Rev. Waldemar "Wally" Vinovskis, of Concordia Lutheran Church, Macungie, took the vacant East Penn school director's seat during a special meeting Nov. 11 prior to the school board's regular meeting.

The remaining candidates included Paul Champagne, Chris Donatelli, George Doughty, Scott Forbes, Anthony Guerrero, Jamie Hughes, Amy Miller, John Reynard, Terry Richwine, Michael Siegel, Catherine Sarver, Trevor Schneck and Ann Thompson.

Of the 14 candidates, three had served on school board in the past: Thompson, Sarver and Richwine.

Each candidate was given the opportunity to respond to three questions selected at random from those submitted by the board:

ŸWhat strengths as a person would you bring to the East Penn School Board?

ŸAs a potential school board director, what do you think PSBA should do to take care of the underfunding of Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System?

ŸIf appointed, will you run in the next election in 2015?

Vinovskis responded to the latter, "All things being equal, I would want to continue if I were appointed. I hate politics and the process of going through elections, but I live to serve and if I were appointed I would want to continue."

Regarding charter schools, Vinovskis allowed he is in favor of alternative education and acknowledged their benefits, but recognized the challenge in funding them.

"It's not fair," he told the board. "In all situations they aren't better. In many they're substandard. The concept is good and right but the application doesn't always play out the best."

Vinovskis considered his strengths to include the various capacities in which he has volunteered for the district and other nonprofit boards, his "ability to analyze difficult situations and be forward-looking in looking for different solutions."

Vinovskis began with the Take Back Our Children Initiative in 2003. He was part of the parent organization at Macungie's Eyer Middle School where his children attended and participated in the tax study commission of 2007. He also served on the steering committee for the Strategic Plan of 2008 which developed the vision and mission statements in place for the district.

The real challenge, he says, will be in the classroom. Vinovskis wants to leave behind a legacy of successful graduates. He expressed warm admiration for the teachers he has worked alongside as a volunteer.

"If I were not appointed tonight it would not have changed anything," Vinovskis said of his involvement with the district.

He was involved in the search that hired Dr. Tom Seidenberger as superintendent, and as a new search commences soon with Seidenberger's impending retirement, Vinovskis says he will just be sitting on the other side of the table this time.

The board eliminated candidates in four rounds of voting, each time with Vinovskis leading with Earnshaw, Fuller and Ballard's votes. Donatelli came in second in all four rounds with Michael Policano and Lynn Donches. Champagne came in with two votes in each of the first three rounds, from Rebecca Heid and Kevin Bacher. In round four, Bacher and Samuel Rhodes switched their vote to Vinovskis.

Policano, who sat in his last district meeting Monday night, was recognized for his service with a few words from Vice President Alan Earnshaw at the close of the regular meeting. "I appreciate this," Policano said. "I enjoyed working on the board for four years, I enjoyed working with Dr. Seidenberger…and I wish the board the best of success in the future."

The business of the regular board meeting was quick. Seidenberger discussed briefly his rising concerns regarding enrollment in the coming year as new developments and housing construction continues throughout the district. Some 97 homes in the Lockridge area are already sold, said Seidenberger, and he is confident these are families with students who will affect enrollment. The superintendent said the board will have to address the issue soon, possibly in the next board meeting.

When it came time to approve the district's budget transfers, Donches requested the administration look into producing a more detailed report involving the amounts of transfers, the associated account codes, descriptions and the reason corresponding with each transaction. Earnshaw responded the administration would take it under advisement.

The next board meeting will be a reorganizational meeting held Tuesday, Dec. 3.