Central Bucks appoints two former Democratic candidates after Republican members’ resignation

The Democrat-led Central Bucks school board has appointed two former Democratic candidates to replace the Republican board members who resigned last month in protest of the board’s choice of solicitor.

Rob Dugger and Jenine Zdanowicz, who lost to Lisa Sciscio and Debra Cannon in 2021, were unanimously approved by the board Monday as their successors. (The board’s lone Republican, Jim Pepper, was not present.)

In comments before the vote, both expressed concern over the actions of the previous Republican majority, including policies that have since been suspended by Democrats that barred library books with “sexualized content” and restricted teacher “advocacy” in classrooms. The measures — which led to the removal of two books and challenges of 60 others, and banned Pride flags — were criticized as targeting LGTBQ students.

“I agree partisan politics does not belong in our schools,” but “it’s also our duty to ensure students feel welcome,” Dugger said. Zdanowicz said the policies “put us on the bleeding edge, rather than the leading edge.”

Their appointments come as the board, with a new Democratic majority elected in November, continues to navigate conflict. In resignation letters last month, Sciscio and Cannon accused Democrats of hiring a solicitor, David Conn, with “personal and political scores to settle.” They cited his wife’s role serving as a witness for Andrew Burgess, the teacher who recently settled with the district over allegations he was retaliated against for helping a transgender student file a civil rights complaint.

The board’s president, Karen Smith, has dismissed Sciscio and Cannon’s claims as unfounded.

The board has been pursuing possible legal action related to agreements made by the former GOP majority — including $1.75 million in bills from the Duane Morris law firm, which Republicans hired to address allegations of discrimination against LGBTQ students, as well as a $700,000 payout to the former superintendent, Abram Lucabaugh, who resigned days after the November election.

The board, which appointed former West Chester superintendent Jim Scanlon as the district’s interim leader, is searching for a permanent replacement — a task both Zdanowicz and Dugger named as a priority Monday.

A revolving door of superintendents has cost the district money and “caused disruption,” said Dugger, who works in human resources. He also cited teacher recruitment and retention as an issue amid an ongoing teacher shortage, and worries about Central Bucks’ reputation. Dugger said friends of his daughter’s from Central Bucks who earned teaching degrees did not want to return “because of some of the policies we enacted. It does have an impact on the external perception of our district.”

Zdanowicz, who has worked in IT and marketing and volunteered extensively in Central Bucks schools, also named as a priority a planned district realignment that will introduce full-day kindergarten and move sixth graders to middle schools and ninth graders to high schools. The projected cost for the initiative is $22 million.

Zdanowicz was selected by the board from a pool of four applicants from her region, and Dugger, five applicants. Their seats will be up for election in 2025.

While both Zdanowicz and Dugger expressed opposition to the past board’s policies, board members said Monday they weren’t selecting them for that reason.

“I couldn’t agree more with some of the comments about wanting to keep politics out of our schools,” said Dana Foley, one of the recently elected Democrats. “Very little of what I heard tonight felt politically charged.”