Election 2025: Kimicata Running For Central Bucks School Board

Candidates running in the May 20 Primary for Central Bucks School Board have been invited to provide background about themselves and their positions on the issues in these profiles, which will appear individually for each candidate who participates.

CHALFONT, PA — Democrat Daniel Kimicata is running for one of two open 4-year seats in Region 3 as a cross-filed candidate, meaning his name will appear on both ballots. Also running for one of the two open seats are Republicans Roman Szewczuk and Elizabeth Santoro and Democrat Katrina O. Filiatrault. All four candidates are cross-filed.

Region 3 includes: Chalfont Borough, Warrington Township and New Britain Township (South 1 and 2 and West 1 and 2).

Biological Information

Name: Daniel Kimicata
Age: 38
Town of residence: Chalfont
Position sought: Central Bucks School Board Director
What Towns Does Your Position Cover: Central Bucks School Board Region 3, which includes Chalfont, Warrington, and most of New Britain Township
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Family: Married to my wife, Tiffany. 3 boys ages 8, 6, and 1.
Education: Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University, Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University
Occupation: Architect

Questions

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

I was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Central Bucks School Board in September of last year. While I’m technically an incumbent, this is my first election. I initially applied for the vacancy because our district is embarking on several large capital projects, including a major grade realignment plan and substantial upgrades to multiple elementary schools. As I am an architect, I felt my professional experience with construction and planning could be a valuable perspective for the board regarding these initiatives.

I’m also running as a parent of three young children. I want to ensure that Central Bucks stays focused on education and not on distractions driven by culture war issues. I want to focus on providing the best learning environment for our students. The learning environment consists not only of the instruction provided by our teachers, but also the built environment our students inhabit for hours every school day. In my opinion, both are equally important.

I have 5 main areas I want to focus on as a school board director:

1. Improving School Infrastructure: Invest in renovations that improve safety, accessibility, sustainability, and student health. Ensure new construction is designed with longevity in mind.
2. Boosting Academic Achievement: Allocate targeted resources to improve student performance and help students exceed pre-Covid academic levels.
3. Attracting and Retaining Top Teachers and Staff: Academic excellence begins with exceptional talent. I will advocate for competitive salaries for teachers and support staff. I believe it’s essential for the district to remain competitive with surrounding areas and ensure teachers feel supported and trusted in their roles.
4. Expanding Career Pathways: Invest in vocational training, technical education, apprenticeship programs to provide students with real career paths besides four-year degrees.
5. Ending “Splitting” in Feeder Patterns: Our current feeder system separates students from their friends as they move between schools. I believe we can do better. After realignment opens up space in our elementary schools, I want the district to look at our feeder patterns and develop options for ending splitting.

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

Central Bucks School District is facing several critical challenges that require thoughtful, long-term solutions. I see four major areas that need to be focused on:

Aging Infrastructure: Many of our school buildings are decades old and in need of substantial modernization. Most notable among these are 8 of our elementary schools. Outdated facilities can negatively impact student learning, safety, and accessibility. We were in the early stages of establishing detailed work scopes for two of our elementary schools when administration paused this work. I’m committed to continuing this work and developing a capital plan that ensures this work in completed in a strategic way that maximizes the impact while being financially responsible.

Polarization: The district has become a flashpoint for divisive national debates. This has distracted from our core mission of educating children and has created a sense of unease for students, families, and staff. As a board member, I would work to de-escalate political tensions. I believe the community wants the board to focus on student outcomes, supporting our educators, and being responsible with taxpayer money instead of divisive issues like banning books and limiting self-expression in our schools.

Finances: Central Bucks is facing fiscal challenges. Last year, the district was projected to run on a $15M deficit and projections for next year show a shortfall of approximately $11M within a budget of roughly $432M. This is not sustainable. While we have fund balances that have allowed us to cover shortfalls in the short term, continuing to draw down reserves year after year is not a responsible long-term strategy. To ensure we don’t compromise on our ability to invest in students, facilities, and staff in the future, we need to confront this financial reality. Budgeting in a deficit environment demands discipline and vision. We want to manage the growth of fixed costs, be transparent, avoid unnecessary costs, and pursue new revenue when necessary. With rising costs and potential federal funding uncertainties, it’s critical that we manage our resources wisely.

Post-COVID Learning Gaps: Like districts across the country, Central Bucks continues to face the academic aftershocks of the pandemic. Test scores and learning benchmarks are improving but have not fully rebounded. We must target interventions where they’re most needed to help our students reach and exceed pre-Covid academic standards.

The past few years have been turbulent in the district. How will you bring stability?

Bringing stability to the district starts with leadership that’s focused, responsible, and grounded in the best interests of students and the community. Over the past few years, Central Bucks has been affected by policy missteps, public distrust, leadership turnover, and legal challenges.

Restoring stability begins with restoring trust. There are a few things we can do to promote this:

1. Commit to Transparency: The board must be clear and honest with the public about what decisions are being made and why. As a current director, I’m frustrated by how limited communications with the community are. We’re limited to public meetings and district emails. I would like us to find other ways to talk to the community and provide other ways for the public, teachers, staff, and students to communicate with us. Trust is earned through openness.

2. Community Advisory Committees: To build on the first point, one tool that has been used in the past is an advisory committee. There was a realignment committee that was made of teachers, staff, and community members to plan for the grade realignment. This is a great way for the district and community to work together. If we had similar structures that allow teachers, staff, parents, and other community members to give feedback and insight on issues like curriculum, facilities, and policies, that could be a valuable resource for the board to ensure a range of perspectives are considered in our decision-making. This would also help build trust. As a board, we have diverse backgrounds, but our experience and knowledge is not comprehensive.

What changes should be made at the state and federal level regarding public education and what is your opinion of what is happening at the federal level with funding and educational priorities?

At the state level, one key issue that needs to be addressed is Pennsylvania’s Act 34, which governs the construction of new public school buildings. The law is well intentioned, but because of the way it is written, it limits districts from building small schools. Essentially there is a point system that is used to determine a legal limit to the amount of money that can be spent on construction of a new school. Proposed buildings only get points for instructional spaces (classrooms), but do not get points for gyms, cafeterias, multi-purpose rooms, auditoriums, and any other secondary spaces. To design a school with enough points for the instructional spaces to cover the construction costs for the cafeteria, gym, and service spaces, you end up with a minimum enrollment of almost 600 kids. A lot of our current elementary schools have enrollments significantly below this (350-400) and a lot of community feedback supports small schools.

Because of this law, if we wanted to raze and rebuild an existing small school, we could only do it if we enlarge them. Since the district enrollment is down from historic highs and we are moving 6th grade to our middle schools, there is no reason to add capacity at our elementary schools. I believe the state needs to make changes to this law to allow for small elementary schools to be built. This change would save a district like ours millions of dollars in capital costs as we plan for renovations and new construction at our elementary schools.

At the federal level, I’m deeply concerned about efforts to weaken the role of the Department of Education and shift funding models away from needs-based formulas. We’ve seen growing rhetoric portraying education as a cost to be minimized, rather than a public good worth investing in. Let me be clear: education is not an expense, it’s an investment. An investment that pays dividends in our children’s lives, raises our property values, creates safer neighborhoods, and helps our local economy. When we fund our schools, we aren’t throwing money away; we are fueling the cycle that builds strong communities like ours. Strong schools drive demand. Demand raises property values. Rising values increase revenue to reinvest in our schools, creating a cycle of success that benefits our children and us.

Federal proposals to move funding into block grants would reduce oversight, especially when it comes to programs like special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Block grants may offer flexibility to states, but they often come without accountability. Without federal oversight, there is no guarantee that critical supports for students with disabilities will be maintained or prioritized.

In Central Bucks, federal funding makes up only about 1% of our overall budget but it has a significant impact. If those funds were cut or reallocated, we would still be legally obligated to provide services which would shift the cost burden to local taxpayers. While we’re fortunate to have a strong local tax base, this is not an equitable approach to funding public education across the country.

At the federal level I would like to see the government reverse the cuts that have been made to the Department of Education. The cuts have compromised the department’s ability to function. We need stable, needs-based funding and oversight that protects vulnerable student populations, especially in special education, and recognizes education as a public good. While local school boards have limited influence over federal policy, we have a duty to advocate for our students and plan responsibly in the face of changing priorities.