Allen chosen to fill board vacancy
PHOENIXVILLE >> Stephanie Allen is the newest member of the Phoenixville Area School Board.
Allen was unanimously selected by the rest of the board to fill a vacancy left by the Jan. 9 resignation of Ayisha Sereni. No reason for Sereni’s resignation was made public.
Allen will complete Sereni’s term, which expires this December. She was immediately sworn in and participated in the school board’s Feb. 3 meeting.
A total of 12 applicants applied for the post, but under a new policy adopted by the school board, only six were considered in the voting.
The new policy allows board members to reduce the number of applicants considered by reviewing letters of interest and resumes and indicating their top candidates to the administration prior to the vote.
In addition to Allen, the board also voted on the candidacies of five other applicants: former member Laura Reed, who resigned without explanation in October of 2021; Graham Perry; Prince Denson, Emily Shanley, who ran for the board in 2021; and Frank Venezia.
Board member Betsy Ruch was the only one to vote no on every candidate other than Allen.
Venecio received seven votes, Reed and Perry five votes, Shanley received four votes and Denson three votes.
The applicants which did not make it to the voting stage were: Catherine Ingham, Dan Wiser, Kurt Siso, Lisa Longo, Robert Stevenson and Tracy Tackett.
A total of five seats will be open in this year’s election. In addition to Allen, the seats now held by Ruch, Jerry Weiss, David Golberg and Michelle Schamis will all be decided by the voters.