Jack Bova OK'd as new member of Gateway School Board during a special meeting

Jack Bova will fill a vacant seat on the Gateway School Board.

Bova, who previously was on the school board from 2018-2019, will serve a term through the first Monday of December 2023. He will be sworn in during a study session meeting Nov. 9.

“I’m pretty excited, actually,” said Bova, who is a member of the Pitcairn council. “It was a completely different kind of feel than being on council, I think, probably because of the scope of what the school board deals with. (I’m) looking forward to doing what I can to advance the district as much as possible in the next two years.”

Bova was approved by a 7-1 vote during a special meeting on Oct. 25. Board member Robin Mungo, who declined to comment, was the lone dissenting vote.

Bova said he will step down from his council position Oct. 26, as required by state law.

The vacancy came when the Rev. Scott Gallagher resigned from his seat during a meeting Sept. 27. He was in the second year of his first four-year term on the school board.

Board president Brian Goppman said that he was sad that Gallagher resigned but happy that the spot has been filled.

“With Jack Bova, he comes with experience,” Goppman said. “He was on the board with us a little bit ago. He did great work. We’re happy to have him back on and looking forward to working with him.”

Following Gallagher’s resignation, nine people submitted letters indicating interest in the vacant seat. Director Rick McIntyre said the connections Bova established while on the board helped him separate from others.

“There were multiple candidates with experience, some with actually more experience than Mr. Bova,” McIntyre said. “But I think just the personal relationships that we’ve all developed with Jack, a good number of us have developed with Jack having worked with him on the board, I think is probably what pushed him over the top.”

Director Mary Beth Cirucci shared a similar reaction.

“He is one of the best board members I’ve ever worked with,” Cirucci said. “He was always level-headed; (a) sound decision-maker and never had a personal agenda. He will also provide some representation on the school board for Pitcairn, which is another good bonus.”

The board discussed the vacancy and appointment of Bova in groups of no more than four in order to avoid violating the Sunshine Act, which requires agencies to deliberate and take official action on agency business in an open and public meeting.

The meeting Monday was held virtually on Zoom. It was also broadcast on the Gateway School District YouTube channel. This gave the opportunity for the board members to discuss amongst themselves and the convenience of meeting virtually for the vote.

“The board was really never supposed to discuss this in what’s called a plenary or executive session,” director John Ritter said during the meeting. “The board found a way with only a few members here and there and not as a group, which would violate the Sunshine Act. We made a deliberate point not to violate the Sunshine Act and not to deliberate, but to talk about it amongst ourselves in small pockets. That’s how we proceeded to this candidate.”

Bova was originally appointed to the school board after former Gateway Director Steve O’Donnell resigned April 4, 2018. When that term expired at the end of 2019, he ran for the seat on Pitcairn council.

Bova had previously served 12 years on the Pitcairn council before joining the Gateway School Board in 2018.

“My two years that I was on the board before suggested that I could pay attention to the needs of the school district in total, but also not forget about Pitcairn,” Ritter said.