Penn Hills school board member Kristopher Wiegand has resigned.

The board accepted his resignation at a special meeting Wednesday evening.

The district plans to accept letters of interest for the vacant seat through Monday, Oct. 26with the goal of filling it at the board’s meeting Wednesday.

Wiegand said via phone late Wednesday that he was stepping down to spend more time with his family.

“In the past, I have put other things first,” he said. “Right now they need me. I need to put family first. I need to be a dad first and make some changes in my life and do some other things.

”Hopefully, I’m not done working for the community and someday in a couple years I’ll have a chance to pick it back up, but I have to be where I have to be … It’s been a privilege and an honor to work for the people.”

Wiegand’s letter of resignation to the board, which was dated Oct. 13, was posted to the special meeting’s online agenda.

“Serving with you has been a pleasure, and I am proud of all of the progress that we have made for the district over the course of the past three years,” the letter read in part. “I wish you the very best going forward and continued success to our district.”

Wiegand ran for school board in 2017. His term was set to expire in December 2021.

The board accepted his resignation via 7-0 vote. Board member Evelyn Herbert was absent.

“I wish Kris the best and thank him for his service on the board,” board President Erin Vecchio said.

The board has 30 days to fill the vacancy. It it doesn’t, registered district voters can petition a Allegheny County judge to do so.

However, the school board wants to expedite the process and said some people have already reached out for the opportunity.

“We have too much stuff going on,” Vecchio said. “I have to have a full board with everything going on with this covid-19. I want somebody who’s involved and comes to meetings, not somebody who has never come to a meeting.”

The board took only a few weeks last year to fill a vacancy created by the departure of former board president Denise Graham-Shealey. She stepped down in late March to focus on advocacy efforts.

The board filled the seat in mid-April when it appointed Jan Sens, who was one of several incumbents who did not seek reelection.

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