East Stroudsburg Area School District swears in four directors, elects board leadership and reassigns committees

Chris Brown, the district solicitor, read certificates from the County Board of Elections certifying George C. Andrews, Jason (listed in the certificates as Jason a Golstrand), Richard Shlamis and Shanika Story as duly elected school directors at large for the East Stroudsburg Area School District. "So you have been officially elected," Brown said as he presented the documents and introduced the official administering the oath.

The Hon. John Mark of the Court of Common Pleas administered the oath of office to the newly elected directors; the oath was recited aloud as part of the ceremony. After roll call, the board approved a motion to confirm the list of elected and certified school board members and adopted the meeting agenda by voice vote.

During the reorganization votes, the board selected its leadership for the coming year. Nominations were opened and closed for president; Mike Catrillo was elected by voice vote to a one-year term that will run through the next reorganization meeting in December 2026. The board also confirmed a vice president by voice vote (meeting records show varying spellings for the vice president nominee in the transcript; the individual is recorded in the meeting as Jason).

The board handled several routine appointments: it named representatives to the Monroe Career and Technical Institute (MCTI) joint operating committee (approving Jason and George as district representatives and confirming Keith to continue through his stated term). The board appointed Shanika Story and Rebecca Baer as alternate members to the MCTI committee and reappointed Helene S. Lancia as the district representative to the Monroe Area Vocational Technical School Authority for a term beginning Dec. 2, 2025 and expiring in 2030.

Board members reappointed Rich (recorded in the meeting as Richard Shlamis) as the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) liaison for the coming year and named a district representative to the EBT trust; Shanika Story was nominated and confirmed as that representative. During the EBT discussion members noted the trust meets quarterly and oversees health-insurance cost-sharing and prescription-drug provisions for participating districts.

The board approved committee rosters and chairs for the coming year. Finance committee membership was set, with Rebecca Baer appointed chair and additional members added during discussion (members and chairs were approved by motion and voice votes). Property & Facilities, Policy, and Education Programs & Resources committees were likewise staffed, and chairs were confirmed.

Members spent substantial time clarifying the cadence and location of committee meetings for December and January because the administration center will be closed for renovations in January. After discussion the board adopted a regular pattern (property & facilities the first Wednesday, EPR the first Thursday, finance the second Monday, and policy in odd months before the board meeting) and decided to cancel several committee meetings in January because of the renovation and holiday schedule. Finance will meet virtually in January on the second Monday to allow timely budget discussion.

Most procedural actions were carried by voice vote with no roll-call tally recorded in the public transcript. The public portion of the meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn and an announcement that the board would enter executive session.

What’s next: the board will distribute the finalized committee rosters and dates in a briefing and expect committee agendas to be set at the committees’ next meetings. Several items (for example the program of studies and ninth-grade science curriculum referenced in committee discussion) were flagged for follow-up and possible action at the January board meeting.