A Jim Thorpe School Board member, who did not seek re-election, has resigned from the board with just over three months left in his term.

The school board accepted the resignation of Raniero Marciante during its Aug. 30 meeting.

They voted to appoint Richard Flacco, who is already seeking a four-year seat on the board in November’s election.

Marciante served just under four years on the school board. He was appointed in September 2017, following the death of board member Richard Huber. Like Flacco, Marciante was preparing to run for a four-year seat on the board, which he eventually won.

In his resignation letter, Marciante said he no longer wished to serve on the board, because it was no longer acting in the best interest of students.

Contacted after Monday’s meeting, Marciante said he still was proud of the progress made by the district during his term, including collecting over $1 million from districts who sent students to the former Youth Services Agency. During his term, the district also replaced its superintendent, business manager and solicitor.

He said his decision was driven by some recent board actions. They included selling the former district office to Carbon County instead of a buyer, which is not exempt from property taxes, and not making a decision to mandate masks.

“Are we not supposed to put the safety of the community and staff forward? That’s what we are here for,” Marciante said.

Flacco is a retired technology education teacher in the district. He won the support of Democrats and Republicans in the spring primary. He said he has concerns about education going online, and prefers a more hands-on form of education.

“I’d like to see us get back to some normalcy,” he said. “We’ve gone astray.”