Election 2025: Katrina Filiatrault For Central Bucks School Board

Candidates running in the Nov. 4 general election are providing background about themselves and their positions on the issues to voters in these profiles, which will run in Patch individually for each candidate.

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Four candidates are running for two open, four-year seats on the Central Bucks School Board in the new Region 3. Voters will choose between Democrats Katrina Filitrault and Daniel Kimicata and Republicans Elizabeth Betty Santoro and Roman Szewczuk.

Region 3 includes Chalfont Borough, New Britain Township South 1 and 2, New Britain Township West 1 and 2, and Warrington 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Biological Information

Name: Katrina Filiatrault
Age: 58
Town of residence: New Britain Township
Position sought: Central Bucks School Director
What Towns Does Your Position Cover:
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Family: Husband and three children – two CBSD graduates and one CBSD current student.
Education: B.S. Elementary Education from James Madison University and J.D. from Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University
Occupation: Grants Manager for Higher Education

Questions

1. Why are you running for the school board? If elected, what will your priorities be?

I am running for the school board to protect public education and provide supportive, inclusive and nurturing environments for all our students. Our school district has earned an exemplary reputation, and I would like to make sure that we keep it. I have an academic and employment history that makes me uniquely qualified to be a school director. I have a broad work history that has always centered around education, which means that I understand what makes public schools work well from many different perspectives. It also means I understand how valuable it is to have excellent public education available to everyone in our community.

I have a BS in Elementary Education with fourteen years of teaching experience, including teaching English language learners and teaching graduate students pursuing principalship or supervisor certification. I also have a law degree with experience representing school districts and formal training as a special education and disability advocate. Currently I manage public and private grants in higher education. I have lived in this community for twenty-five years, and I am the proud CBSD parent with two recent graduates and one current student.

As a school director, my highest priority will be to ensure that our schools provide an excellent education that fully prepares all students for the future. Our school district will not go backward. I would like to improve communication and transparency, long-range fiscal planning, and supervision of special programs while also addressing staffing shortages. In addition, I am concerned about the impact national politics will have on our local schools over the next few years. Recent attacks on education threaten to fundamentally alter public schools and the stability of the Central Bucks School District. I think it is extremely important to elect school board directors that will continue to prioritize actual local needs and not allow national politics to undermine CBSD and its ability to provide every child in our community with an excellent education. We all saw what happened the last time people with an outside agenda were in control of our school board.

2. What do you see as the major issues facing the district and how would you address them?

Our district faces several issues right now. On a local level, we need to strengthen district leadership, fully staff our schools, and improve communication and cooperation. We also need to continue implementing full day kindergarten and grade realignment and continue making academic progress post-Covid while maintaining our commitment to free speech, an honest and accurate curriculum, separation of church and state, and the importance of equity when providing each child with access to an excellent education. The national attack on public education also presents a challenge to our district. It threatens to fundamentally alter the stability of the Central Bucks School District by embracing efforts to replace public education with limited alternative education programs and encouraging divisive rhetoric to creates chaos and distract from us from focusing on education.

3. What would you like to see in a new superintendent? Where would you like to see him/her focus their energies?

I would like to hire a new superintendent who relies on peer-reviewed resources and data-driven decision-making to inspire educators and a school district that works collaboratively and cooperatively to serve every child. I believe that the best school leaders are also strong communicators who recognize the importance of a good work culture and a positive school environment because those things are essential to reaching our academic goals. We also need a superintendent with significant experience and a demonstrated ability to successfully navigate all the challenges of a district as large as CBSD. I would like to see a new superintendent initially focus their energies on truly getting to know and understand the needs of our students, teachers, and staff and the surrounding communities.