JACKSON TWP — The Seneca Valley School Board appointed a new member to fill a vacant seat at its meeting Monday night.

The board voted 7-0 to appoint Leslie Bredl of Cranberry to serve out the rest of the term that Jeanette Lahm left vacant when she resigned in June. School board Vice President Eric DiTullio was absent from the meeting.

Her term as an appointed member of the school board will end in December, but she may join the school board as an elected official.

Bredl ran unopposed and won the Democratic and Republican nominations for that school board seat in the May primary election.

Bredl has three children, two are Seneca Valley graduates and one is a rising junior in the school district. She works at Westinghouse Electric.

Jody Erdos, of Cranberry, also interviewed for the open seat. Erdos is a pediatric physical therapist with Pittsburgh Public Schools and has two children in the district.

Bredl said after several years of volunteering with various booster groups, clubs and parent-teacher organizations, she wanted to further give back to the district that she says has given her children so much.

“We lived in a neighboring district and we made the decision when my oldest was in kindergarten to look around,” she said. “We really fell in love with Seneca.”

When asked about the perceived return on investment from the district weighed against the increasing tax rate, Bredl said she felt she got a good return on investment from the school.

Bredl said while you must tread lightly when considering raising taxes, “if you don't move forward, then you only continue to move backward further and further.”

Erdos said she would bring a unique perspective to the board as both a parent and someone who has worked alongside educators through her job.

Erdos said after growing up in Pittsburgh and being able to give back to that community through her job, she wanted to give back more to her home community.

“I would love the opportunity to now give my time and effort to where I call home,” Erdos said. “Everything is always challenging. Education also needs to be evolving all the time so our students can continue to keep up with what is going on in society.”

While she did not have as many volunteer activities in the community under her belt as Bredl, Erdos had supervisory experience at work and led programs and committees through her job.

Bredl will be formally sworn in at the school board's August meeting.