Despite an attempt to table the decision and allegations the vote was taken illegally, Said "Cy" Douaihy became the newest member of the Scranton School Board on Friday night.
Mr. Douaihy, a retired Scranton history and government teacher and current adjunct professor at the University of Scranton, will serve the term of board President Sean O'Shea, who resigned Tuesday because of responsibilities with a new job with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. With a deadline of less than 48 hours, 13 people applied for the vacancy.
"We're all on the same team," Mr. Douaihy, 66, of Grandview Street, said after his appointment. "It's all about our kids."
Also at the special meeting Friday, Nathan Barrett was elected president and Bob Sheridan became vice president.
But if it's up to Director Kathleen McGuigan, all action taken Friday night will be void. Mrs. McGuigan, who on Thursday questioned why people were being given less than two days to submit letters and résumés, said because the meeting notice that appeared in The Times-Tribune did not specifically state the board was to accept Mr. O'Shea's resignation, the board could not do so. Thus, the board could not appoint a replacement.
Pennsylvania School Code states that any business to be conducted at a special meeting must be specified beforehand. Board Solicitor John Minora said because the legal notice stated that a person would be appointed, it was implied that Mr. O'Shea's resignation would be accepted.
After the meeting, Mrs. McGuigan said she planned to take the matter to court.
Applicants
People were given until 4 p.m. Friday to apply for the vacancy. Applicants were: David R. Elliott, James J. McGough, Anthony Pamelia, Mark McAndrew, Thomas McCafferty, Susan Patte, James Freethy, Cathy Harrington, Kevin Manley, Carol Cleary, Thomas Schuster, Michael M. Sheridan, and Mr. Douaihy.
Mr. Sheridan is the former CEO of the district, and four of the applicants are running in May's primary election: Mr. Douaihy, Mr. Manley, Mr. McAndrew and Mr. Schuster.
After several applicants spoke, Mr. Shrive made a motion to table the vote to allow more time for the board to review applicants' information and to give a chance for more people to apply.
"I don't see what the rush is," said Mr. Shrive, whose motion was seconded by Mrs. McGuigan but failed.
A motion to appoint Mr. Douaihy passed 5-2, with Mrs. McGuigan and Mr. Shrive voting no. Director Bill Fox was absent.
Presidency vote
After Mr. Douaihy was sworn in by Lackawanna County President Judge Thomas J. Munley, Mrs. McGuigan nominated Mr. Shrive, a local lawyer, to be board president. The vote failed 3-5, with Mrs. McGuigan, Mr. Shrive and Director Armand Martinelli voting yes.
A motion for Mr. Barrett, a Riverside teacher, to be president was approved 6-2, with Mr. Shrive and Mrs. McGuigan voting no. Bob Sheridan became vice president with a 7-1 vote, with Mr. Shrive voting against it.
Mr. Barrett said his goals as president include opening the alternative school planned for the former Lincoln-Jackson Elementary, bringing kids back from cyber charter schools and starting a career pathways program in the sixth grade.
"I'm very proud to be captain of this ship," he said.
Bob Sheridan said he appreciated the trust of his fellow directors.
"I promise to work together with everyone on this board," he said.
Issues with process
Mr. Manley, who applied for the vacant position, said after the meeting he was disappointed with the process.
"I think the board went about it the wrong way, in terms of timing," he said. "I would have given more people the opportunity to at least have the chance."
The board meeting was only two hours after the application deadline, but Mr. Barrett said the school board secretary had emailed scanned information throughout the day. It was not clear whether all board members had reviewed the information prior to the meeting.
Mr. Shrive said he still questions why the board needed to vote on the appointment on Friday, just three days after Mr. O'Shea's resignation. The district had 30 days from the resignation to make an appointment. Mr. Barrett had said several board members would be traveling and it could be 24 days before a meeting could be scheduled.
Instead of appointing someone Friday night, the process by which to appoint someone should have been discussed, Mr. Shrive said.
With previous vacancies the last few years, candidates were given as many as two weeks to submit information and the public learned the names of the applicants days before any vote was taken.
This week's process was never discussed publicly.
"I just feel bad for everyone who put their names in," Mr. Shrive said. "It was a rush job."
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com, @hofiushallTT on Twitter