School board president resigns
Matt Alexander has already moved out of school district
LOWER POTTSGROVE » The Pottsgrove School Board is without a president now that Matt Alexander has submitted his resignation.
Alexander, his wife and three children have moved out of the district to a home in Washington Township.
He submitted his letter of resignation last week, but the school board does not meet again until Aug. 14, when it will vote on accepting it. Given that it is illegal for Alexander to remain on the board when he no longer lives in the district, the rest of the board won’t have much choice other than accept the resignation.
Board members will then have 30 days from the day they vote to accept the resignation to choose a replacement for Alexander’s seat in addition to electing a new board president.
Alexander was just reelected
in 2017 so whomever the school board chooses will not serve out the remaining three years of his term. Instead, the person chosen to fill Alexander’s seat will serve until the next local election cycle, which is November 2019.
The Pottsgrove School Board has seen its share of resignations in recent years.
Jodi Adams resigned in 2013 and was replaced by Dee Gallion.
In 2014, Kelley Crist, who had run with Alexander the year before, resigned and was replaced by John Rossi.
And in 2016, Rossi himself resigned and was replaced by Robert Lindgren.
Two other people who applied
for Rossi’s seat, Scott Hutt and Charles Nippert, subsequently won election to the school board in the 2017 elections.
In 2012 and 2016, the board sought candidates and interviewed them publicly before filling a vacancy on the school board.
Rossi’s appointment in 2014 raised eyebrows however when the board acted to appoint Rossi the same night it accepted Crist’s resignation.
The only legal requirement is that the board act within 30 days of a resignation being accepted. After 30 days, the vacancy can be filled by a judge.
There is not yet any indication how the board will go about replacing Alexander.
Contacted at home Monday, Alexander said his new home “has everything we were looking for. When I step outside I see
farms and I hear crickets.”
A software architect who works out of his home, Alexander said he and his wife had considered moving before he ran for reelection, but wanted to stay in Pottsgrove long enough to allow their son to graduate from Pottsgrove High School.
Their younger children are entering ninth and third grade “so they were going to change schools any way.”
Of his five years on the board, Alexander said he is most proud of moving the administration to a system of setting goals that are measurable; completing the renovation and expansion of Pottsgrove High School and adopting a budget this year that does not raise taxes.
He said he will miss serving on the board. “I really love the job,” he said.