SHAMOKIN - An election billboard is the latest source of tension among members of the Shamokin Area School Board, but those behind the campaign say they were trying to be fair, not cause trouble.
The billboard near the Cameron Bridge says "Why Change!" and has red arrows indicating test scores have gone up and taxes down. It includes a photo of all nine members of the school board but urges the re-election of Charles Carpenter, Todd Hockenbrock, Barry Rebuck and Dan Venn. A disclaimer says it's paid for by the Committee for Quality Education.
Member Tracey Witmer believes the billboard is misleading in that it suggests she supports those members' re-election, and said she never agreed to use of the photo, which she said was taken for the yearbook.
"The billboard say's 'Why change!' Oh, I can give you several reasons for change," she said. "I really am not happy at all about this. I don't want my picture on their billboards pretending to support them and persuade votes their way."
Carpenter, board president, doesn't think the message is misleading, and that it fairly credits the entire board.
"Most of the time the board is together (on decisions)," he said. "I think it's fine."
Venn said the entire board has created the success, and so it was decided to use a picture of all nine members.
"She'd have been mad if her picture wasn't on," he said about Witmer. "There was no malice intended."
He said someone had suggested not using Witmer's photo.
"We're trying not to fight," he said, but added, "It's hard to get along with her."
Does use of a group photo suggest he'd like all of the board members who are seeking re-election (terms for Witmer, LaRue Beck, Ed Griffiths and Brian Persing do not expire this year) to win?
"No, I don't necessarily mean that," Venn said. "I mean these nine have been the ones to accomplish these things."
Rebuck also doesn't see the billboard as misleading.
"We've done a lot of positive things out there and it's not one person" that deserves the credit, he said.
"I don't have anything bad to say about any one of them," he added. "There are nine people with nine different ways of thinking, and that's a good thing for a board."
But Mark Anonia, the fifth current board member who is up for re-election this year, agrees with Witmer.
"The billboard is a political ad for four candidates, not for myself, and should not have included me or others due to that fact," he said. "It shows all members, but only supports four, and it was paid for by a political committee that I am not affiliated with."
He said he was never asked about having his picture included in someone else's paid advertisement.
Witmer, who has been at odds with the board majority and administrators over various issues, said her concerns go beyond the billboard.
"If these guys make it in May, I will be resigning," she said. "What is the point of sticking around? Every time I question something with an administrator involved, I get nasty grams from attorneys. There is a lot of bitterness that is not portrayed in that billboard."
Others running for school board include Sol Bidding, Robert Getchey, Jeff Kashner, Charles Shuey, Ronald McElwee, Bernard Sosnoskie, Nedra Templar and JoAnn Weikel.