Wadding, Melissa

I am a graduate of the previous Elderton Jr./Sr. High School. Both my husband and I, as well as many of our relatives, attended schools in the Armstrong School District, which provides me with my core small town values and outlook. My husband and I currently live in East Franklin Township with our two daughters. During the day I manage our family businesses, ABN Computers and BMW Firearms, as well as homeschool our children. I have strong family values and Christian morals and since making the decision to homeschool our children, have become much closer with them and been able to lead them toward an education that both challenges and drives them toward their interests. My family knows many children in the public school system that need someone with strong morals to speak out for them. In my free time, I enjoy participating in our community theater shows, reading, trail riding, and going on new adventures or just hanging out with my family.

As a parent of school age children who were in the public school system in 2020, I too went through the educational challenges of that year and beyond. I experienced the different types of schooling available in Armstrong County, from the district's version of cyber school, to an accredited cyber school, and eventually chose to homeschool our children. This knowledge of different educational systems has given me a unique perspective on education that I am hoping I can bring to our local district. Transparency within the school district has been a major concern of mine. Through my experiences and in speaking with other Armstrong County parents and residents, I have discovered some concerning trends in our school district. Parents are not being properly informed about curriculum choices being made within the district, their ability to opt out, or even the details of the current school board meetings, as there is never any public discussion in regards to the topics on the school board meeting agendas. Everything is discussed in Executive Session meetings, which always go over the time the public meeting is to start, showing no regard at all for the parents' and tax payers' time. The parents and tax payers of this district deserve to know, and have full say, in what their children are being taught in schools and not be forced to co-parent with the government. There has been an ever increasing budget, with decreasing enrollment, and the current board's thought process has been to look at raising our local taxes over the next five years, which should not be an option. A school should be free from any politics and agendas and stick to educating children and I will strive to ensure that our school district does just that.