Wallingford-Swarthmore needs new board member

NETHER PROVIDENCE » The Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board will have a vacancy in the near future and is in the hunt for a short-term occupant of the seat.

Region II representative Jerry Ballas has informed the board he intends to step down this summer as he plans to sell his house and move to a new location. Region II encompasses Nether Providence’s Wards 1 and 5, the 2nd Precinct of the 6th Ward, the 2nd Precinct of the 7th Ward and the Borough of Rose Valley.

At the board’s June 12 meeting, Solicitor Kyle Berman outlined the process for selecting a replacement. He said that once the vacancy is official, the board will have up to 30 days to appoint a new member. Should the board fail to act, county court could step in and select someone.

Since Ballas’ four-year term was due to expire at year’s end, the person chosen would be handling the duties for less than six months.

A complicating factor the board discussed was how to deal with the fact that the election to replace Ballas is contested. In the primary election in May, Damon Orsetti captured the Democratic nomination while Bob Kelly secured the GOP nod.

Board member Allison Karpyn, who was herself appointed to fill a seat on an interim basis before later being elected to a full term, said she thought anyone who was interested should be able to submit a letter of interest, with the field then narrowed and interviews conducted.

However, board member Robert Reiger disagreed, saying in order to maintain a non-partisan approach and not give a leg up to either of the two candidates who will be on the ballot in November, the board should not consider either temporary seat.

After board member Chapin Cimino asked if the search could be limited to individuals other than the general election candidates, Berman said the board can set the criteria as it sees fit. The consensus of the board appeared to be to go that route.

The nine-member board also concurred that it would ask for letters of interest within a deadline of 10 days – or by noon on June 22 – to allow consideration of them to begin at the board’s next meeting on June 26. Applicants are asked to submit their letters electronically.

Ballas is a former manufacturing executive for Scott Paper/Kimberly Clark who subsequently operated his own consulting firm.

Kelly works as an executive for a company called HealthAdvocate, which has programs to help clients deal with the health care system.

Orsetti is an adjunct professor environmental sciences and biology at Philadelphia University and Delaware County Community College. for the