Upper St. Clair

Also known as Upper Saint Clair and USC.
==Background==
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_St._Clair%2C_Pennsylvania
* a district of about 4,100 students.
==Home to:==
* Mike Fisher
* Boyhood home of Chris Potter
* Vic Walczak
* Oren Spiegler
* Wayne Dudding, D, candidate for US Congress in 2008
==Links==
* USC WAVES http://usc-waves.org/ An educational advocacy citizen group for Upper St. Clair, operational in 2006
* http://www.uscdemocrats.com/CommitteeMembers.html
==Details==
===Nine candidates file to run for Upper St. Clair school board in 2007===
====Team named, 'Restore USC (Unity, Sense and Civility).'====
* Barbara Bolas, incumbent; Angela Petersen (incumbents); Amy Billerbeck, Becky Stern, and Lou Piconi. 
====VoteSmartUSC====
* Trish Donlon, Ernie Harris and Bob Walker. These candidates are affiliated with the current School Board Majority and its supporters at "Responsible Ed" but are calling themselves "VoteSmartUSC."
* Josh Jackson declared his candidacy for the school board race. Josh is a senior and president of the USC HS Student Council.
==Home to:==
The Almanac 
===Letters===
Trish Donlon's LTE in the PG elicited five responses. Restore USC announced their candidacy with this letter in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and it led to this response from Trish Donlon, Bob Walker and Ernie Harris.
===Media===
* Upper St. Clair residents protest school board's actions, September 19, 2006, by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
:In Upper St. Clair, where the school superintendent is leaving to take a job with a larger school district in Eastern Pennsylvania, anger over the style and policies of a newly elected school board majority spilled into the streets and surfaced at the board meeting yesterday.
:About 40 men, women and children carrying signs staged a peaceful protest in front of the high school prior to the start of the regular school board meeting. Later, an overflow crowd at the meeting gave Superintendent James Lombardo a standing ovation and called for the resignation of board member Carol Coliane."
* Political activities policy revised again The Upper St. Clair School District's proposed policy to limit political activities on school grounds has been revised again after the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania's legal director warned the district's solicitor that it still had the potential to limit the free-speech rights of students. Post-Gazette, July, 2006
* Kunselman picked as USC school director in January 2008
Attorney selected to replace Bluey
Thursday, January 10, 2008
By Maria Sciullo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
There were two trains of thought running through the election process Monday night at Upper St. Clair High School.
In seeking a new school board member to replace David Bluey -- who resigned last month in anticipation of moving out of state -- the current board had its choice of 13 candidates.
It was possible to choose someone favored by the current, more conservative minority, as sort of a "make-nice" gesture.
"[It would] cool the flames that existed over the last year-and-a-half," said board member William Sulkowski.
Patricia Donlon, who waged an unsuccessful write-in campaign last November, was the candidate of choice here.
"She's shown a depth of commitment and I don't think we can ignore that," said board member Carol Coliane.
It was also possible to elect a candidate from middle ground, with no previous ties to the contention that had punctuated USC board meetings for more than two years.
"Someone who hasn't been in the middle of the fray," said vice-president Amy Billerbeck. "Get away from the 'majority mentality.' "
In the end, the vote went 5-3, with attorney Harry Kunselman the choice of Mrs. Billerbeck, Rebecca Stern, president Angela Petersen, Barbara Bolas and Lou Piconi.
Dr. Sulkowski, Mrs. Coliane and Daniel Iracki voted for Mrs. Donlon.
"I think what I can bring to the board is a demonstrated ability to bring people together, to take different viewpoints, different positions and find common ground. Fashion some consensus and help people move on to the next step," Mr. Kunselman said.
A native of Beaver, Pa., he currently serves on the board for the Prevention Network, a Beaver County program for drug and alcohol at-risk students and others with special needs.
He said he also has served in leadership positions on various Allegheny County Bar Association committees and also worked on the human relations commission of former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy.
Mr. Kunselman, who holds law and undergraduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, has children in USC schools: a son in seventh grade and a daughter in fifth.
Having run unsuccessfully for township commissioner in November, he said, contributed to his decision to try for a seat on the school board.
"I have felt this desire to get into the community more," he said. "So obviously, after I lost on the township side and this position became available, it was an opportunity."
Mr. Kunselman is expected to be sworn in at the Committee of the Whole meeting Monday.
Maria Sciullo can be reached at msciullo@post-gazette.com or 412-851-1867.
===Blogs===
* USC teacher quits after filming horror movie on school grounds from January 2007
** http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07026/757051-55.stm
==Near==
* Peters Township
== Not==
* St. Clair Village
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