Pittsburgh Public Schools board candidates, from left to right, Dwayne Barker, Yael Silk and Emma Yourd. (Photos courtesy of candidates and LinkedIn)
New PPS directors for districts 4,6 and 8 want to prioritize equitable resources and transparency.
Three new members say they hope to bring fresh perspectives to the Pittsburgh Public Schools board as it prepares for budget challenges and possible school closures.
Yael Silk, Emma Yourd and Dwayne Barker were all but guaranteed seats on the board when the polls opened this morning with no competitors on the ballot. Mail-in ballot totals gave no indication of the emergence of any write-in challengers.
Incumbent board members Pamela Harbin, Kevin Carter and William Gallagher of districts 4, 6 and 8 did not run for new terms.
Dwayne Barker, a community organizer, said he will work to bring all school buildings up to date and strengthen community engagement in the district.
“I believe that some of these schools that are winning, some things need to be, you know, adjusted. … The ones that are in a school like Westinghouse are probably suffering because other schools have the ability to be comfortable. And it’s not fair.”
— Dwayne Barker
Emma Yourd, an education and workforce development manager, said she wants to make changes at the policy level for student mental health and equitable distribution of resources.
Yael Silk, executive director of Arts Education Collaborative and candidate for District 4, said she wants to ensure more transparency and accountability about allocation of funds and resources.
“If we’re going to have something like a CAPA, I think it’s really important that we also have neighborhood schools where … you will have had the learning opportunities available to you to successfully get into CAPA without the supplemental need for private lessons or extracurriculars.”
— Yael Silk
PPS is heading into a difficult budget season — projecting a growing operating deficit, increased building overhead and operations costs, increasing charter school costs and expiration of federal COVID relief funds. Currently, the district has no concrete plan for stabilizing its deficit.
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