By Gabbie Burton
Contributing Writer

The Oxford Area School Board held a special meeting on Aug. 20 to elect Andrew Atkinson as its newest board member, filling a vacant seat on the board left by Kaitlin Bell.

The meeting began with an impassioned public comment hearing from community members endorsing or disapproving of the potential candidates. The board then officially accepted the resignation of Bell before moving on to the new candidate nominations.

Two nominations were put forward for approval by the board: Atkinson and Connie Mola-Gerlach, who were each asked the same questions from school board President Jenifer Warren: Why they were interested in the position; what they felt the greatest challenges facing public education and the Oxford Area School District were; and how they saw themselves working as a team member. Current board members also had the opportunity to ask additional clarifying questions of either candidate after their initial questioning.

After questioning concluded, Atkinson was voted onto the board by a 4-3 vote. The “aye” votes for Atkinson came from Warren, Debbie Vendrick, William Kloss and Tenille Dewees, while the ‘nays’ came from Mike Blessington, Jennifer Kehs and Mark Patterson.

In an interview with the Chester County Press, Atkinson shared why he expressed interest in filling the vacant position on the school board. As a parent of children in the school district, Atkinson said that he kept updated on school board developments and was encouraged to apply to fill the vacancy by friends and family, and that his goal as board member is to be a good team player and listen to people both on and off the board about their concerns for the schools.

“I feel like I’m pretty level headed and I have friends on all sides of the political aisle so I thought, ‘Why not put my name in and see what happens?’” Atkinson said.

Atkinson said that his family has lived in the area since 1986 and that he has been a homeowner in Oxford since 2005. Atkinson’s background is in education, and he has been a government teacher at Avon Grove High School since 2002. Atkinson also previously served on the Oxford Borough Council from 2007-2011.

The Oxford Area School Board will hold their next work session meeting on Sept. 10 and their regular meeting on Sept. 17.