Three candidates seeking to fill a vacancy on the Blue Mountain School District board made their case Wednesday before Schuylkill County Common Pleas Judge Christina Hale.
Hale heard testimony from Krista Kantner, Kim Breiner, and Mary Jo Moss inside Courtroom 5 at the Schuylkill County Courthouse. The proceeding – a rarely required judicial appointment process – was triggered after the remaining eight school board members deadlocked on a replacement following Roy Heim’s Aug. 5 resignation.
The board had 30 days from Heim’s resignation to fill the vacancy. Despite an elaborate process to find the person to fill the position, vote after vote failed on a 4-4 tied tally.
Kantner, Breiner, and Moss each filed petitions with the Schuylkill County Prothonotary to be named his replacement the day after that 30-day window closed.
Hale took the matter under advisement, telling the candidates she would review their petitions and testimony before issuing an order as quickly as possible.
“I take education seriously. All children need a functioning, cooperative school board. It’s very important that we fill this quickly,” Hale said. “I don’t take this decision lightly.”
During the hearing, each candidate outlined their background and set out their priorities regarding district governance, finances, and academic performance.
Krista Kantner
Kantner, a retired educator who taught at Blue Mountain for 34 years and previously served as president of the Blue Mountain Education Association, was represented at the hearing by attorney and former district solicitor Sud Patel. Kantner said she had originally planned to run in 2027, but Heim’s resignation prompted her to step forward now.
“I have had a long and rewarding life in the Blue Mountain community,” Kantner said, calling board service an opportunity to give back.
Kantner maintained that a school director has “zero place … to get involved in the day-to-day” operations of the district. She added that she would recuse herself from any votes that could affect her educator retirement package.
Addressing lower standardized test results on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), Kantner pointed to learning disruptions caused by the 2020 pandemic.
“It’s a challenge for everyone,” Kantner said, adding that the school board must be “supportive of whatever’s missing from curriculum. We may not know how to address it.”
Hale noted the pandemic’s broader toll on local education, remarking, “So many children got left behind,”
Kim Breiner
Breiner focused her testimony on district financial management and administrative oversight, warning that Blue Mountain is consistently “spending millions over budget” and describing the situation as a “red flag”.
“The taxpayers aren’t going to be able to foot that bill,” Breiner said.
Breiner also raised concerns regarding board governance and its dynamic with district administration.
“Our board has gotten to a point of a stalemate,” Breiner said.
Breiner testified that the board has at times engaged in “placating” the superintendent instead of recognizing that the administrator “works for the school board.” She stated that questioning the superintendent in recent years has been “met with great disdain.”
Mary Jo Moss
Moss, who previously served two terms on the school board from 2009 to 2013 and from 2015 to 2019, including as board president, pointed to her past fiscal record. During her tenure, Moss said, the board guided the district through financial crises and approved construction of the Blue Mountain Elementary West building in Friedensburg without raising taxes.
Moss said she chose not to seek reelection in 2019 after informing the district superintendent at the time that “Everything is going well (financially).” In contrast, she told Hale that current district finances are not “going well”.
Moss also addressed academic achievement, advocating for direct classroom support: “We have to invest downward that it hits the students. We have to focus down with our teachers.”
Expressing concern over board infighting, Moss testified, “It’s bad. When I watched the board, I was embarrassed,” adding that simply establishing a 5-4 voting majority would not solve the district’s challenges. Moss said her primary strength would be working to bridge divisions among members.
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