Phoenixville Board Member Resigns, $10M Borrowed

Photo by Evan Brandt

MIGHTY MATHEMATICIAN: Leah Kerry, an eighth grader at Phoenixville Area Middle School, not only earned the best score in the school on the AMC Grade 8 Math Competition, she also was named to the contest's honor roll, meaning she scored among the top 5 percent nationwide, her principal, Frank Garritano, right, told the Phoenixville School Board Thursday night.

The Phoenixville Area School Board unanimously accepted the resignation of board member Michael Ellis at last night's school board meeting.

Ellis was a board member since 2015.

A press release issued by the school district gave no reason for the resignation, but noted "the Board of School Directors sincerely appreciates Mr. Ellis’ dedication to all of the stakeholders of the Phoenixville Area School District, and wishes him the very best in his future endeavors."

School Board President Lisa Longo said she would like the vacant seat to be filled by Feb. 15.

Toward that end, those interested in applying for the seat should have a letter of interest at the office of Superintendent Alan Fegley by Monday, Feb. 5.

To apply, you need only be 18 years old, of good moral character and a resident of the school district for at least one year.

The board will conduct public interviews of the applicants at its Feb. 8 meeting and a vote on a replacement for Ellis will take place that night after the interviews are concluded.

Whomever is chosen will serve into December of 2019.

The other major event that occurred Thursday night was a vote to sell bonds worth $9,950,000 that had been put up to auction online earlier in the day. The auction was won by Janney Montgomery Scott, which will earn an interest rate of 3.15 percent.

That rate is lower than the one predicted in October when the measure was reviewed by the school board, said Jaimie Doyle from Public Finance Management.

There were a total of 29 bids on the bond attracted, perhaps, by the district's AA2 rating financial rating which is good enough to not require bond insurance, Doyle said.

Stanley Johnson, the district's director of operations, said the bond is essentially paying the district back for money it lent itself from its general fund, about $6 million of which was used in the construction of the new Manavon Elementary School, and the other $4 million for the expansion and security project at the high school.

The bonds can be paid back no- sooner than May 15, 2023.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting: