School board leaders trade positions
COUNCIL ROCK– The more things change, the more they stay the same. While Kyle McKessy and Wendi Thomas will continue to occupy the top two positions on the Council Rock School Board, they essentially traded seats Thursday night as the board went through its annual reorganization.
For the past two years, McKessy and Thomas served as the board’s president and vice president, respectively. After a lone nomination for president and a flurry of activity surrounding the nomination for vice president, the two veteran board members ended up in each other’s job. Thomas is now the president, with McKessy the vice president.
Thomas was appointed by an 8-1 vote, with Bernadette Heenan voting no.
Despite three different nominations, McKessy ended up with the VP seat. Bill Foster nominated Richard Abramson, which was followed quickly by Jerold Grupp’s nomination of McKessy. Abramson withdrew his name from consideration, spurring Foster to nominate Patty Sexton. Sexton then followed Abramson’s lead and withdrew from consideration. Ultimately,
Wendi Thomas McKessy was appointed by a 6-3 vote, with Foster, Heenan and Sexton voting no.
None of this came as a surprise to the new president.
“I’m not surprised, but this is not something I was necessarily seeking,” Thomas said. “I’m happy to be president. The president takes the lead if there are problems, but ultimately we all work together.”
Addressing a topic resident Nancy Carroll brought forth during public comment regarding transparency, Thomas pledged to continue doing board business out in the open, for all to see.
“We’ve always been a transparent board,” Thomas said. “I plan on continuing that. It’s important for the board to be transparent.”
Thomas said the work she and her eight board mates will be doing is more of a continuation of what’s been going on in the district.
“I feel there’s been a great deal of good work done these last few years,” Thomas said, “and I’m looking forward to continuing with those things. We have some tough financial years ahead of us and we need to approach them aggressively.”
McKessy echoed Thomas’s sentiments, including the lack of surprise at the evening’s outcome.
“I knew I wouldn’t be president, and that’s great with me,” McKessy said. “Change is good. We’re all equal in importance anyway.”
The president-turned-vice president referenced work to be done by soon-to-be- formed committees as especially important as Council Rock moves forward. She said these committees will address topics such as facilities, facilities use and enrollment.
The vote and process that led up to it was drama-free. The only extended discussion took place when it came time for the board to approve long-time Council Rock School Board solicitor Eastburn and Gray, P.C.
While the board’s reorganization was required by Pennsylvania State Law Thursday night, the appointment – or reappointment – of a board solicitor was not. Grupp took that opportunity to suggest doing a little research.
“I’d prefer not to vote on it tonght,” Grupp said. “Maybe we should explore what else is in the marketplace.” Grupp stressed that he had no specific problems with how the firm has handled board business.
Board member Bernadette Heenan added, “This might be a viable opportunity to look at costs.”
Serving as solicitor and representative of his firm at the meeting, Robert Cox confirmed that the board was under no obligation to officially confirm its continuing relationship with Eastburn and Gray. He did make one promise.
“vou’re not required to vote on this tonight,” Cox said. “It’s not in the school code. But I can assure you that Eastburn and Gray will not raise its rates at all in the coming year.”
At that, the board appointed the firm in an 8-1 vote, with Grupp the lone dissenter.