Those who believe that political drama exists only on the state or national level might want to consider a recent Plum Borough school board upset.

The board was deadlocked, 4-4, over the appointment of an additional board member, with three Democrats and a Republican on one side and four Republicans on the other.

New board President Kevin Dowdell, a Republican, broke the tie Dec. 11 by changing his vote of support from Republican Sue Caldwell to Democrat Loretta White.

Mrs. White, 74, had served on the school board for four years before losing her bid for re-election in November. She taught at Plum High School for 34 years, retiring in 2001.

Mrs. White was sworn in Jan. 20 and will serve until December 2011. She expects to seek re-election when her seat comes up for a vote in the May 2011 primary.

Mr. Dowdell said when he cast his tie-breaking vote, he expected to "suffer political backlash." But he said he acted in the interests of preserving board unity and to prevent the board's appointment from being referred to the court system.

Board member Linda Eazor resigned effective Dec. 31, leaving the board under obligation to select a new member within 30 days or have the decision go to the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Mrs. White said that despite the recent drama surrounding her appointment, politics are not the primary concern of the Plum school board.

"Working on that board for four years, [I knew] decisions were not made along political lines," she said. "We all work together for the children."

She also rejected the idea that Republican members of the board were more concerned with fiscal responsibility than the Democratic members, or that the choice between her and Ms. Caldwell came down to educational experience vs. fiscal experience.

Before changing his vote to support Mrs. White, Mr. Dowdell had said that he would prefer that a board member with financial acumen replace Ms. Eazor.

"We all live here, we all pay taxes and we all have to face our constituents at the grocery store," Mrs. White said. "It's not that one group wants to save and the other to spend."

She conceded, however, that Plum residents are concerned the board might seek to raise taxes -- especially because the borough is still paying for the 2003 renovations to the high school, is renovating two more schools and is building a third.

In November, the board asked architectural firm L. Robert Kimble & Associates to draw up plans for a new Pivik Elementary School and renovations to Adlai Stevenson and Holiday Park elementary schools.

Mrs. White said building a new school would be more cost-effective than renovating the old Pivik building, which was built in the 1930s and has been renovated twice.

"It's served its purpose," she said. "It's just not a pleasant place for children anymore."

The new Pivik building is expected to be completed in October 2011.

Despite not having a finance background, Mrs. White said involvement in her community makes her mindful of increasing the borough's tax burden, especially on older residents and working families, and of the importance of budgetary constraints.

She has lived in Plum since 1961 and taught at Plum High School from 1967 to 2001, mostly advanced placement English to seniors. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Duquesne University and was recognized as an All-Star Educator by the University of Pittsburgh in 1992 and 1994.

She has volunteered for the Pittsburgh Literacy Council since 2003 and volunteers and teaches poetry at Plum Senior Community Center.

Her two children and three of her grandchildren graduated from Plum, and she has two grandchildren at O'Block Junior High.

She notes that she is well prepared for her duties, as she never stopped attending school board meetings as a "concerned citizen."

Mrs. White also said that although she was slightly surprised at first to receive Mr. Dowdell's backing, it wasn't a shock.

"I worked with Mr. Dowdell for four years, and he's often reached across the aisle. We all have," she said. "I don't think we realized there was an aisle."

Now that she's back on the board, Mrs. White has several hopes for the district. She wants to continue to push for rigorous academic standards for all students, not just special needs or gifted students.

"In America, we want to educate everyone, and some people think that's an unattainable goal," she said. "I don't think so. I think every student has the right to be educated to the best of his or her ability."

She also supports a newer program introduced by Superintendent Lillian Naccarati, called Progressive Learning Communities, which gives teachers from each grade level time to share ideas and develop new curricula.

But her greatest wish is that Plum's school system become one of the finest in the country.

"I'd like to see our district go from good to great," she said. "The way people talk about Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon, there is no reason they can't talk about Plum that way."

Politics aside, she said, "I have no personal agenda. I know it sounds corny, but I just want to help the kids."

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