Darin Dotter — Lehighton Area School District

This installment of our series of interviews with school director candidates across Pennsylvania brings us to the Lehighton Area School District.

Darin Dotter is running for school director in the Lehighton Area School District, located in Carbon County. He is a registered Republican and works as a purchasing agent.

Why are you running for school board? 

I want to make a difference in the lives of students. I am looking to improve student scores damaged by Covid, to re-install shop class wherever it’s been removed, and to keep the district financially solvent.

What are the most important issues facing your district?

Local property taxes damage the local economy if they are too high. Student test scores were harmed during the pandemic. The student experience needs to be focused on character-building and not on pop culture.

What is your professional background/experience? What skills would you bring to the board?

I am a purchasing agent. I am planning to focus on the property, buildings, and equipment that the district owns and leases in order to control the cost of maintenance and make sure that we have the best facilities.

Have you run for political office previously? Have you been politically active?

I am an executive board member of the Carbon County GOP and also a representative from Carbon County to the GOP State Committee.

Are you running with other candidates?

Yes, I am running with Joy Beers, Duane Dellecker, Kirk Henritzy (write-in), and Denise Hartley (write in). Two of our candidates and I got pushed off the ballot in May due to cross-filing Democrats who were supported by out-of-state Democrats with post cards and poll workers.

What is the most important role of the school board in your opinion? 

The number one role of the school board is to protect the students so that they are safe while at school trying to learn. Another type of protection is to ensure that pop culture is not entering the curriculum and that sexuality is taught by the parents.

Please list any campaign websites and social media sites.

Facebook page: Build A Board

We contacted the Democratic and Republican committees in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, and Montgomery counties and asked them to share the questions with their school director candidates. Broad + Liberty will post the responses throughout the summer to assist voters in learning about the candidates running in their district. The series is open to any school director on the ballot in November. Please contact barosica@broadandliberty.com for more information.