Candi Kruse was appointed president of the Southern Lehigh School Board, and recently ousted president Emily Gehman returned to board leadership as vice president following Tuesday\u2019s reorganization meeting.<\/p>\n
Kruse, who had been board vice president, won a unanimous voice vote to assume the presidency after Gehman declined her own nomination.<\/p>\n
The leadership change Tuesday night came as four new board members \u2014 all of them Democrats, who swept the November election<\/a> over a slate of Republicans that included two incumbents \u2014 took their seats on the board.<\/p>\n Incoming board member Kimberly Jaramillo nominated Gehman for president. Gehman, who had been elected temporary president to preside over the nomination process, thanked those who reached out to her in recent days to offer support before declining the nomination.<\/p>\n Gehman then thanked Kruse for her previous service as board vice president and nominated her to take the helm. That set off a wave of support for Kruse.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was never my intent to serve as president for as long as I have,\u201d Gehman said, \u201cnor was it my intent to pursue \u2014 it\u2019s been an interesting few years, right? It was my intent to see us through that transition, but it has always been my focus to build a bench of board leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n Gehman\u2019s heated, public arguments with then-Superintendent Michael Mahon preceded his placement on administrative leave in February<\/a>. Board members ousted Gehman as president in a contentious June meeting<\/a> before approving a nearly $250,000 separation agreement with Mahon<\/a> at the end of July.<\/p>\n The board also approved a $215,000 separation agreement with former human resources director Ethan Ake-Little<\/a>, who had filed harassment and discrimination claims against Mahon. Board members opposed to Gehman questioned her role in investigating those claims and accused her of breaking confidentiality. A Morning Call investigation into the district\u2019s legal bills revealed nearly $200,000 in charges that appear related to those claim investigations<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the close of the meeting, veteran board member Melissa Torba recognized Gehman and thanked her for declining the nomination for president.<\/p>\n \u201cThat took a lot to decline, and your service and what you bring to the table cannot be overlooked,\u201d Torba said.<\/p>\n Torba then called on the board to take seriously violations of policies that govern authority and powers, organization, meetings and fraud investigations.<\/p>\n \u201cOtherwise it\u2019s the wild, wild West,\u201d Torba said. \u201cI look forward to this team of nine moving forward with the best interest of the district, working with the district, not against the district, maintaining the rules and the policies that we do govern ourselves by.\u201d<\/p>\n During the meeting, Torba nominated fellow veteran board member Eric Boyer for vice president.<\/p>\n Boyer, who works in storm support for PPL, said he would love to take on the position but declined, saying, \u201cObviously my job sometimes comes a little bit first on nights like this, so I don\u2019t know if I could do diligence sometimes when the weather calls.\u201d<\/p>\n Jaramillo then nominated Gehman for vice president. Gehman and Kruse voted yes, joined by Jaramillo and fellow new board members Luis Melecio and Josh Rager. Incoming board member Chris Sykora voted no. Boyer and Torba abstained. Veteran board member Tim Kearney was absent.<\/p>\n Melecio was the sole nominee and won a unanimous voice vote to take on the role of treasurer vacated after Christopher Wayock\u2019s election loss. Melecio also won appointment to the Lehigh Career & Technical Institute advisory board.<\/p>\n Outgoing board member Nicole King, who did not run for re-election, was the sole speaker during public comment.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the challenges, division and unproductive conflicts that have weighed on this board, I am proud of the good work that has been done \u2014 work that truly made a difference for our students and community,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n King said new board members are stepping into roles that matter more than they realize.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a real progress already in motion \u2014 progress that took patience and collaboration,\u201d King said. \u201cPlease don\u2019t lose sight of that. Don\u2019t let personal disagreements, narcissistic personalities or noise drown out the mission that brought you here. Stay rooted in what is really right for the students, not what\u2019s convenient or popular or what you\u2019re told to do. Think for yourselves. This district has already endured enough division. You have a chance right now to choose a better path, to protect what\u2019s been built, to improve it, and to lead with maturity, respect and purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n