Voting for the president and vice president of the Pleasant Valley School District led to some hard decisions and a split board.

At the beginning of Thursday night’s meeting, two candidates were nominated for president — John Gesiskie and Susan Kresge, who was the president going into the meeting. The vote came down to a hard decision for Kresge.

Newly elected board member Denise Hopely nominated Gesiskie, while director Robert Clark nominated Kresge.

Hopely said the district has faced challenges, but Gesiskie “has consistently shown commitment to listening, collaborating and keeping the needs of all students and stakeholders at the forefront.”

She went on to say many people approached her and asked her to nominate Gesiskie for president.

“He reflects the qualities our district needs and earns respect from across the community from parents and teachers to staff administration,” Hopely said.

Newly elected Janet Dooner followed up that she respects everything that Kresge has done as president but thinks there should be term limits.

“I think that good leaders — and you have led, Sue — good leaders should pass on that leadership to other ones of us who are here and ready to serve,” Dooner said.

A verbal vote was taken with each director stating who they wanted when their names were called. Four votes for Gesiskie, four votes for Kresge, who was the last person to be called on to cast a vote.

Pausing before she spoke, Kresge said, “This is very difficult for me, because I do not like to vote for myself,” and mentioned that she had abstained last year when she was elected as president. Abstaining from the vote would cause a tie; she could vote for Gesiskie after already accepting the nomination or vote for herself. She voted for herself. The term is for one year.

The votes for Gesiskie were: Hopely, Dooner, Gesiskie and Ryan O’Keefe. The four other votes for Kresge were: Clark, Matthew Walters, Norman Burger and Diane Serfass.

For vice president, Walters nominated O’Keefe. Burger nominated Walters, who declined the nomination; and Dooner nominated Gesiskie.

The vote was taken — a tie. Votes for O’Keefe came from Serfass, Kresge, Clark and Walters. Votes for Gesiskie came from Burger, Donner, Gesiskie and Hopely.

O’Keefe abstained from the vote.

A second vote was taken. This time Burger voted for O’Keefe, ending the stalemate.

Also as part of the reorganization, two representatives to the Monroe Career & Technical Institute Joint Operating Committee, one liaison to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, and two voting delegates to the PSBA had to be appointed by the president.

On the MCTI Joint Operating Committee, Director Diane Serfass’s term ended this month and former Director Michael Galler’s term was to expire December 2026, but he did not run for reelection. Kresge said that Serfass wanted to remain on that committee, so she was reappointed to it.

Kresge then asked Burger if he would like to be on that committee, and he agreed to it. No other directors voiced an interest in being considered for the committee. The appointment is for three years.

For the PSBA liaison, Kresge asked Dooner if she would be interested in it, but she hesitated. Hopely voiced an interest in being the liaison. Dooner said she was fine with Hopely being the liaison and she would serve as a voting delegate. Kresge agreed to that and reappointed Serfass to another one-year term as a PSBA voting delegate.

Superintendent James Konrad congratulated the school board directors.

“Congratulations to President Mrs. Kresge and Vice President Mr. O’Keefe. I look forward to all of us working together,” Konrad said.

“I am honored to have been elected president of the Pleasant Valley Board of Education,” Kresge said in a statement after the meeting. “I want to sincerely thank my fellow board members, our dedicated staff, and the families of our district for their trust and support. Pleasant Valley School District is the heart of this community, and I look forward to working collaboratively to ensure that every student has the opportunity to thrive. Together, we will continue to keep our focus on what matters most — our children’s education and well-being.”