Vacant school board seat won’t be added to Centre County’s ballot, judge rules
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- Judge rules Centre County will not add Philipsburg school seat to ballots.
- County officials said printed and mailed ballots prevented timely ballot changes.
- District argued vacancy harmed governance; judge said written notice required.
Centre County ballots will remain unchanged for the Nov. 4 election despite a last-minute effort from the Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District, a county judge ruled Friday.
In a seven-page opinion, Centre County Judge Brian Marshall ruled a hurried effort to have a vacant school board seat placed on Philipsburg-area ballots less than two weeks from Election Day could “undermine the integrity of the election process for the entire county.” The decision arrives after the Philipsburg-Osceola district filed an emergency lawsuit Wednesday against Centre County’s elections board in which it said a long-term vacancy would significantly harm its ability to function.
Centre County’s attorney, Morgan Madden, said during Friday morning’s hearing that the facts of the case were not in dispute. Instead, it became a matter of interpreting and applying the law.
“This hasn’t happened before in Centre County,” she said.
In its lawsuit, the school district argued Pennsylvania education law requires the two-year unexpired term for a vacant seat on its board must appear on November’s ballot because the position became vacant more than 60 days before the election. Former school board member Timothy Bainey resigned March 29, leading to Amber Vesnesky’s appointment in April to fill the seat until December, when an elected replacement could take over.
Superintendent Daniel Potutschnig and school board President Richard Wood said in the lawsuit they provided Centre County’s elections board verbal notice of the open seat in March and April, but the county refused to place it on the ballot when the district failed to provide written documentation before the deadline.
Marshall ruled the district “would be reasonably expected to provide written notice” of the vacancy’s existence, particularly in cases when the vacancy occurs so close to Election Day.
“To find the contrary, that verbal notification is sufficient, has the potential to open the floodgates to election fraud, where anyone could verbally contact the Election Office declaring a vacancy and having the vacancy placed on an election ballot,” Marshall wrote.
Centre County Elections Director Melanie Bailey, Elections Coordinator Jodi Nedd and Administrator John Franek Jr. all testified on the county’s behalf Friday. They told Marshall it would be difficult — if not impossible — to issue new ballots before Nov. 4’s election.
In their testimonies, county officials said adding the seat would add tremendous work to their already extensive list of responsibilities leading to Election Day. Madden cited the “significant administrative burden” those efforts could have produced and noted the potential of future lawsuits, while Franek said he was concerned about claims of disenfranchisement due to a last-minute change to the ballot.
Centre County Solicitor Betsy Dupuis wrote in an Oct. 7 email there was “no way” to have the vacant school board seat added to the ballot. Ballots that would be impacted were already finalized and printed, while mail-in ballots were distributed at the end of September.
County officials said nearly 10% of registered voters within the Philipsburg-Osceola’s District 1 — which is represented by the vacant seat — requested absentee or mail-in ballots. Nearly 5% of the electorate has already cast their votes.
Nedd, the elections coordinator, testified that it takes up to two and a half months to prepare ballots in accordance with Pennsylvania’s elections code. Efforts to add a vacant seat to the ballot this close to Election Day would have required county officials to spend a week redesigning the ballot, recall ballots that were already mailed out and destroy any ballots that were already received.
Additionally, due to Pennsylvania’s requirement to host “mock elections” that test and verify the operation of election equipment, county officials would have also needed to essentially remake ballots for all 87 Centre County precincts to effectively change just one ballot in one precinct.
In its lawsuit, the district warned its ability to operate would be immediately harmed if the seat remains off of November’s ballot. A board with only eight members would be susceptible to gridlock, and Pennsylvania law requires a majority vote for nearly every critical decision school boards face.
Without a consensus among its members, the Philipsburg-Osceola school board may be unable to adopt budgets, levy and assess taxes, enter into contracts worth more than $100 or appoint or dismiss superintendents principals and teachers.
Earlier, Dupuis suggested the district leave the seat vacant until 2027’s election, ask a judge to appoint someone for the remainder of the term or seek a special election. Philipsburg-Osceola’s attorney said they were not “appropriate or viable options.”
Centre County’s prospective representation on Philipsburg-Osceola’s school board is unclear as Election Day approaches. No candidates are filed to run for two Centre County-based seats on the ballot, leaving those races for four-year terms to write-in candidates.
Reporter Bret Pallotto contributed to this report.
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