Four candidates running for Lebo School Board
In Mt. Lebanon, voters will find four candidates on the ballot for the four open seats for school board director.
Crossed filed as a Republican and Democratic candidate are Mary D. Birks, Michael Jon Riemer and William J. Moorhead. Dan Remely is running unopposed as a Republican candidate.
Seeking her second term as school board director is Mary D. Birks, who is manager, Education Programs for Girl Scouts of Western PA (GSWPA). A resident of Mt. Lebanon for 48 years, Birks earned a BA in Communications from the University of Pittsburgh. A current board member, she is chair of Policy of Committee, and PSBA/NSBA representative. Birks said as a PSBA/NSBA representative, it is important to keep both the board and the public informed about any state and federal decisions that affect how the directors govern the board.
Married with two children, Birks is also a board member and 1st vice president for Outreach Teen & Family Services. A past president of Mt. Lebanon PTA Council, Birks is an honorary life member of the national and state PTAs.
Birks, Moorhead and Riemer are part of The Excellence in Education Team, which Birks said is committed to enhancing Mt. Lebanon School District’s tradition of academic excellence through accountability, family engagement, academic rigor and focus on student achievement.
William J. Moorhead, a life-long Mt. Lebanon resident, is running for his first term as school director because he thinks “everyone owes a duty of public service.” Married with three children, Moorhead has been active in the community as a past member of the township’s Parks Advisory Board, and is on the board of the Center for Theater Arts.
Moorhead earned both his bachelor’s degree in economics and his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He is an attorney with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC with 25 years experience in commercial and construction litigation.
Because the high school construction project is so big, Moorhead said its success will be important to the district. His primary goal and a big part of the reason he decided to run for school director is to help see that the construction project is on-time and on-budget.
Moorhead said that by any objective measure, Mt. Lebanon is one of the best school districts in the state. “I would like to see Mt. Lebanon be number one,” he said.
Michael Riemer, regional emergency services director for the Salvation Army, is seeking his first term as school director because he “wants to give something back to the community.” Riemer is retired from the Mt. Lebanon Police Department, with over 25 years service as an officer, including experience as school resource officer to the district from 2007-2011.
Riemer earned a BS in Public Administration from Point Park College and a MA in Geography & Regional Planning from California University of Pennsylvania. He was a member of the faculty of Kaplan University from 2008-2011. Reimer was on the Mt. Lebanon School District Drug & Alcohol Task Force, Mt. Lebanon Police Association Scholarship Committee, and Outreach Teen & Family Counciling PA member. He is also a Mt. Lebanon High School Girls Volleyball Booster.
Married with two daughters, Riemer wants to offer his extensive experience as a public professional and school resource officer to promote programs that enhance constructive dialog, student achievement, and the health and safety of the district’s students.
Voters can find Dan Remely’s name listed as a Republican candidate. Having served as a school director for two terms, Remely said his goal for his third term is to see the completion of the high school project and maintain the academic excellence that distinguishes the Mt. Lebanon school district.
Remely said disruptions from construction have been kept to a minimum, but the project could have been a major distraction for students. He said the students have still maintained the district’s high academic standards throughout the construction project.
“I’m very proud of the students and the administration,” said Remely. “They’ve done an excellent job.”
A graduate of Bethany College, Remely has spent most of his career in real estate, property management, and construction. Remely and his wife have two daughters, both Mt. Lebanon graduates.