Jared Villella is officially announcing his candidacy as a Republican for Warren County School Board – Region 1.

Jared, 36, is a 1999 graduate of Cassadaga Valley Central School in Chautauqua County, N.Y. He holds B.A. in Communications from Susquehanna University. Jared has 14 years of marketing experience working for Warren companies and has been with Whirley-DrinkWorks! for the past 10 years.

Villella said he is “dedicated to the thoughtful pursuit of fair and equitable solutions for the issues facing the Warren County School District, but a focus on strengthening educational opportunities for all students and assessing district expenditures are top priorities.

“Growing up with a teacher for a mother, I’ve seen the frustrations of both students and educators.” said Villella. “It is the responsibility of the board to address those frustrations in the mindset of what is best for the children and those on whom we rely on to provide the education we as parents can’t fully furnish. I acknowledge and respect the time and effort the current board has given to the residents of the district. However, I am a big believer in change and disruption creating opportunities. New minds breed new interactions and ideas, both of which are needed to improve the educational prowess of our students and drive budgetary allocation to a more financially responsible level for the taxpayers.”

Villella has experience as a two-term member of the WCCBI Chamber Operations Division Board from 2004-2010, in which he served as board chair the last two years of his second term.

Playing football in college and volunteering as a coach for the Warren football program across multiple grade levels, as well as three seasons with the YMCA youth soccer program, Villella said he appreciates the value of teamwork and working toward a common goal. His experiences with local high school students as being a Youngsville Business Week presenter, and with recent WCSD graduates through the managing of the Whirley-DrinkWorks! sales and marketing interns for the past four years, have given him insights into opportunities to better prepare the young adults exiting our district schools to face the world after high school.

“I view education as a journey,” Villella said. “We need to ensure that all children are properly equipped to make that journey as successful as possible before they begin the next journey in their life, whatever that may be.”

If elected, Villella said he promises to make himself an asset to the district by bringing his knowledge and leadership abilities from previous board and coaching experience to the table in dealing with complex project management and the contribution to the growth of our community’s youth. The major issues, he said, are the education of our children, budget reform and transparency; contributing to the well-rounded preparation for the future success of our students. Villella has been married to his wife, Heidi, for eight years and they have one daughter, Bianca (9).

“I chose to cross-file to appear on both the Republican and Democratic ballot because I feel that the education of our county’s youth is too important to only follow national or state partisan lines,” he said, “but rather be a mix of the best ideas relevant to our little corner of PA.”