

Kathi Despenes
Republican | Pennsylvania
Candidate Profile
Conservative (Conditional)
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Kathi Despenes
Party
Republican
Election Year
2025
Election
PA General School Boards, Judicial & Municipal Races
Race
Penncrest School District School Director (4-year team) (vote for 4)
Incumbent
No
EDUCATION
Crawford County Area Vo-Tech, Meadville, License, 2003
Maplewood Jr. Sr. High School, Guys Mills, High School Diploma, 1998
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Townville Volunteer Fire Department Auxillary, volunteer, 3
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
PENNCREST School Board, 2025-2029
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Agree
I believe life begins at conception and I believe if more mothers-to-be saw their baby in an ultrasound, they would make the decision to keep their baby, even if struggling with that decision. I do think it's important for Christians and the church to step up and support mothers-to-be who are struggling.
What role should the school serve in helping a student with an unwanted or crisis pregnancy?
I believe that however the school supports the student, including her parents is important. I think the school should be supportive in the pregnancy and direct the student toward resources that would assist her during her pregnancy and after.
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
What is your position on government funding of public education from Pre-K through college?
I believe government funding is essential for public schools so that every child has the opportunity to receive a quality education. However, regarding college, I support the availability of scholarships for hardworking high school students who want to pursue higher education. However, I do not believe college should be fully government funded for all students. I believe that when students invest in their own education—whether through scholarships or part-time jobs, they work to achieve success.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Teachers should be required to instruct students on mandated curriculum even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Disagree
EDUCATION
Abortion and gender-affirming providers, including Planned Parenthood, should be a resource for instruction or services in the school.
Strongly Disagree
Consistent discipline creates a safe and orderly environment, which is essential for student learning.
Agree
Educators should give students a thorough education in America's founding documents and cultivate American patriotism.
Strongly Agree
I support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Strongly Disagree
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Strongly Agree
Please list in order the following priorities in relation to the role of a K-12 public school (omitting any that do not apply): American History, Art & Music, Civics, Critical Race Theory, Foreign Language, Gender Identity, Information Technology, Language Arts, Mathematics, Personal Finances, Physical Fitness, Political Activism, Science, Sexuality, Social Emotional Learning, Vocational Learning
American History, Mathematics, Civics, Language Arts, Science, Physical Fitness, Vocational Learning, Information Technology, Personal Finances.
The state should fund education by allowing dollars to follow the child instead of the bureaucracy, through a program which allows parents the freedom to choose their child's school – public, private, or homeschool.
Strongly Agree
Which should students have: equity of outcomes or equality of opportunities?
Students should have equality of opportunities. Their hard work and discipline, or lack there of will determine the outcome.
Which type of written parental consent should be obtained before students are taught courses such as Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE)? (A) Opt-In. (B) Opt-Out. (C) None.
A. I believe students should have signed parental consent to be in a class like that.
VALUES
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a born again, child of God and I don't know how people go through life without know God. He gives me peace in the hard times
Who is responsible for teaching sexual education to children, and what is the appropriate age when it should be taught?
Parents should be the ones responsible for teaching sexual education to children. I think the age depends on the individual child and it should be taught gradually and age appropriately as the child ages.
If you support the teaching of Sex Ed, please answer the following question: Sexual education should include these topics (list all that apply and add your own, if needed) -- abortion methods and side effects; abstinence; consent; contraceptive methods; human anatomy/the reproductive system; physical and emotional health outcomes; sex acts and pleasures of sex; sexual orientation and gender identity; stages of pregnancy and fetal development
I believe if sex education is taught in schools, stages of pregnancy and fetal development should be taught as well as the post-trauma abortion and guilt experienced by women and also how it affects fathers. It should also include abstinence, contraceptive methods (and risk of adverse effects). It should also include the physical and emotional health outcomes with sexual activity.
Children have a right to reach maturity without chemical or surgical castration, which would damage their healthy bodies through surgeries and may cause a life-long dependence on cross-sex hormones.
Strongly Agree
Children have the right to be protected from sexual grooming (including drag shows and explicit materials) in schools and libraries.
Strongly Agree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman essential to the formation and sustaining of a civil and prosperous society.
Strongly Agree
Parents have the fundamental right to raise their child in accordance with their beliefs and values, including the right to make decisions about the child's education and healthcare.
Strongly Agree
Parents should have full and timely access to any and all records, including school and medical records, associated with their minor children.
Strongly Agree
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
I believe in order to have secure elections, voter ID must be required.
EQUALITY
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Strongly Agree
ABOUT YOU
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No.
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No.
I voted in these primaries and general elections:
2014 General Election 2016 Republican Primary 2016 General Election 2018 Republican Primary 2018 General Election 2020 Republican Primary 2020 General Election 2022 Republican Primary 2022 General Election
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
2ND AMENDMENT
Faculty who are licensed to carry and have had ongoing training should be allowed to carry guns at school in order to respond to an active shooter situation.
Agree
I think teachers who are licensed to carry and have ongoing training should be allowed to carry guns at school to help protect our children should the need arise.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
In the event of a pandemic, school districts can mandate whatever health precautions they deem necessary (including masks and vaccines) to protect students and staff.
Strongly Disagree
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