Upper Darby School Board appoints Diamond Gibbs to fill vacant director seat

The Upper Darby School District School Board appointed Diamond Gibbs to fill a board vacancy left when Director Veil Desnoyersresigned effective May 29, 2025. The board voted by roll call during its June meetings after holding closed interview sessions with two applicants.

The appointment follows the districtposting the vacancy in the Delaware County Times and accepting applications until noon on June 13, 2025. Under Pennsylvania law and the districtpolicy invoked at the meeting, the board has exclusive authority to fill the seat for up to 30 days; the appointee will serve only until the winner of the November 2025 municipal election is seated at the December 2025 reorganizational meeting.

The board interviewed two applicants in public, following a process the board outlined: each applicant had up to three minutes for opening remarks, each board member asked one prepared question, and public observers were allowed but were not permitted to interject during the interviews. The applicants were interviewed in the order the district received their applications.

Diamond Gibbs, a 2016 Upper Darby High School graduate who told the board she is the founder of the grassroots initiative The Only Pipeline, said she is "very much so driven when it comes to working with youth, especially those who have been justice impacted," and emphasized community engagement and school safety during her interview. Michael Fortner, the other applicant and a classroom assistant and substitute teacher in the district, described his experience as both a parent of a child with special needs and a school employee and said the board "need[s] to work across our party lines to give our students the education they crave and deserve." Both applicants answered questions from board members about priorities such as teacher support, class size and career-technical education options.

Board Member Don Fields moved to nominate Diamond Gibbs at the voting meeting; the roll-call vote recorded six ayes (Pia Centini Kao; Mr. Hussain; Mr. Fields; Miss Glenn; Vice President Britney Williams; Miss Murphy Mercy) and one nay (Deborah Williams). The board then administered the Oath of Office and noted the appointeewill hold the seat through the December 2025 reorganizational meeting, when the winner of the November municipal election will be seated.

Board officials reiterated procedural points discussed earlier in the special meeting: the vacancy advertisement ran for three days in the Delaware County Times, the deadline was June 13, and applicants were to be reviewed in application order. The board also reminded the public that the seat the board filled is temporary, per Pennsylvania law.

Public commenters included one applicant, Michael Fortner, who later asked procedural questions about another agenda item; no motions or challenges to the appointment were recorded in the transcript.

The board did not take additional substantive action related to the appointment beyond the nomination, roll-call vote and administering the oath. The board will continue normal monthly and committee meeting business as scheduled.