BY KATIE ALLEN
In November, Wadsworth City Schools Board of Education will hold an election for an open seat on the board along with the re-election of three current members. On election day, Wadsworth’s ballot will include two new names with three current board members running for re-election. The two new candidates are Dave Bartiromo and Kathleen Wiley. In addition, the ballot will show Julie Batey, Amanda Gordon and Gary McComas as current board members up for re-election.
Julie Batey has been on Wadsworth’s Board of Education since 2013, and has continued to take part in making decisions for Wadsworth City Schools. Batey is a lifelong Wadsworth resident and a WHS graduate. She went on to graduate from Akron University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and an associate degree in community services. She has been very active in Wadsworth’s community since 2005. She has held leadership roles in Overlook, CIS, WMS and WHS since 2007.
“I feel that it’s very important to volunteer and give back to your community. You learn an awful lot by being involved in all of these organizations. It helps you to learn and grow as a leader and as an individual,” Batey said.
Throughout her time on the school board, she voted on things such as, the 2021 return to school and the enhancement of the special needs and gifted programs.
“I am a big proponent of making sure we help all our students become critical thinkers. It’s important to me that our students objectively learn about all issues facing our world so that when they graduate from WHS and head out into the world, they have knowledge of how to evaluate information from all points of view and form their own opinions,” Batey said.
Amanda Gordon has lived in Wadsworth for over 20 years and is currently the vice president of the school board, after serving for eight years. Gordon graduated Summa Cum Laude from Akron University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration finance. She later became a Merit Scholar at Case Western Reserve University School of Law and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Juris Doctorate degree. She has represented school districts across the state as a public law lawyer.
“I’m still as driven and motivated as ever on what we need to accomplish on the school board,” Gordon said.
She has continued to run because she is invested in the community, helping to secure the best education and future for the students, and to do everything she can to give them the best opportunities possible.
Gordon is very proud of how our school district has stayed in school in comparison to around the state and nation. Although the pandemic has “thrown curve balls at us” she has continued to do what she can in the interest of the students. In the future, Gordon is excited to get the chance to introduce the vote for a new intermediate school building.
“It is very important for the community to know that unlike a lot of other districts in Ohio, we don’t often ask for levys,” Gordon said.
Gary McComas has been on the board of education since 2017 and is currently the president. This will be his first re-election as he is finishing up serving his first four-year term. He is a graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing technologies. In his profession, he has held different leadership roles giving him 15 years of management experience. In the past he has been very involved in Wadsworth schools doing things such as coaching for sports teams. He has also been part of Wadsworth City Schools Business Advisory Committee and Wadsworth Area Chamber of Commerce.
In early August, the candidacy of Dave Bartiromo for the Board of Education was approved. Bartiromo has been a resident of Wadsworth for almost 20 years. He is a father to a Wadsworth High School graduate as well as a current high school student. Bartiromo is the president of Friends of the Wadsworth Public Library and a member of the WPL board of trustees. He is a graduate of Rowan University with a bachelor’s degree in communication and an associates degree in computer science from Akron.
“The past year and a half of sitting back and watching COVID-19 happen, that’s what finally made me get up off the chair. Because you can sit back and complain, but at some point it’s time for you to do something about it,” Bartiromo said.
He promises to listen to what people say and then go to work to find the right solution and not the easiest.
“I want to immediately start finding ways to make things better in our school district. My priorities would be to find ways to fix things that are broken right now,” Bartiromo said.
Bartiromo has goals to end the school year better than it started.
“The biggest qualification I could have is not 20 years of financial experience, but is that I am a dad,” Bartiromo said.
He has seen his children go through Wadsworth schools and he believes he has sat by for too long and is ready to step up to serve the community.
