Familiar face appointed to State College’s school board. Here’s what comes next
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- Jesse Barlow was appointed to SCASD's board after Dan Kolbe's June 2025 resignation.
- Barlow advocated for infrastructure upgrades and diversity efforts across the district.
- The board's appointment precedes a special election to fill the seat through fall 2027.
The State College Area School District’s board of directors will fill a vacant seat by appointing a new member who’s no stranger to local government.
Jesse Barlow, a former Penn State professor and State College borough council member, will temporarily fill a vacant seat on the school board following the mid-June resignation of Dan Kolbe, who plans to move to Chicago with his family. The board’s remaining eight members voted Tuesday to appoint Barlow to fill the vacancy after hearing presentations from 14 candidates and receiving applications from a few more who did not interview for the role.
Barlow, who taught computer science and engineering courses at Penn State for more than 40 years, raised two children who graduated from the State College district’s schools. In his presentation, he cited previous interactions with the district in an official capacity as a member and one-term president of State College’s borough council, through which he spent eight years helping to advance the long-sought Solar Power Purchase Agreement and advocating for more developed human relations within the borough.
While presenting prepared remarks before the board, Barlow said he would strongly support increased investments in the district’s infrastructure. He specifically cited support for building a new Park Forest Middle School — a project that has plans already in the works and could have construction start as soon as next January.
“We need to build a new Park Forest Middle School,” Barlow told the board. “We have needed it for a long time. I am supportive of the necessary upgrades to our other schools as well. We have the best school district for miles, but it won’t stay that way if we neglect our buildings.”
Barlow said he hopes to develop the State College district’s interactions with Pennsylvania officials and lawmakers to help secure more funding for public schools while specifically citing a 2023 state court ruling that found the commonwealth’s public education funding system was inequitable to the point that it violated some students’ constitutional rights. He also said he supports increased regulations for charter schools and new cyber charter programs.
As a board member, Barlow said he would work to help the district continue promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging efforts in its schools and offices and advance efforts to overhaul suicide prevention and response protocols. He cited previous experience advancing human relations goals within the State College borough by backing efforts to create a borough DEIB officer and launch an oversight board for its police department. Barlow also noted his work developing State College’s human relations ordinance — which strengthens protections against gender identity and sexual orientation-based discrimination — and expanding it to Ferguson and Patton townships and the Millheim borough in Penns Valley.
“I know I’m preaching to the choir here when I say it’s essential that SCASD continue its commitment to equity, inclusion and belonging, especially at a time when the federal government is abandoning it and even thwarting these efforts,” Barlow said. “I’ve seen the world before school districts cared about human relations. The exclusion and isolation of marginalized groups from that time is something no one should wish to return to.”
Barlow said he greatly benefited from his public education in Kansas and hopes to support greater investments in public education by serving on State College’s board.
“The mission of SCASD is to ensure every student has opportunities to grow, thrive and fulfill their potential through caring, responsive education,” he said. ”That’s my motivation — to work for a school system where all, whatever their social backgrounds and skills, can thrive.”
Barlow was one of five candidates who received a nomination to advance to the board’s vote, joining Robb Lauzon, Cybele Pacheco, Benjy Romig and Carmen Vanderhoof. Barlow secured the necessary five-vote majority during the second round of voting.
Board members seemed to support Barlow for his past experience serving in municipal roles and advocating for State College residents. He expressed excitement to serve on the nine-member school board, which he said should provide for more perspectives and discussions than the seven-member State College borough council.
“I welcome listening to other people’s insights, other people’s questions, because almost everybody will think of things that I don’t,” Barlow said.
What comes next?
After he’s sworn in at July 21’s meeting, Barlow will fill the school board’s vacant seat until Nov. 4’s general election.
Because Kolbe, who received election to a four-year term in 2023, served less than half of his elected term, Centre County will host a special election to find a candidate who will fill a two-year interim term starting in December. The county’s Democratic and Republican parties can both nominate an additional candidate to appear on the ballot for that special election, which should coincide with the general election.
Barlow was one of six cross-filed candidates who earned party nominations for full, four-year board positions following May’s primary election. He received the second-most votes from registered Democrats (4,838) and the fourth-most votes from registered Republicans (996).
Before voting, board member Jackie Huff advocated for Barlow’s appointment because he would get his feet wet as a board member before almost certainly earning election to a full term in November.
“In my responsibility to the board, I’m highly concerned with consistency within the board,” Huff said. “So, I am going to be voting for Dr. Barlow because he already is on the ballot in November and he garnered a large number of votes in the primary. The chance of him winning in November is so large that it makes sense for him to start his term now.”
This story was originally published July 2, 2025 at 3:09 PM.
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