Denise Hartley — 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.

Denise Hartley is running for school director in the Lehighton Area School District, located in Carbon County. She is a registered Republican and works in regional business office support.

Why are you running for school board? 

I wish to improve the district and lower taxes.

What are the most important issues facing your district?

Local property taxes, curriculum, and drug use.

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

With my financial background, I intend to audit the district finances in order to be more fiscally responsible. I plan to work with the administration to solve the curricular and drug use issues that the students face.

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

No, I have not run for office before.

Are you running with other candidates?

Yes, I am running with Joy Beers, Duane Dellecker, Kirk Henritzy (write in), and Darin Dotter (write in).

Three of our candidates (including me) were pushed off the ballot in May due to cross-filing Democrats.

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

To balance what is important for the students while taking into account how it affects the taxpayers.

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.