School Board Fills Vacancy

The Bethlehem Area School Board appointed Shannon Patrick to the vacant
Region 2 seat on the board during a special meeeting Monday night.

She will serve until November 2013, when the seat will be put to
general election.

were nominated and seconded by various board
members, though in the first round of voting Patrick received four
votes, applicant David Sanders got the votes of Basilio Bonilla,
Sudantha Vidanage and Aurea Ortiz, while David Weikert received one.

Since the appointment must be approved by a clear majority of the
board or five votes, another round of voting resulted in Patrick
receiving a fifth vote when member Irene Follweiler switched her
support from Weikert.

Board President Michael Faccinetto praised all the candidates and
thanked them for volunteering for the position.

“I think we had three fantastic candidates and the board would be well
served with any of the three,” he said. “It's not an easy decision.
It's agonizing.”

He added that he wasn't sure who he was going to vote for until the
very last minute. Sanders was his original choice, he said, until he
saw Patrick's drive and enthusiasm.

“She reminded me of why I ran for school board myself,” he said,
noting that Patrick also has a young child that will enter the local
school system in a few years.

Patrick was sworn in immediately and joined an executive session of
the board to discuss personnel matters immediately following the
public portion of the meeting.

Of her new position she said, “I'm excited. I'm excited about the challenge.”
The board will next meet in January.