Baldwin-Whitehall School Board President John B. Schmotzer is determined to lure homebuyers to the B-W School District.
Schmotzer joined district officials in rolling out the red carpet for area real estate agents in March as they gathered at Baldwin High School to watch an 18-minute video that highlights the advantages of living in Baldwin-Whitehall.
Copies of the video—which Schmotzer championed at a cost to the district of around $20,000 to produce—were then given as DVDs to realtors in hopes that they can use them to tell a positive story of what B-W has to offer.
"The more people that desire to live in this community—it's the supply and the demand," Schmotzer said in March. "It's just like anything else; the more demand and the less supply means that the values go up. So, the value of the homes can definitely increase in this community if the demand is here.
"With the increase of the value of homes, that also brings working people into the community. More wage taxes are being paid to the school districts and to the local municipalities—more revenue to the schools. So, everybody wins."
The district's video caught the attention of the producers of the Pittsburgh-area TV show "Our Region's Business," who invited Schmotzer and B-W Superintendent Dr. Randal A. Lutz to appear on the show in October to talk about the project.
"Stories of school districts get told," Lutz said to show host Bill Flanagan, the executive vice president of corporate relations for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, "but it was a way for us to tell our story the way we wanted it to be said and get a chance to get the message out about what we are as a school district and what we stand for and what our people are all about."
Explained Schmotzer to Flanagan, "It was a way for the school district to try to unite all three communities (of the district) and for the school district to try to sell the communities that encompass the school district.
"I've always said, Bill, it's the best-kept secret in the South Hills—the Baldwin-Whitehall community."
You can watch Schmotzer and Lutz's appearance on "Our Region's Business" by viewing the video above or by clicking here.
Read through other Baldwin-Whitehall School Board items here.
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