BUTLER TWP — Four candidates for the vacant seat on the Butler School Board were interviewed Wednesday night, but further action will wait until the board’s 7:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday.

The selection of the new board member will be the board’s first vote after the public comment period at the start of the meeting. People are invited to announce their support for a candidate or to discuss other issues.

Running for the appointment are Helene Abramowitz, Arthur Haag, Ben Holland and Anne LeMay.

Board members on Tuesday may also nominate candidates, they said.

Here is a summary of what the four candidates said.

Helene Abramowitz

Abramowitz stressed the experience she gained in her four-year term, which ended in December. She got nearly 5,000 votes in the November election.

“I think that’s what I bring, the support of the taxpayers,” she said.

Abramowitz noted that 67 percent of voters were Republicans, and her name appeared only on the Democratic ticket. Most board members’ names appeared on both tickets.

She spoke highly of district staff, voiced support for the new athletic committee, and promised to take a balanced approach that weighed the needs of students and taxpayers.

“Nobody here wants a tax increase, but you can’t promise you won’t increase taxes when (Gov. Tom) Corbett cuts $1 million,” she said.

Abramowitz said voters are angry with the financial situation since it forces the school district to raise property taxes.

“I think (the governor) should have taken the top 50 percent of (school district) spenders and asked them to save. Unfortunately, they cut everybody.”

Abramowitz said other concerns she has are student bullying, maintaining existing programs and resolving the district’s telephone system problems.

Arthur Haag

Haag lost in the May primary, and his term ended in December.

“The vast majority of voters were senior citizens, and they hammered us (incumbents) for putting out a tax increase the day before,” he said.

Haag said he wants to be on the board to advocate for children with disabilities, although he’s been impressed with both the district’s special education and gifted programs. He has children in both.

“I want more service out of the I.U. (Intermediate Unit 4),” Haag said. “We got a teacher off of our payroll and onto theirs to teach at the jail.”

Haag was the district’s representative to the I.U., which serves all Butler County school districts. Butler County’s jail is required to hold classes for school-aged prisoners until age 21.

Haag supports a balanced approach to meeting students’ needs and keeping property taxes down.

“Senior citizens are afraid of whether they’ll have enough money for food, utilities and medicine, let alone school property taxes,” he said. “But there must be a balance between these concerns and our obligation for public education.”

Yet, he’s made the tough decisions, too.

“Who are you going to lay off? What program are you going to cut? It’s not pleasant,” he said.

Haag believes it’s important that the public knows it can influence the board’s decisions.

“The Li’l Tornados proved that,” he said to Bill Halle, board vice-president, who became involved with district governance through the youth football team.

Ben Holland

Holland didn’t run for re-election because of layoffs at the accounting firm where he worked, he said.

He gave up his seat in December and is the only candidate who said he may not run in 2013, when the term ends.

Holland wants the board to take the lead in “holding legislators’ feet to the fire” to solve the Public School Employees’ Retirement System pension crisis.

“The pension crisis has taken a lot of money from students and raised property taxes, with the money going straight to the state, he said.

“Tax increases are a burden on everyone, especially seniors. Often it’s a widow left with the same tax bill and half the income she had (before her husband died).”

Holland wants legislators to develop a sales tax to fund school districts, rather than local property taxes.

“The worst thing you can do is have a property tax,” he said.

Holland said he wants the district’s administration to be more transparent and for the district to develop a better gifted-education program.

“Make the school district the center of the community by permitting the public and staff members to address the board without fear of retaliation,” he said.

Ann LeMay

LeMay is a reform-minded candidate who spent six years on Butler Catholic’s advisory board before her four children began attending public schools.

“Be proactive,” she said to board members. “I think sometimes you’re two steps behind. You have to think about alternatives. Think outside the box.”

LeMay said she wants to change the district’s structure so that neighborhood elementary schools are replaced by primary centers. Under that, students of similar capabilities would be placed in the same classrooms, increasing teachers’ effectiveness, she said.

LeMay, who has criticized the honors English classes in the past, said Wednesday that teachers were not choosing books from a top 100 book list she named.

“I think we need to get up to speed for our children,” she said.

In addition, she supports the district’s science and physics labs, although some science classes need to be “tweaked.”

“If I complain, that should step things up,” she said. “I am very passionate about education.”

LeMay is a disciple of Ron Clark, she said. Clark is a teacher who has turned around low-achieving schools. The Butler district’s students consistently pass the state’s annual yearly progress exams and have high graduation rates.

In answer to a question from Jim Keffalas, board member, LeMay said she would support a 1 percent county sales tax to support its schools. A county sales tax would capture income from renters, she said.