Derry Area School Board is looking to appoint an eligible resident to a vacant seat on the panel after a board member’s resignation.

The board also is planning to hire a new secondary-level administrator following the recent departure of the high school principal for a position at another district.

The district is asking those who are interested in temporarily filling the vacant board seat to submit a letter of interest by 4 p.m. June 24 to Scott Chappell, board secretary, via email at schappell@dasd.us or in person at the district administration building.

The board is planning a special meeting at 6:45 p.m. on June 30 to interview applicants and vote on the appointment.

The appointee will fill a seat vacated by Kevin Liberoni, whose resignation was accepted effective June 3.

Liberoni was in the midst of his 18th year on the board, in his second stint as a Derry Area school director. He served on the finance and athletic committees.

Voters on Nov. 4 will elect a candidate to serve out the remaining two years of his latest term.

In a message posted on the Derry Area website, Chappell indicated the school board won’t consider appointing anyone who is seeking election to the board on the Nov. 4 ballot because the district “cannot express interest or show favoritism toward any individual.”

He added that the district also ”cannot support or deny anyone’s ability to be elected via a write-in campaign during the upcoming election.”

Liberoni told TribLive he resigned in part out of frustration at being in the minority in many school board votes. He said he disagreed with the way the board has pursued some policy changes, suggesting it was “trying to fix things that aren’t broken.”

In November, party nominees for the two-year school board term will join others on the ballot who received nods for four four-year terms that are up for grabs.

In addition to incumbents Nancy Findish and Steve Frye, who were the only listed candidates on the primary ballots, fellow incumbent Josh Campbell received enough write-in votes to capture both Democratic and Republican nominations.

Mark Galimberti appeared to win the remaining Democratic nomination and Chad McIntire the final GOP slot, through write-in voting.

Derry Area agreed to advertise for candidates for a restructured administrative post: secondary associate principal for grades 6-8, with an anticipated July 1 start date.

It’s part of a reshuffling that has included naming Lisa Vinkler-Dubich, former middle school principal, to the newly designated position of secondary principal, at a salary of $125,000. Mike Arone, former middle school/high school associate principal, will now be the secondary associate principal for grades 9-12.

The staff moves follow the recent resignation of high school Principal Kara Gardner. She resigned, effective June 30, to take on the role of first assistant superintendent at Greensburg Salem School District. at a salary of $129,500.

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