Well Ag ... there sure are a lot of people running for School Board ... there are 5 seats up at this time and here is the list of people that are running for those five seats.

As listed in the Wednesday March 7, edition of the Scranton Times:

Mark Brozoski (D)
Mark Dougher (D/R)
Joseph X. Garvey (D)
Joe Gatelli (D)*
Daniel P. Keeler (D/R)
Tom Gilbride (D)
Meg Kelly (D)
Joseph A. Matyjevich (D/R)
James R. Minicozzi (D/R)
Patrick Mitchell (D/R)
Kathleen McGuigan (D/R)
Paul McGloin Sr. (D)
Carol Oleski (D/R)
Patrick O'Malley (D/R)**
Paul O'Malley (D)***
Todd O'Malley (D)
Susan Patte (D)
Christopher Phillips (D)****

*Mr. Gatelli, husband of City Council President Judy Gatelli.
**Formerly on School Board
***Current Director of Facilities and Grounds for the Scranton School District.
****Worshiped by the DD gang and the LoD ... Joe Pilchesky must be very proud!

There are 18 people running for 5 seats ... Good luck to all candidates ... it's going to be quite the fight for those 5 seats.  I have noticed that there are a lot of candidates who did not cross file ... that's goin to make for a more interesting race I think ... although a good majority of candidates are running as both Dem and Rep.  I just personally don't agree with this practice and am glad to see that there are a few candidates who decided against this.

Like I said good luck to all ...

Agamemnon wrote:

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Jim Minnicozzi...while I deeply respect him for serving our country in the armed forces, I'll will NEVER FORGET his pandering to the Fay Frani of this world by opposing the construction of Scranton High School. That was a big, big mistake....the kind of mistake that I never forget.

Patrick O'Malley...he had a shot on the board and didn't seem to do much with it, other than use it as a spring-board to run for other offices. Don't get me wrong...he seems like a nice guy, but if you get a shot and don't do anything with it, then why get another?

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I don't personally know ANY of the candidates.  But I do have to say that Todd O'Malley is just taking up space, and he's an ambulance chaser.  He's eliminated in my book.  He gave away tons of our tax money to a wasteful project at Memorial Stadium, while our kids were using 30 year old textbooks and the elementary schools were overcrowded and/or crumbling.

Pat O'Malley seems like a good choice.  The guy always puts on holiday parties for the city's kids ...many of whom would have no other chance to go and see Santa or the Easter Bunny.  He seems to be a guy that might care about the kids, which is what we need on the SCHOOL board.

And as far as Minicozze and the Scranton High School, I do think that that building is a monument to the ineptitude of our school board.  Why did they close one of our high schools, only to turn around a couple of years later and scream that we're overcrowded and need a new building?  We should have kept three high schools open.  Smaller schools and smaller class sizes are better for our kids, and enables more of them to be active in sports, clubs, and other extracurricular activities.  I would never want my child going to a mega-school like SHS where the kids probably don't even know most of the kids in their class.  Wilkes-Barre School District operates three high schools, and W-B's population is near half of Scranton's.

No offense to parents and students of SHS, but I'm glad I live in West Side.  Actually, I'm from outside the city originally, and the only place in Scranton I was willing to move was West Side, for the schools.  The elementary schools (especially Willard and Sumner) are among the best in the area, and the high school is a more normal size where my kids won't be one of 600 in their class.  Plus, I just like the sense of community on this side of the river.