Peter Buck, an academic programs manager in Penn State’s Sustainability Institute and former Ferguson Township supervisor, announced on Monday that he will seek election to the State College Area School Board this year.
“The Pennsylvania Constitution requires a ‘thorough and efficient’ system of education,” Buck said in a statement. “In SCASD, we need to make it more thorough and more efficient. We need advocates on our school boards who take on a comprehensive view of education in a changing world, and that support equitable outcomes for all children. We need education for a sustainable future.”
Buck, who last year was the Democratic challenger to state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff in the 171st district, plans to cross-file for the Democratic and Republican ballots in the May 18 primary.
He said his experience in education and local government “lends itself perfectly,” to the school board. Buck has a Ph.D. in educational theory and policy from Penn State, comes from a family of educators and said he “is deeply connected to the region’s education system.”
In addition to his role with the Sustainability Institute, he has an affiliate faculty position in educational theory and policy.
Over the last four years, Buck said, he and his interns “have collaborated with board members, teachers, facilities staff, and administrators in SCASD on education for sustainability, including developing educational materials for the LEED Platinum Corl Street Elementary School, faculty and staff surveys for elementary education, and a greenhouse gas inventory and climate-smart proposal for buildings and transportation.”
During his time on the Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors, Buck served a term as chair and sat on the Centre Region Council of Governments Public Services and Environmental and Facilities committees and on the Spring Creek Watershed Commission.
He co-chairs Centre Region’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan and Technical Advisory Group and chairs the region’s Intergovernmental Solar Power Purchase Agreement Working Group.
Buck also is president-elect of the Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium and president of the Penns Valley Conservation Association.
Born and raised in State College and a 1994 State High graduate, Buck now lives in Lemont with his son, Sacha, an eighth-grade student in SCASD’s Delta program.
Four State College Area School Board seats are up for election this year. One is currently held by Jim Leous, who announced last week that he is running for mayor of State College. The other three are currently held by Lori Bedell, Scott Fozard and David Hutchinson.
Candidate website: www.buckforpa.com
