By Holly Crocco
By a split vote, Dawn Dall was elected president of the Carmel School Board during its July 11 meeting. Dall was nominated by Trustee Valerie Crocco, with the motion seconded by Trustee Jordi Douglas.
Meanwhile, Trustee John Curzio nominated Melissa Orser, with the motion seconded by Jason Paraskeeva.
During a roll call vote, Dall, Crocco, Douglas and Trustee James Wise voted for Dall, while Orser, Curzio and Paraskeeva voted for Orser.
For the position of vice president, Curzio nominated Orser, with Paraskeeva seconding the motion, but Orser declined the nomination. Dall nominated Crocco, with Wise seconding the motion. During a roll call vote, all board members voted for Crocco.
Dall thanked her colleagues for entrusting her with the position of board president.
“My focus will be to uphold the duties of the Board of Education as they relate to goal-setting for our school district, along with the fiscal response, of course, and particularly as they relate to representing our community members,” she said.
“I believe, in order for our board to fulfill our duties in an effective manner, we must have a good understanding of the value and needs of our learning community, our schools, as well as our large community. It is through this commitment that we can provide our students with a diverse, robust and rigorous program which allows them not only to acquire knowledge, but also to acquire self-awareness.”
Curzio congratulated the new board leadership.
“While the vote may have been divided, I can say with confidence that the board will be united moving forward for the benefit of all the community, with the work ahead,” he said.