The Blair County Republican Committee had their Altoona Area School Board candidate forum Tuesday evening.

WTAJ reported last week that candidate John Donley publicly announced that he wouldn’t attend due to Lois Kaneshiki’s involvement and what he believed as bringing politics into the school board race.

The moderator, Cheryl Rupp, says politics did not play a role in the forum. Rupp said, “If you were here, you would know. It did not play a role at all. Questions were asked, the same questions was asked to every candidate to answer. It was not political, it was informative.”

Rupp also believes that those who didn’t attend missed out. She explained, “This is the opportunity for people to meet the candidates because otherwise its hard for them to put the name to the face. And it’s very important because now people can learn what they stand for, why they’re here, why they are running for school board.”

Candidates Robin Reese and Kate Reed were also not in attendance. Topics ranged from building a new high school “b” building to overcrowding in elementary schools.