George Stroud to replace Gerald Eby on election ballot for Carlisle school board race

Following the death of long-time Carlisle school board member Gerald Eby, a new Democratic candidate will take Eby's place on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Eby had been seeking re-election to the board, with nine other candidates having been voted through during the primary.

With his death, however, his place on the ballot will be filled by George Stroud, who will join the Citizens for Carlisle Schools slate of candidates.

"We couldn't be more excited to welcome George to the ticket and look forward to hitting the campaign trail with him this fall," said Rick Galena, campaign manager for the group. "George is a proud CASD parent, mentor, former coach and educator with nearly 30 years experience working with kids and families. We know he will be an excellent addition to the CASD School Board and look forward to the fresh ideas, energy and vast experience he brings to the position."

Galena said Eby's death earlier this month took place before the ballots for the November election were printed. The Cumberland County Bureau of Elections declared a ballot vacancy, and  the Cumberland County Democratic Committee accepted applications for the vacancy.

Galena said Stroud was the only candidate to submit an application, and the committee voted last week to officially name Stroud as the replacement.

In a news release, Stroud identified fostering a supportive learning environment for students and recruiting and retaining quality teachers as two of his top priorities.

"Maintaining a high-quality learning environment must be the foundation for every decision we make as a board," he said in an announcement posted to the Citizens for Carlisle Schools Facebook page.

Stroud has a doctorate in higher education administration from Widener University and is vice president for student life and dean of students at Dickinson College. He is also a volunteer baseball and track coach and has three children with his wife, Stacey, two of whom attend Carlisle Area School District.

There are five open seats for the school board this November, with five candidates from two teams vying for those seats.

Stroud will join the Citizens for Carlisle Schools, which is comprised of Paula Bussard, Bruce Clash, Joe Shane and Jon Tarrant.

The Team for Change candidates are Heather Leatherman, Colleen Blume, Walt Brown, Al Shine and Dawn Kephart.