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Pine‑Richland reorganization: Fortier elected board president; Becky named vice president; appointments fill committee seats
Summary
At its Dec. 3 reorganization meeting, the Pine‑Richland School Board swore in newly elected directors, elected Ashley Fortier president (5–3) and Melissa Becky vice president (7–1), approved the 2026 meeting calendar and designated district representatives to several regional committees.
The Pine‑Richland School Board on Dec. 3, 2025 swore in three newly elected directors and completed its annual reorganization, electing Ashley Fortier as board president and naming Melissa Becky vice president.
Fortier won the president’s post in a 5–3 ballot after members nominated two candidates. “I would like to take a moment to acknowledge Phil Morissette’s service as president,” a board member said during the meeting, thanking outgoing president Phil Morissette and welcoming continuing and new members. The board then elected Becky as vice president by a 7–1 vote following nominations and a ballot tally.
The board approved its 2026 meeting schedule, which lists regular and combined meetings at 7 p.m. in the DeWitt Blank Conference Room unless otherwise advertised. One member noted an apparent conflict between the Oct. 19 meeting date and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) conference but the calendar motion passed after discussion.
Administratively, the board voted to designate the Post Gazette as the district’s newspaper of general circulation and authorized the board secretary to obtain stamp facsimiles of officer signatures to affix to approved documents in lieu of handwritten signatures, a procedural step the board approved without extended discussion.
The board also filled several representative roles: Liz Delosa was chosen as the district’s PSBA legislative representative after a 5–4 ballot; Melissa Vekke was named the district representative to the A. W. Beatty Joint Operating Committee by unanimous consent for a two‑year term; Liz Delosa accepted appointment to serve as the Pine Township Parks and Recreation representative for 2026; and Randy Augustine was appointed the board representative to the Food Service Advisory and Wellness Committee for one year. In compliance with Act 32, Chris Jeswick was appointed the district’s voting delegate to the Allegheny North Tax Collection Committee and Mark Kashani the alternate.
The reorganization completed the board’s formal annual housekeeping: swearing in newly elected directors (Liz Delosa, Amy Caffardi and Melissa Becky), electing officers, setting the calendar and naming committee delegates. The board adjourned after a brief late-session public comment period and a reminder about a separate academic achievement and growth report meeting scheduled for the next evening.
Next steps: The board will begin its regular 2026 meeting schedule and representatives will assume their committee duties under the timelines required by each body.
