Independent candidate announces bid for Wilkes-Barre Area School Board
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Sam Troy, a resident of the Heights section of Wilkes-Barre for more than 26 years announces his run as an independent candidate for the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and received his MA in English from the University of Scranton. Currently a yoga instructor, he has also taught English at various local colleges.
Though Troy ran unsuccessfully for the board in 2011, he amassed more than 3,100 votes without appearing on either the Democratic or Republican ballots. Troy sees himself again as a “protest” candidate and feels he has an excellent chance of victory, as many residents and taxpayers of the district are disenchanted with the antics of the current board. “The 2013 slate of candidates which includes one incumbent and two ex-administrators/teachers offers no solution to the current and impending fiscal and academic crises on our hands since all five seem committed to the ‘business as usual’ approach that has raised our property taxes to the highest in the county,” Troy noted. He has attended board meetings consistently for the past few years and has been an outspoken critic of what he sees as the school board’s inattentiveness to and ignorance of the plight of the taxpayers.
If elected, Troy will work assiduously not to merely prevent property taxes from rising, but also to decrease them by curbing the reckless spending habits that have characterized the past several fiscal years. He has maintained that despite this year’s budget containing no tax increase, it is nevertheless
a blueprint for disaster, as it carries a $1.8 million deficit and fails to recognize such details as ongoing teacher contract negotiations and rising health care costs. “I will help to restore integrity, transparency and accountability to this board while working to raise academic standards, which have been declining at an alarming rate,” Troy insisted. He is determined to end nepotism and revamp hiring policy to promote fairness and enhance minority opportunities.
Troy invites anyone interested in helping with the fall campaign to email him at SamuelTroy@gmail.com or phone him at 235–9280.
