PSEA PACE Chairperson Theresa Prato and Central York teacher Gina Grolemund join Aaron and Rachael to talk about political organizing, winning school board seats, and how PACE makes a real difference for public education.
PSEA PACE Chairperson Theresa Prato and Central York teacher Gina Grolemund join Aaron and Rachael to talk about political organizing, winning school board seats, and how PACE makes a real difference for public education.
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Voiceover:
Welcome to Duty-Free Lunch, the official podcast of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Join us as we unpack the issues that matter most to you. From cutting-edge classroom strategies to thought-provoking policy discussions. If it impacts PSEA members, it's on the menu.
Aaron Chapin:
Hello and welcome to Duty-Free Lunch. I'm PSEA President Aaron Chapin. Today I'm here with PSEA Treasurer, Rachael West. Hello, Rachael.
Rachael West:
Hello, Aaron. How you doing?
Aaron Chapin:
My back is sore.
Rachael West:
Okay.
Aaron Chapin:
Want to know why?
Rachael West:
Because you're-
Aaron Chapin:
Old. No.
Rachael West:
Sleeping in too many hotel beds? Or I don't know.
Aaron Chapin:
That actually is not it. I decided to wear my Chucks all throughout the month of July.
Rachael West:
Didn't work out so well for your back.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, apparently when you're 54, you shouldn't be wearing Chucks every day.
Rachael West:
No. They don't have the proper support for your arches.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, as great as they look, it's not good support. And my physical therapist yelled at me and said 54 year old men should not wear Chucks every day.
Rachael West:
Well, then I guess you're going to have to get some new shoes.
Aaron Chapin:
I did.
Rachael West:
Did you?
Aaron Chapin:
I did, yes. But my back is sore.
Rachael West:
But are they like New Balance, like old man sneakers?
Aaron Chapin:
They're not old man sneakers. My daughter picked them out.
Rachael West:
Okay. All right.
Aaron Chapin:
So they're definitely not old man. I was not going down that route yet.
Rachael West:
Okay good. I'm glad to hear that.
Aaron Chapin:
It's very depressing, because I like my Chucks, but-
Rachael West:
You're going to have to start spreading it out.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, I got to take care of myself.
Rachael West:
Yes, you should. Absolutely.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, it was a busy summer as we're now into the fall season. And guess what we're going to be talking about?
Rachael West:
The same thing we're always talking about.
Aaron Chapin:
Elections, elections, elections.
Rachael West:
Because elections matter.
Aaron Chapin:
You got it. And back in the day when I was working in Stroudsburg Area school district, that was one of my first union jobs was the PACE director of our local. It was a great job.
Rachael West:
It's one of the only jobs I haven't had in my local.
Aaron Chapin:
Really?
Well, I loved it. I knew how important it was. And today's guess that's we're going to be talking about PACE, because it's so important to our association. As I said, we're going to be talking about politics specifically PSEA's Political Action Committee for Education, also known as PACE. We're going to be talking about how it works to sniff out the pro-public education candidates for association that we can endorse. We're also going to be talking about the importance really of this November general election, and why everybody listening right now and everybody you work with and all your neighbors, why they should be paying attention. Also, why our colleagues should be attending the Political Institute in January of 2026. It'll be here before we know it.
Rachael West:
I love the Political Institute years.
Aaron Chapin:
I do too. It's a good time. And we're going to talk about how it's such an unusual event. And we do. We have it every other year. It's very unusual, but it's a great way to start off really big election years. So to shed some light on topics, we are welcoming to the podcast today. Theresa Prato. She's PSEA PACE's chairperson and Bucks County technical high school science teacher and the local EA president there. How you doing, Theresa?
Theresa Prato:
I'm doing well, President Chapin. Thank you.
Aaron Chapin:
It's fantastic to see you. I saw you all throughout the summer, but it's great to have you on the podcast for the very first time. She's also being joined by Gina Grolemund. She's an ELA teacher at Central York Middle School. She's also the local PACE chair there. Gina has been instrumental in the effort to recruit and elect school board directors, which we all know is super important, Rachael.
Rachael West:
Mm-hmm.
Aaron Chapin:
That's right. They're in central New York and really she cares about the district, especially after the much publicized book bans that happened a couple of years ago.
Rachael West:
Yeah, nobody knows anything about that except for everyone in the United States.
Aaron Chapin:
Everybody in the United States knows about it, thanks to you Gina. How are you doing, Gina?
Gina Grolemund:
I'm good. How are you?
Aaron Chapin:
I'm doing well. It is really great to meet you and have you on the podcast. Let's get into all these questions right now. So Gina, I'm going to start with you. So as we mentioned and hinted there, you've been in the trenches in your local for a really long time. How did the book bans in Central York first mobilize you and others to take political action at the school board level?
Gina Grolemund:
The short answer is the book bans weren't the beginning of our efforts in our school board elections. We had actually started getting involved in the school board elections shortly before the book bans. It was our relationship with our directors and our administrators that motivated us. It was not a good situation for us. We couldn't seem to get an audience with them. We couldn't talk to them. We couldn't problem solve with them. So we had actually gotten involved just a couple months before the book bans. We were actually at the IBEW running a phone bank for the campaign when we got the news that the book bans were happening. So it wasn't the first thing, but it certainly did blow up our campaign efforts.
Aaron Chapin:
It sure did.
Rachael West:
Absolutely. Now that you've helped shift that school board at Central York from the national controversy to a pro-public education majority. Could you tell us a little bit about what your most effective tactics were that made that transformation possible? What things specifically, maybe if other people are hoping to do something similar, what are those tactics that you think helped shift that?
Gina Grolemund:
Absolutely. The most important thing for us was talking to voters. Our community really loves teachers. And there's a whole narrative about teachers that is just not accurate. And when you go to the doors of people in your community, they are excited to see a teacher at their door. They want to hear from us. There was actually a situation. The book band blew up our campaign and really put the spotlight on it. And there was a lot of information swirling around our community. And one of the first doors I went to, the woman who answered the door was like, "Oh, thank God it's a teacher. Please tell me what to believe. Please tell me what I should do because I don't know what to believe and I trust you." And that really shifted my perspective on canvassing. It's really just about talking to our community members and they know and trust us. So that was our biggest and most powerful tool, was getting out and talking to voters.
Rachael West:
Actually, my mom actually lives in Central York school district. And so I know that she came to me a lot about that. So I know that connecting educators to community members really makes a big difference. Like you said, they trusted you to tell the story. Do you think there's anything else besides that inherent trust that your community has for its teachers? What else can turn those conversations or how do you take that trust that they have in you, and turn that into actual political power? What does that look like during the conversation?
Gina Grolemund:
So one of the most important things in the conversation is for us to just tell them the story about what's happening in our district. And the other part about harnessing that for political power is talking to the right people. When you're canvassing or phone banking or any of those things, you don't want to knock on every single door in the community, you don't want to call every single person. You want to identify the people who already support public education so that it's not about going and having an argument with someone. It's just about going to people who already care about education and just letting them know what's happening in your community. Letting them know who is running and who we can trust.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah, exactly. And look, we did that throughout all of our elections back in November is going out to talk with people that are friendly with our issues, and really get them to come out and vote.
Rachael West:
Yeah, I actually got to do some canvassing last fall. And I think that those conversations and making sure that they knew that next step. It wasn't just this conversation, but can you please go vote? Can you please make sure you take your family members with you?
Aaron Chapin:
Exactly.
Rachael West:
And get them out there.
Aaron Chapin:
I did the same thing back in November. Actually, might've been at the end of October. Myself and a staff member went out for PSEA. We just knocked on doors for an entire afternoon, just with people that respected teachers like, "Oh, thank goodness." I got the same response that Gina got.
Rachael West:
Well, I think that's one of the times I've seen Gina's. I was outdoor knocking in York with the NEA, when NEA brought up a bus of people to help us and NEA staff. And I think that's one of the times I cut to speak with you. But we were out canvassing with NEA staff even.
Aaron Chapin:
So Theresa, you know politics better than most of our members do. You've been in this world for a really long time. So in your opinion, what happened in Central York? Was that an anomaly or do we have other districts that are making similar shifts? What other broad trends do you see taking shape across the state?
Theresa Prato:
Well, Gina spoke to this with the community members trying to figure out what the correct message is. We've seen across the state, across the nation aid, a lot of outside money coming into school board races. Because a lot of groups consider that the grassroots place to start affecting the changes that they want to see go into play. So knocking on doors, getting involved in local school board races, meeting with the people that are in the community and helping them to understand what is the right message, what is your story, what's going on. We saw some other districts around the same time as Central York that had similar successes, Central Bucks, Carlisle, Pennridge, Wallenpaupack and those locals did what they needed to do in terms of raising PACE dollars, those monies, those dollars were able to come in and help support canvassing, help support some additional messaging.
But it's really, there's a lot of bad messaging coming into communities and we have to be involved as members of this organization, as members of our school districts and our communities and help people understand, look, we're on the same side. We want what's best for our kids and we want what's best for our community.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah, that's right. So Theresa, do you think that there's lessons from Central York can be applied to other districts when it comes to building stronger educator community coalitions ahead of the school board races?
Theresa Prato:
Yes, definitely. It's about finding those other like-minded groups. Central York was a success story because they didn't do alone. There's a lot of other groups and organizations and communities that again, have the same best interests in mind. And when you get together, it gives you access to new audiences, it gives you more resources that you can communicate better with the people in the community. And so it's definitely applicable. So my hope is that more and more locals and other districts are going to take a page out of the Central York page book as well as other locals that have been successful and get involved. And reach out to those other like-minded groups.
Aaron Chapin:
And Rachael, obviously this is airing in September. Obviously we're getting really close to the November election, but it's never too early to start thinking about the next set of school board races.
Rachael West:
Absolutely. And school board isn't the only thing that we work on with PACE, and it's not the only important thing to the work that we do as educators. So Gina, we've got this critical judicial retention and school board elections. So we've talked a lot about school boards here, but this judicial retention is also important to us. What's at stake for public education? What do you think educators and voters should be paying attention to? School boards maybe are obvious, but maybe not. So maybe a little bit about school boards and then maybe a little bit about the judicial retention as well.
Gina Grolemund:
Yeah, we have a fed that is very much attacking public education. They are defunding public education. They're trying to dismantle public education. And all of those other local layers, like the judicial and school boards, they're all layers of protection for us. So the more we can focus on some of those local races where we have a lot more control and a lot more influence, the more layers of protection we can create for ourselves from this fed that is really coming for us.
Aaron Chapin:
Gina, before I go to Theresa with a question, I'm curious of your viewpoint, since you really are in the trenches, do you think your members really understand the judicial retention election that's coming up in November?
Gina Grolemund:
I hope so, because the stakes are so high. So I hope that everyone is listening and paying attention because like I said, we need as many layers of protection as we can get.
Aaron Chapin:
Theresa, what do you think? Do you think across the state, our members really, really understand the complexity of this? Because it's not something that people are like, "Man, how about those judicial retention races?" I hear nobody talking about it. What do you think, Theresa?
Theresa Prato:
Yeah, I'm a little bit skeptical, because I think people get so wrapped up in everything else going on. We don't really think about or understand everything that's happening at that level. It's been 10 years since those judges were elected, and so it's a little bit out of sight, out of mind. But I think if we can continue to communicate with our peers, with our members across the state and help them understand the impact that the Supreme Court has, I think we can get our members much more engaged. I think it's going to take a little bit more effort, but I think we're further along now than we were six months ago, but we really need to continue to make a focus on that.
Aaron Chapin:
So Theresa, can you just briefly walk us through how PACE vets candidates, and how we support them from recruitment to election day, give us that high level view for our members who maybe don't understand?
Theresa Prato:
Sure. A lot of what we do is making sure that our members are involved in the decision making. PSEA is a member-driven organization. So same thing happens with political action. So the recommendations are made by members within the communities that are represented by those candidates. So at the case of a school board election, those recommendations come from the locals that are in that school district. As you move up to higher levels, the group gets larger and larger countywide races, every local within the county is invited to send a participant to that recommendation committee meeting. So there is questionnaires.
All candidates that are running for office are given an opportunity to complete a questionnaire. All of them are given the opportunity to participate in an interview with the recommendation committee. And then that team of representatives from all of the districts and all of the locals in that area have a voice. So as you move higher up the ladder, again, the group changes a little bit. I like to think of it like a rep council. So when you're making a recommendation in a legislative district, every local that's within that legislative district has an opportunity, send a representative to that recommendation committee and cast a vote. And here the interviews and be a part of the discussion.
Aaron Chapin:
So what you're saying-
Theresa Prato:
So it's not just a handful of people.
Aaron Chapin:
That's what I wanted to get to. So it's a very structured process. It's not just me or Rachael or you sitting around going, "You know what? We're going to pick this person." You're saying there's a lot of member involvement throughout this entire process?
Theresa Prato:
Yes, absolutely. And each of us is just a piece of that.
Aaron Chapin:
You got it.
Theresa Prato:
We're coordinating, but we're just one vote when it comes down to making decisions about who is going to be recommended or not recommended.
Rachael West:
So after you have these recommendations, and we see at the end of the election whether our PACE backed candidates were elected or not, when we found these areas where our PACE backed candidate was elected, could you give an example or two of places where that elected candidate made a real difference for students and educators once they were in their elected position?
Theresa Prato:
Sure. Probably one of the most prominent ones that comes to mind is our ability to help Tom Wolf become a governor of Pennsylvania, defeating Corbett after only one term was significant. And Governor Wolf had so much to do with restoring the funding that had been lost under the Corbett administration, got involved in reducing the attachment to standardized testing and the weight that it would have on employees and students alike. It was significant. And then getting him reelected for a second term continued our path forward. Another one that's a little bit less remembered, two of the representatives from Bucks County, which is where I'm located, representatives Frank Ferry and Gene DiGirolamo were critically important in making sure that a really, really bad pension bill never came up for a vote. So we're talking back in 2016, and both of those were PSEA recommended candidates. Both were part of the Republican caucus, and again, we're critically important in making sure that a really bad bill never came up for a vote.
Aaron Chapin:
Good examples.
Rachael West:
Absolutely. Thank you.
Aaron Chapin:
And I think our court recommendations a decade ago, we talked about it, without the courts being the way they were structured, we wouldn't have had the districts restructured so that we didn't have gerrymandering anymore. And now we've got a pro-public education majority in the house.
Rachael West:
And that's, again, elections matter.
Aaron Chapin:
You got it. So Theresa, we talked a little bit about at the beginning of this episode, talking about the political institute. It's coming up in January of 2026. It'll be here before we know it. You've been there many times. If someone listening, one of our members is listening and they want to attend, what can they expect to learn? Why is it such a powerful experience for politically engaged educators, Theresa?
Theresa Prato:
It's not like any other conference that we have because the entirety of the conference is focused on political activity. So people that are new to the experience can really learn why is advocacy so important? How can you advocate getting involved in the nitty-gritty details as it relates to historical perspective on elections? What can every member do to make a difference? Because everybody's at a different level. So some of us are significantly more involved from knocking doors to meeting with groups, et cetera. Other members are not quite sure that they're ready for that. So what can they do and why is it so important for our members to be politically engaged? And so this conference is all about giving our members tools, giving them a place where they can ask questions, they can see things in action, and it's really a positive experience.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah. There's a lot of different things that members can take away. I think it's a great way to build up the energy and excitement for that year because it's a long haul to November, Rachael.
Rachael West:
Absolutely.
Aaron Chapin:
And it's exactly what our members need.
Rachael West:
I love the political institute. So Gina, for educators that are listening, and maybe they're hearing that this political institute is happening, but they're also feeling a little burned out, or just unsure about whether they should take that step to get involved and attend the Political institute or anything else.
Gina Grolemund:
So first, our district is just night and day, from before we had gotten involved in school board campaigns to now. We previously would try and try and try just to have a conversation with our board members about something that was happening. And now if there's an issue, I can text one of them and we're talking about it immediately. It is just a total shift. We've also had so many things, obviously the book ban was reversed, and that's huge. But not only that, but our new pro-public ed candidates wrote policy in to protect us from that happening in the future. So they're taking those things and they're trying to protect us from it. We had curricula that passed that had been sitting on the table with our previous board for years.
We settled a five-year contract after that first election that we got involved in. We've never had a five-year contract. We were looking at one-year deals that just kept us continually negotiating. It was a mess. So it's changed our world from then to now. I can't say enough about how different it is for us. We still have battles, but it feels more like we have a partnership in our board and we can brainstorm solutions and problem solve together. We're not adversaries anymore. You can go to all the Gettysburg trainings on negotiating and all of that that you want, but sometimes you don't need a new negotiating strategy. You need a new negotiating partner. And we now have seven new partners on our board and they are partners. And it's changed everything for us.
Aaron Chapin:
Well said.
Rachael West:
Spectacular example.
Aaron Chapin:
Obviously, this is a great example. This is happening all across the state, Rachael. And it's really not rocket science. It's just getting people involved that need to take care of public education.
Rachael West:
And if you don't have a seat at the table, you might be on the menu. So it's a good idea to make sure that you're finding a seat at that table.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, it's pop quiz time, Rachael. Hit it.
Rachael West:
All right. I'm going to ask both of you. I'm going to ask the question and then I'll direct it to one of you so that we know who's going to answer first. We seem to be stuck right now in our world in an endless cycle of alarming or just plain bad news. So what is one thing at the state or federal politic level that gives you unbridled hope for the future in the midst of all of that? So give me a second to think. Theresa, are you ready?
Theresa Prato:
Sure.
Aaron Chapin:
What gives you hope?
Theresa Prato:
So for me, the two things. Number one, having Josh Shapiro as our governor. And number two, having a pro-public education Pennsylvania house.
Rachael West:
All right, Gina, you're up.
Gina Grolemund:
I was also going to talk about Josh Shapiro as our governor. So him joining the lawsuit to challenge the withholding of federal funds for our schools gives me a lot of hope. I think there are 25 other states I think involved in that lawsuit. So the fight exists and Pennsylvania's part of it.
Rachael West:
It's great that we know that we have that stopgap here in Pennsylvania because not every other state is as lucky as we are. You just said there's only 25 states that are in that lawsuit, and that's a little scary.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, I have hope because I know our members are going to step up. I think they know what's on the line right now.
Rachael West:
After seeing the energy at Gettysburg this summer. I can say that I think our members are ready to hit the ground running when we hit this election season now that we're here in the fall,
Aaron Chapin:
I think members, no matter who their party, they want to protect what our kids are getting. They want to protect the public schools. They want to protect their communities. I know they're going to come out this November. I know they're going to come out in November of '26.
Rachael West:
Absolutely.
Aaron Chapin:
It's going to be, I think, a banner election year or election season to come. So unfortunately, we're all out of time. Rachael, our guests today have been Gina Grolemund and Theresa Prato. Thank you ladies for joining us today. Thank you very much.
Theresa Prato:
Thank you for having us.
Gina Grolemund:
Thanks for having us.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah, we appreciate everything that you both do for our students and for our communities. And thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in. Do you have some feedback for us? You got to send us an email podcast@psea.org. I'm Aaron Chapin.
Rachael West:
And I'm Rachael West.
Aaron Chapin:
And you have been listening to Duty-Free Lunch. Bye for now.
Voiceover:
You've been listening to Duty-Free Lunch with the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Visit psea.org/podcast to learn more. And don't forget to subscribe and share. Paid for by the Pennsylvania State Education Association.