The Panther Valley School Board has a new leader.

Director Jeff Markovich was unanimously elected to the position of board president at last night's reorganizational meeting.Director David Hiles, who was appointed to fill the remainder of Wayne Fritzinger's term, after he stepped down to take a position with the State Gaming Commission, was elected president pro tem and presided over the swearing in of Anthony Pondish, and new-comers Koreen Nalesnik and Irene Genther. District Solicitor Robert Yurchak then swore Hiles in, as well, as he also won a seat on the board in November. Nalesnik and Genther are replacing Directors Ron Slivka and Tom Shober. William Hunsicker was also unanimously elected to fill the position of vice president.Markovich expressed hopes that the new board can work together. "We're going to try for a new year of cooperation with all of the members," he said after the meeting. "We need better cooperation, more transparency." Markovich also said that the board has hundreds of goals for the district, chief among them improving the district's standardized test scores. The board's next regular meeting is on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.