Sullivan resigns from school board

Applicants to replace her must submit letters of interest by July 6

The resignation of Spring-Ford Area School Board member Diane Sullivan due to “significant health issues” was announced at Monday night’s meeting.

The resignation is effective immediately.

Sullivan’s departure was announced at the end of the meeting by school board President Margaret Wright, who read Sullivan’s letter of resignation out loud. Wright said she received the letter via email shortly after 4 p.m. Monday.

“This has been a very difficult decision I have struggled with, but I am no longer able to provide the attention, time and energy that is required for this position,” Sullivan wrote. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the district and the community in this role, along with the other members of the board and the administration.”

Board member David Shafer expressed irritation at the matter being held until the end of the meeting and indicated the board should have been told during the executive session which preceded the meeting. Pennsylvania’s Open Meetings law precludes discussion of or deliberation on replacing elected officials at meetings closed to the public.

“I’m shocked,” board member Colleen Zasowski said.

The school board must choose a replacement within 30 days, according to the school code, and the replacement must live in Region 3, which is comprised of the boroughs of Royersford and Spring City as well as the southern portion of Limerick Township.

Sullivan has been a board member since December 2019 and her replacement will serve until the end of her term, December of 2023.

Wright thanked Mrs. Sullivan for her service to the district and said, “I’m sure I speak for all the board, which I rarely do, in saying that we feel the loss of Mrs. Sullivan as part of the board.”

During the meeting, the board debated how to proceed and the qualifications required. Wendy Earle was surprised to discover the appli

cant need be only 18 and have lived in the district’s Region 3 for one year. “To go to work at the YMCA you have to pass a background check to work with children,” she said.

Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest and a resume. Interested applicants should include any information they feel helps support their application to serve as a board member, according to an announcement from the district.

Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Electronic (email) applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. and should be sent to Laurie Bickert, Board Secretary, at lbick@spring-ford.net.

Hand-delivered or mailed applications will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. and should be submitted to Spring-Ford Area School District, Administration Building, Attn: Board Secretary Laurie Bickert, at 857 S. Lewis Road, Royersford, PA 19468.

The board will hold a special meeting on Monday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m. to interview the candidates and vote on filling the vacancy. Interested applications must be present inperson for the interview.

In the past, appointments to fill a board vacancy have not always gone smoothly, said board member Clinton Jackson, who went through this process in 2014 before he was elected by the voters.

“When I did it, the board was split and it ended up going to court,” Jackson said.

In March 2014, two months after the vacancy opened up, Montgomery County Court Judge Bernard A. Moore granted Jackson’s petition to fill the SpringFord Area School Board’s empty Region II seat.

If the 30 days expire without the board choosing a replacement, anyone eligible person over 18 in Region 3 can petition a judge to be appointed, Jackson said.

“This is an interesting turn of events,” resident Kim Anderson told the board during the public comment which followed. “I just want you to know I will be an advocate of appointing people who ran in the last election. I think Tom DiBello lost by 11 votes and he has years of experience,” she said, also mentioning another Republican candidate who lost, Tom McMonigle, as a possibility.