the Pre-K education program launched by Keystone just a year ago, Jennifer supports the early-childhood education initiative.

“I do believe the district should keep the Pre-K program, but I think the students who attend the Pre-K should be tracked through their first few years in school versus students who do not attend the program to evaluate if it does in fact have an impact on learning,” she offered.

“I don’t want to see the program being used for the wrong reasons, but I think it is too early to cut the program if it is, in fact, a valuable tool for the youngsters. I feel the district needs to find a way to keep the program – at least for a few years – to see the data and its effectiveness. I understand that means taxes must increase and I would like to see that limited as much as possible, or not raised at all, but unfortunately, sometimes that is just reality. If you look at school districts around us, taxes are being increased there, as well. I am simply a regular person with an open mind and I want to bring more common sense to the table.”

As for possibly serving on the Task Force the board is proposing to develop recommendations on spending and programming, Jennifer said that, now as a candidate for the school, she’s unsure if she can serve on that committee and will seek some advice.

“I do like that community members are being asked to step up and serve on the Task Force to help the district. I also hope that the ones who have the most complaints about the district step up to serve on the Task Force. I think the board and district are cast in too negative of a light too often and I want to work to change people’s minds about that,” she concluded.

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