Election 2025: Mark Gindhart For Centennial 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.

WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP, PA — Mark Gindhart is running for a seat on the Centennial School Board in the Nov. 4 general election.

Gindhart, a Republican, is among the candidates vying for four-year seats open in several regions. He is currently a Centennial School Board director.

In Region 1, it's Democrat Elizabeth Montalvo against Republican incumbent Flemming Godiksen.

In Region 2, it's Democrat Krista DiPaolo against Republican incumbent Mark Gindhart.

In Region 3, it's Democrat Karen Kreiger and incumbent School Director Jane Lynch, a Republican running on the Democratic ticket. They face Republican School Board President Mary Alice Brancato and Mark Werner.

Biographical Information

• Name: Mark Gindhart
• Age: 64
• Town of Residence: Warminster Township
• Position sought: Centennial School Board Director – Region 2
• Are you an incumbent? Yes
• What Towns Does Your Position Cover? Warminster Township, Upper Southampton Township, and Ivyland Borough
• Party Affiliation: Republican
• Family: Married with grandchildren in the school district
• Education: Graduate of Upper Moreland High School, multiple certifications in Fire/EMS/Police professions
• Occupation: Retired Firefighter/Paramedic/Police Officer

Candidate Questions

1. The public was against the hiring of the new schools superintendent. What is your stance on that?

This question is disingenuous in its premise because it infers that a large number of people were against the hiring and sets up the need for a defense of my position. An accurate and honest question would have been to refer to the controversy surrounding the hire. The fact is that there was controversy, but the actual number of people who expressed their dissatisfaction with the hire was very small, close to 1 percent of the school district family population.

Every voice and opinion is important but they were not the large number of "the public" that this question infers.

The hiring process followed the standard protocol and was administered by the BCIU. Dr. Lucabagh consistently scored very well and was always at the top of the candidate list. Unfortunately it is difficult to give this question the full and complete answer people deserve because we were instructed to keep our answers brief.

For a full and complete answer to these questions, please visit the Warminster Connect page on Facebook where I did a video that provides the full answers voters need and deserve.

2. What educational background do you bring to the position?

Another disingenuous question because it sets up the premise that a background in education is required or needed to be a School Director, which it is not. The School Code does not require this because the intention was clearly to have a very large candidate pool of residents and parents who would be able to have a voice in the education of their children and the spending of their tax dollars.

A requirement for an educational background would significantly reduce the candidate pool and deprive many people of the opportunity to have a voice. This has remained the case, unchanged, since the inception of the school code in 1949 for a reason, because it works. My education and background is listed above.

3. What are the biggest challenges to the school district in the future?

Aside from the obvious ongoing challenges of providing a solid education and spending taxpayer money wisely, I see the biggest challenge we face today as security.

School violence, intrusions, and school shootings are a sad and unfortunate reality that we must be fully prepared to address, and we are not. This must change. The fact that we have not experienced any of these incidents, except for an intrusion last year that fortunately ended well, has nothing to do with Warminster being perceived as safe, or the assumption that something like this won't happen here, it is simply because we have been lucky. That's it, nothing else.

It is imperative that we harden our schools against attack, and be fully prepared to mitigate a threat if one occurs. To do any less is unconscionable. This is my priority issue if I am re-elected, and is something that I am fully committed to. Again, for more complete answers, please visit the Warminster Connect page on Facebook.