Attorney, Parent Seeks Seat on North Allegheny School Board

Gary Wenig, who earned a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh, is running for North Allegheny School Board. He has lived in the North Allegheny School District since his graduation from law school in 1995.

Here is his statement to North Allegheny Patch, announcing his candidacy.

I practiced law in Greene County until my wife, Linda, and I began our family, at which time we decided that I would stay at home while she pursued her career in medicine.  She currently works as an Emergency Physician for the Heritage Valley Health System.  We have two sons, Scott, age 15 (NAI) and Jackson, age 14 (IMS).

As my children are now in eighth and ninth grades, I have the time, education and energy necessary to help the school district find innovative ways to maintain the excellent educational opportunities for our children without the necessity of what has become yearly tax increases.

I believe the position of school director is unique in that it requires a balance of three constituencies; the students, the educators and the taxpayers.  Without a proper consideration for all three of these constituencies, the goal of excellence for which NA is known will be jeopardized.

While the student population and staff size of NASD has remained relatively stable for the past decade, the budget has grown by tens of millions of dollars.  As a director of the school board, I will approach each issue with broad based, common sense deliberation.  Closing the current fiscal gap in the budget cannot be accomplished overnight, nor can it be closed without a multi-faceted approach.  Among the issues to consider are class size, discretionary spending, and privatization of ancillary services.  Further, the collective bargaining agreement with the Federation of Teachers will be renegotiated by the next school board.

I believe my education and life experience, both as an attorney and as a stay-at-home parent, are well suited for this position.

At its meeting on April 3, the McCandless Republican committee endorsed Scott Russell, Tara Fisher, Wenig and incumbent Tom Schwartzmier for the NA School Board.

Click here for the complete list of candidates for the North Allegheny School Board. 

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