Mary Waggoner

BUTLER TWP — Mary Waggoner is the newest member of the Butler School Board.

The eight members of the board met face-to-face Monday with nine people who applied for the post. The applicants, who are required to be at least 18 years old and reside in the district, had submitted resumes and responded to a questionnaire before the public interviews.

Waggoner, 56, of Center Township will replace Leland Clark and serve until the end of 2019.

Clark resigned his position last month after announcing that he had taken a job with Dillon, McCandless, Coulter, King & Graham attorneys, who represent the district.

Each candidate Monday had 10 minutes to introduce themselves and answer a couple questions from board members.

Waggoner has a background in education, including spending seven years as a special-education teacher in the Butler district. She and her husband own five Subway restaurants and they are part-owners of the ACE Hardware store in the Greater Butler Mart. She has two children in the district.

“I believe my background and knowledge in business and public education as well as a parent will make me a valued team member on the school board,” she wrote in her responses to the board.

Waggoner also participated in the district's current strategic planning process and applauded the board and administrators for taking the district in a positive direction.

“I do believe the Butler Area School District should be a model of public education in southwestern Pennsylvania,” she told the board Monday night.

Also interviewing were Kristen Fiorina, Gerri Paulisick, Arthur Haag, Greg Rajchel, Jamie Shuster, Scott Covert, Jennifer Daniels-Wells and Tracy Dunton.

At the suggestion of President Nina Teff, board members filled out ballots with their top three choices out of the candidates.

With the votes being weighted, Waggoner was the clear top choice. Her appointment was approved unanimously during the board's regular meeting and solicitor Tom King administered an oath of office.

Rajchel finished second and Paulisick was third.

Several school board members thanked the applicants for their interest and encouraged them to volunteer with the district and consider running in the election next year.

“In my opinion I'm very impressed. These were some high-quality people,” Al Vavro said.