Four North Huntingdon residents — including a former Norwin School District employee and a Westmoreland Intermediate Unit 7 administrator — are seeking a judicial appointment to fill a vacancy on the Norwin School Board that will be open for about six weeks.
The four candidates seeking an appointment from the Westmoreland County judges at an Oct. 16 hearing are George C. Blissman III, Emily Gindlesperger, Michelle Lauffer and Matthew P. Thomas. During the hearing, the judges will allow the candidates to state their case for being selected to serve the remainder of the term of the late Joanna Jordan, who died Aug. 1.
Blissman is a retired special agent with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector. Gindlesperger is president of the Pennsylvania Association of Parents of Blind Children and is a member of North Huntingdon’s Civil Service commission.
Lauffer was an administrative applications analyst providing technical support for Norwin’s student information system. Thomas is the student services director for the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit, a former principal at Ferndale Area High School near Johnstown and a past member of the Westmont Hilltop School Board. Thomas also is one of 10 candidates running for one of five seats on the Norwin board in the Nov. 7 election.
The appointee will be able to sit on the board for only the Nov. 13 meeting, unless a special board meeting is called later this month or in November. The newly constituted school board with the five members elected Nov. 7 will take office during the Dec. 4 reorganization meeting.
The decision to fill the vacancy fell to the judges because the remaining eight members of the divided school board could not agree on giving any of the four candidates the position.
When the board failed to give any candidate a majority of the votes, five residents petitioned Westmoreland County Court last month to make the appointment.
Gindlesperger is the only candidate for the judicial appointment who also sought the appointment by the school board. Gindlesperger’s petition to the court to fill the vacancy was supported by directors Robert Wayman and Alex Detschelt, two of the four board members who voted for her.
Blissman signed Thomas’ petition and Thomas returned the favor.
