Change is coming to the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District School Board.
At the board’s December 1 reorganization meeting, three newly elected board members took seats on the board, replacing three veteran board members who chose to not run for reelection in 2025.
The meeting also saw the restructuring of the board’s leadership, with the board electing Michelle Williams as the new Board President.
The board also saw other changes as the vice presidential office of the board was filled by Mary Jo Witkowski-Smith, formerly the Assistant Board Secretary.
Witkowski-Smith’s previous position was filled by board member Nannette Whitsett, while board member Robert Miller filled the office of Treasurer.
New board members and Democrats Pramod Dibble and Marleen Livingstone both beat out the Republican candidate Michael Craig for the seats in Region 1, which includes large portions of Wallingford and South Media. The seats were vacated by Board President Kevin Henry and former Board President Kelly Wachtman.
New board member and Democrat Dr. Melissa Crawford beat out Republican candidate Rhoda O’Donnell for the open seat in Region 3 containing Swarthmore and Rutledge. The seat was left vacant by Treasurer Dr. David Grande.
The new board members were sworn in by Media Court of Common Pleas judge Stephanie Klein at the December 1 meeting, joined by their respective family members. Crawford was joined for her oath by sophomore Colin Kennedy.
The meeting also accompanied changes in the board’s committees, including the formation of a new Workload Committee featuring Dibble and Livingstone.
Henry, Grande, and Wachtman were the three board members whose terms expired. Between the three of them, they served for 21 years on the board and had all served as the president of the board at various points.
Henry served as the most recent president of the board, leading the district through such tumultuous times as the public outrage over the summer and fall of 2024. He also served on the Facilities and Finance Committee and the Educational Affairs Committee during his tenure.
Grande was the president of the board prior to Henry, and has most recently served as the board’s treasurer as well as chairing the Facilities and Finance Committee and serving on the board’s Wellness Advisory, a particularly fraught role during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wachtman, another former president, was the vice president of the board during the chaotic times of 2024 amid former superintendent Dr. Wagner Marseille’s departure. Following that summer, Wachtman would pass the mantle of vice president to Williams, who has now become president of the board a year later.
“All three have served with grace, dedication, and a laser focus as to what was best for our students,” Williams said of the three departing board members. “To say it’s tough to fill your shoes is such an understatement to the depth of your leadership.”
Williams’s remarks came at the November 20 board meeting, two days after the administration announced a $2.6 million budget shortfall at the November 18 meeting of the board’s Facilities and Finance Committee meeting.
Marking the end of an era, the November 20 meeting was the last time the departing trio would preside over the board.
“I just want to thank the board members for trusting me with that gavel,” Henry said at the meeting. “I like to hit it hard because it just sounds great. … I’m really excited to see what the board does next and what the district does next. And with that, meeting adjourned.”
