Citing new responsibilities with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Scranton School Board President Sean O'Shea resigned from the board Tuesday night.
In January, just one month after being appointed board president, he became property book sergeant for the 55th Brigade Combat Team. The new full-time position involves long hours and extensive travel that limit the time he can devote to the board, an emotional Mr. O'Shea said at Tuesday's meeting.
"It really is too much," he said. "It's only fair I step down."
Mr. O'Shea was elected to the board in 2011, and at 28 years old, was the youngest board president in at least 40 years.
The board will likely seek applicants for the position and must fill the vacancy within 30 days, said Director Nathan Barrett, who as vice president became acting president Tuesday night. An official decision on how to handle the vacancy has not yet been made.
In other news:
- Hybrid learning is coming to the district. The district entered into an agreement with Penn Foster, the Scranton-based online learning provider, to offer credit recovery, summer and after-school programs and other options to adapt to student learning needs. Many of the specifics have yet to be determined. Penn Foster has 43,000 high school students in its program, and it will cost the district about $800 per student who uses the program.
- The board authorized solicitor John Minora to spend up to 20 hours starting the process of changing an ordinance for traffic violations. Directors want to use a monitoring system from Louisiana-based Bus Shield to issue citations for drivers illegally passing stopped buses. The system, which would be at no cost to the district, would include cameras on bus stop arms. The district and city of Scranton would each get 12 percent of the fine costs. The resolution authorizes Mr. Minora to work with solicitors from the city and PennDOT.
- The following people were appointed: Michelle Bloom and Ida Maconeghy, clerk/LPN; Maureen Williams and Amy Mitchell, clerk; and Matthew Gavern and John Moskwa, custodian/floater.
- The Quandel Group was appointed as construction manager for the Lincoln-Jackson Alternative School project. The final contract has not yet been approved.
- Officials said they are working on a permanent solution to a lack of a playground at John G. Whittier Elementary School. They said it was premature to discuss options publicly, including the purchase of land, but that a solution may be possible soon.
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