Endorsed Candidates
Hampton Township School Board
TRISHA WEBBThe only registered Democrat to win the Primary Election. When Trisha Webb ran for school board in 2019, she wanted to be a voice for families and students with special needs. She didn’t expect a global pandemic and a change in the conversation about public education, but with the knowledge and experience she gained over the past three and a half years, Trisha hopes to continue having a positive impact on our district and advocating for all students and their families. Professionally, Trisha spent the majority of her career working as a writer and editor in the medical, higher education and creative industries; she also worked in a local preschool, which provided Trisha with a new perspective on and respect for the importance of early education, a strong educational foundation and the relationships between teachers, their students and their families.
Trisha and her family moved to Pittsburgh 12 years ago primarily for the autism resources, research and supports available in the area. As the parent of a student with a disability, she strongly believes in the partnership between schools, parents and the community. Being involved with organizations like the PTO, HAEE and Hampton’s Special Education Advisory Committee gave Trisha the opportunity to learn firsthand about our district and our families before even joining the board. Beyond school, Trisha supports her two children as they’ve participated in track, lacrosse, basketball, swimming, baseball, Cub Scouts, a variety of after-school activities, a local special needs hockey team, tennis, and band (just to name a few). She also currently works part-time as a communications specialist and volunteers with her parish. Trisha hopes to continue representing our wonderful community as a member of the HTSD School Board. 
BOB SHAGESAs a current school board member and past Board President who has served for 20 years, Bob is running to continue working on several long-term initiatives to better equip Hampton’s students for the 21st century, while also keeping Hampton one of the highest rated school districts in Pennsylvania for its high performance-to-cost ratio. Bob has been a Hampton resident for 37 years and his two sons both went through Hampton from K-12. Professionally, Bob worked for 50 years for General Electric in engineering, marketing, sales, and productivity management roles and he continues consulting for their government contracting in his retirement.
Bob knows that maintaining cost efficiency requires a constant evaluation of the choices the District makes to balance student achievement and taxpayer cost. He believes this is accomplished through ongoing program performance-to-cost evaluations, strict fiscal control and accountability, continuous oversight of current construction projects, and detailed annual bottom-up budgeting for all educational, infrastructure, and support programs. Bob is constantly asking if every dollar spent is directly focused on improving student achievement. Bob desires to make Hampton students successful in life. He understands that student proficiency is more than just PSSA or SAT schools and that curriculum and teacher engagement must focus on challenging students in all grades and at all levels of performance so that each child can reach their individual potential. Bob supports a broad K-12 curriculum that engages children to be skilled critical thinkers, problem solvers, effective communicators, be information and media literate, civically engaged, globally aware, and financially literate. |
MATT JARRELLMatt is a current member and Vice President of the school board running for a second term because he hopes to continue contributing to Hampton’s tradition of excellence, innovation and exemplary Board stewardship. Matt and his wife Chiara have lived in Hampton for a total of 15 years. They have three sons, one in the Middle School, one in High School, and one graduated with the Class of 2022. Matt has been a transactional and energy attorney for 23 years, and is a Shareholder, Director, and member of the Executive Committee of a mid-sized firm based downtown. He has also served for 19 years as a director on the board of Riverview Children’s Center, an early childhood education institution in Verona. That experience has fostered an understanding of the organizational, programmatic, and financial elements that must be considered to deliver a high-quality education.
Matt believes that school board members do their best work in a collaborative and respectful environment. He believes that the board’s contribution to HTSD’s standing as a top school district resulted from the board members’ collective focus on thinking ahead, identifying opportunities to improve the quality of the education offered, and working with its outstanding professional educators and staff to seize those opportunities. That push to improve must always be measured against its cost, and the board must always be mindful of the seriousness of the community investment with which the board has been entrusted. School districts excel, not because of the pre-formed policy objectives of its individual board members, but as a result of a diligent, open-minded and collaborative decision-making process and an understanding of all of the stakeholders. Matt would be honored to participate in this process by serving for another four years. |