Peters Township School Board: Diane Ritter

Peters Township Board of Education President Diane Ritter is one of seven candidates running for five school board seats. All candidates have cross-filed on Republican and Democrat tickets. 

Note: This is part of a series of candidate interviews. Refer back to our previous interviews with , , and .

Diane Ritter

• Peters Township native
• Married with four daughters—all Peters Township graduates
• Has served on the school board for eight years—president, vice president and policy chair
• Served on Education and Finance Board Committees
• Member of District Safety Committee, Wellness Committee, Act 48, Dual Enrollment and Language Arts Curriculum Committees
• Board representative to Area Council PTA for 8 years
• Advocate for children/education various organizations for 25 years
• B.A. in sociology, with minors in psychology and political science
• 20 years work experience in advertising/media

What is motivating you to run for another term?

I bring my passion for education and child advocacy to my work as a board member. Student achievement is the number one priority of the board, and I hope my experience will be value added in making decisions to benefit the students and taxpayers.

What's the board's biggest issue?

The budget. This is always a focus at this time of year as the board goes through the budget process, but this year is especially challenging given the proposed state budget and loss of some federal revenue sources.

Fiscal responsibility is our greatest challenge, efficiently utilizing resources while maintaining academic excellence. To remain fiscally responsible the district needs to function within its means. There must be a balanced budget, and the process must continue to take advantage of creative solutions, grants and conservative debt structure. The district must continue to cut costs and eliminate waste to run efficiently, and deal with unfunded state mandates. The state needs to eliminate unnecessary reporting and rules that increase bureaucracy and costs to districts without adding to student learning. Costs must be cut; achievement must remain.

Assuming you win, what would you like to accomplish during your term?

I hope to contribute to the forward progress of this district. I hope to make good decisions to benefit our students. I believe I can contribute by encouraging the participation of all stakeholders in the decision-making process, and through conservative fiscal management.

At this time, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the district? 

Great students, great teachers are the top strengths of this district. Peters Township School District ranks among the top districts locally for student achievement, and has the lowest cost per student and millage rate among these districts. Areas to continue to focus on are responding to the changing needs of student learning. The district must have a solid research-based approach to developing curriculum and utilizing new technology, with clear action plans to address all students’ needs, differentiate instruction and increase achievement. A continuous improvement process needs to be employed with changes and expectations communicated effectively.

While I would not necessarily use the word “weakness,” one area of concern is the increased enrollment at the high school, which is now near capacity. The need for increased space and renovation at this building, while an opportunity to design the facility to better serve academic needs and the delivery of services to students, will be a fiscal challenge.

Sidenote: 

This is a challenging time to serve on a school board, with new and increased demands for board members. I believe experience, dedication and hard work are essential to success. As a board member I have attended all regular business meetings and as an officer and committee chair work to organize and facilitate meetings. As a fiscal conservative, I continue to educate myself, not only on district budget process, but state funding and mandates that affect district revenue and expenditures. The community should be a part of the decision-making process. I visit the schools, serve as the board representative to PTA Area Council and have worked on committees with staff, as well as community-based committees to seek this input.

Read our full list of municipal election candidates for the May 17 primaries , and visit the story links below for more candidate information.