Penn Hills School Board vice president has resigned, letters of interest accepted

Penn Hills School Board Vice President Yusef Thompson Sr. has resigned.

The board accepted his resignation Tuesday night.

President Erin Vecchio thanked the first-term Democrat for his service to the district.

“He’ll be missed, and good luck to him,” Vecchio said.

Board member Rob Marra said Thompson was an active contributor and served well on the board.

“He participated,” Marra said. “He showed up. I think he was good and expressed himself.”

Marra said he does not know why Thompson stepped down.

Thompson, 46, had one year remaining on this four-year seat. He did not respond to calls seeking comment.

He said goodbye to his colleagues via resignation letter, but it did not give a reason for his departure.

“As much as it pains me to say this, but I must resign from my position on the Penn Hills School Board,” Thompson’s letter read. “I appreciate the time I spent on the board and the people I met, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Thank you for the opportunity to serve on the board, and I wish everyone well.”

The vacancy is expected to be posted on the district website later this month.

Letters of interest will be accepted through Dec. 9 at the district office, 260 Aster St.

The board plans to appoint its new member at a special meeting 6 p.m. Dec. 15.

“Hopefully we’ll get some interest from the community and people who want to get involved,” Marra said. “I don’t have any particular person in mind. We need to get more involvement from the community.”

Thompson is the second school board member to resign in as many months.

Kristopher Wiegand stepped down from his elected post in October to spend more time with his family.

Resident Marisa Jamison was appointed to Wiegand’s seat on Oct. 28.

Board members Meryl Thomas and Elizabeth Rosemeyer at the time questioned the speediness of Jamison’s appointment citing district policy 004, which states a board vacancy will be published in the district’s website for seven days.

Wiegand’s resignation was accepted at a special meeting Oct. 21.

A post about the vacancy and how to submit letters of interest was published on the district’s website Oct. 26. The deadline to submit letters was the following day.

Vecchio said that policy has not been followed for more than a decade, and they needed a full board to address various district matters, including the ever-changing covid-19 safety regulations.

The board president maintained that position with Thompson’s vacancy, but the holidays now play a role.

“We’re not taking more time,” Vecchio said. “It’s that we have more time because of the holidays. It puts me in a predicament that he resigned because I need a full board with everything that’s going on with this pandemic. We have a holiday this week and we have Christmas coming up. I can’t ask them to come in for the holiday season.”

The board has 30 days to appoint a new member. If they can’t decide on someone, an Allegheny County Common Pleas judge may name someone.