The Scranton School Board reorganized Tuesday, with the new-look board electing Director Tom Borthwick president and retaining Director Danielle Chesek as vice president.
Scranton Superintendent Erin Keating, Ed.D., opened the reorganization meeting by welcoming Directors Joe Brazil and Carol Cleary to the board, and welcoming back Chesek and Director Jenna Strzelecki as they begin new terms. Brazil, Cleary, Chesek and Strzelecki were elected or reelected to the school board in early November and took their oaths of office Tuesday.
Brazil, a retired district chief information officer, is new to the board, while Cleary, who was previously appointed a Scranton school director in January 2022 and served until December 2023, won back a position on the nine-member body. Chesek, the incumbent board vice president, won a second four-year term. Strzelecki, who was appointed to a vacant board seat in late April, won a full term.
Cleary and Brazil replace former board President Ty Holmes, who did not seek reelection this year, and former Director Sean McAndrew, who ran for and won a seat on Scranton City Council in November’s election.
Keating highlighted Holmes’ and McAndrew’s contributions to the district and board, including during the district’s time in financial recovery. The state Department of Education placed the district in financial recovery in 2019, but Scranton exited the program in January 2023 and entered a monitoring phase.
“Both men to me have been an integral part of my superintendency … as I head into my third year, but also both men have been an integral part to the continued success of the Scranton School District,” Keating said of Holmes and McAndrew. “They served while we were in recovery, and then were part of the team that moved us into monitoring to ensure that the district exited recovery. Not only can I sit on stage and say they are great leaders, but they are genuinely good people who have continued to support our students and our staff.”
New board president
After Keating’s remarks and the swearing-in of the election winners, the board voted 8-1, with Director Catherine Fox opposed, to make Borthwick board president. He was the only director nominated by his colleagues for the leadership role.
“First of all, thank you,” Borthwick said. “I want to thank all my colleagues for their faith in me. I want to thank the administration for all the great work that they’ve done. I want to thank our teachers and our staff for making the district what it is. And I want to especially thank … former President Holmes and Sean McAndrew. They’ve been excellent to work with.”
Borthwick, who was previously appointed to the board in February 2019 but failed to win a full term later that year, ultimately did so in 2023. The new board president reflected Tuesday on challenges the district faced and progress it’s made while also thanking local legislators for fighting in Harrisburg for more funding for the district and its students.
“And guess what? With those funds and with that change, we’ve been building,” Borthwick said. “We have brought back preschool, something that we fought for. Our libraries are in the budget, to start rebuilding them. We brought back the middle school schedule with more music and arts classes for our kids. These are the things that enrich children’s lives, and we have an opportunity as a board to continue that work.”
The vote to keep Chesek as board vice president was unanimous. She was the only director nominated for that role prior to the 9-0 vote.
Video of Tuesday’s reorganization meeting is available on the district’s YouTube channel.