Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Former board member chosen to fill vacant seat
Betsy Ruch previously served for 8 years
PHOENIXVILLE » With a 5-4 vote, a former member of the Phoenixville School Board was chosen to replace Laura Reed, who resigned last month.
Betsy Ruch was chosen from among the candidates who were interviewed publicly Monday prior to the regular board meeting.
Other applicants for the seat were: Dawn Pratt, Emily Shanley, who ran for the board in this month’s election, Shawn Turner, former board member Lisa Longo and Kelly Yeager.
The board followed a procedure during which board members could vote for as many candidates as they liked, with the exception of Longo, whose nomination did not get a second.
Eventually, it came down to Ruch and Yeager.
Ruch comes to the board with a broad list of experience.
She served on the school board for eight years, two of them as board vice president, served on negotiation committees for teacher and support staff contracts as well as being on the board that searched for and hired Superintendent Alan Fegley as well as the board that approved
the construction of Phoenixville Middle School the Manavon school and the district’s turf fields.
While on the board, she served as chair of the curriculum, personnel and policy committees, as was the representative to the library board and the Chester County Intermediate Unit.
Ruch holds a master’s degree in education from West Chester University; was a teacher at Bala Cynwyd Junior High School and instructor at Beaver College; worked at Phoenixville High School as an attendance clerk and is cofounder and co-owner of Schuylkill Valley Sporting Goods.
In her statement on her application, Ruch wrote, “the school district is dear to my heart. I have lived in the district for 52 years. Four
of my children went through the district and have been successful in life. Four of my grandchildren are presently students in the district and I want to make sure that they also have the opportunity to receive an outstanding education.”
She further wrote, “I admire what the present board has done for the district and how they have handled a very difficult time. I have no intention of coming in and telling you all what to do. I am a team player. When I was a new board member, there were people on the Board who had served 8, 10, 12, and 14 years. It was very helpful to me to have those folks as a historical point of reference in my decision-making process. I hope to be able to give a historical perspective to the Board as things move forward.”