Kiski Area SD Legislative Structure

The legislative structure of Kiski Area appears to be fairly obvious when looking at a map of the district.  The following nine municipalities are included:

1. Allegheny Township
2. Avonmore Borough
3. Bell Township
4. East Vandergrift Borough
5. Hyde Park Borough
6. Oklahoma Borough
7. Parks Township
8. Vandergrift Borough
9. Washington Township

All but Parks Township are in Westmoreland County; Parks Township is in Armstrong County. Unfortunately, the division of the school district does not fall along municipal boundaries, which creates some confusion at the local level regarding representation on the school board.

Regions

For the purposes of electing school board members, the district is divided into 3 legislative regions.  Each region elects 3 school board members to represent them in managing Kiski Area.

Region I

Allegheny Township is the primary municipality in this region. According to the 2010 US Census, there are 8,164 residents. In addition to Allegheny Township, residents of Washington Township who vote at the Municipal Building are also included in Region I. The census does not provide the number of residents in this subset of Washington Township. The current board members for this region are:

David Anderson - Board President
Keith Blayden
Elizabeth Kovach

Region II

There are 4 municipalities in this region.  According to the 2010 US Census, there are a total of 11,590 residents (Avonmore - 1011, Bell Township - 2348, Oklahoma - 809, Washington Township - 7422). Note that some Washington Township residents are included in Region I, not Region 2 (see above). The current board members for this region are:

Robert Keibler
Anne Marie Nagy
Tammy Smail - Board Vice President

Region III

There are 4 municipalities in this region.  According to the 2010 US Census, there are a total of 9,123 residents (East Vandergrift - 674, Hyde park - 500, Parks Township - 2744, Vandergrift - 5205). The current board members from this region are:

Julie Hansen
Benjamin Silvestri
James Summerville

Observations

It appears some residents of Washington Township were included in Region I in an attempt to equalize the population in each region.

Representation in the Pennsylvania Legislature

Eli Evankovich is the Representative for Parks Township and parts of Allegheny Township in the PA House. Joe Petrarca is the Representative for all other areas in the district.

In the state Senate, Don White is the Senator representing Parks Township, Avonmore, and Washington Township. Jim Ferlo is the Senator for the remainder of the Westmoreland County portion of the district. 

What an unfortunate slice and dice of the political map to have Jim Ferlo represent us - a man whose voter base derives from communities deep within Allegheny County.  What do Pittsburgh and Hyde Park have in common? Jim Ferlo.

2014 Redistricting

Redistricting is the process of setting the boundaries of a district for elected representation - often due to changes in population. Perhaps for political reasons.

For whatever reason, the boundaries of the 38th PA Senate District (Jim Ferlo) and the 45th PA Senate District (Jim Brewster) will change in 2014.

Communities currently in the 38th district (Allegheny Township, Bell Township, East Vandergrift, Hyde Park, Oklahoma and Vandergrift) will move to the 45th District.

This does not address the issue of a voter base deep in Allegheny County, but does reduce the number of PA Senators representing Kiski Area.

Representation in the US House of Representatives

Residents of Parks Township are represented by Mike Kelly in the US House; all Westmoreland County residents of the school district are represented by Keith Rothfus.

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