USC School Board Fills Vacancy

The appointed Buffy Hasco Monday night to fill the unexpired term of member Bruce Kerman, .

The board interviewed five candidates for about two hours and deliberated for another hour before taking a vote.

After nominations, the board narrowed down the field to four candidates. Members then voted for their top two candidates, which resulted in a second place tie. Again, members voted for their top two candidates using only three of the candidates, narrowing the final vote down to candidates Hasco and Patrick Hewitt.

School Board President Rebecca Stern and board members Amy Billerbeck, Harry Kunselman, Louis Mafrice and Angela Petersen voted for Hasco's nomination. School Board Vice President Barbara Bolas and board members Frank Kerber and Louis Oliverio voted for Hewitt's nomination.

Oliverio took part in the meeting via speaker phone.

Hasco is a stay-at-home mother of three daughters, who are in 6th, 8th and 11th grades. Her family has lived in Upper St. Clair for more than eight years. She is on the 's Board of Trustees and Gwen's Girls Board of Directors.

School board members said they liked her positive outlook on the . They also said Hasco demonstrated a strong understanding of community issues.

The term Hasco will fill runs through the end of 2013. A swearing-in will take place at on Monday, Jan. 16.

Before appointing Hasco, school board members had a moment of silence to honor their former member Kerman. Kerman died after a four-year battle with cancer on Dec. 16. The district purchased the book, "The Canoe: A Living Tradition" for the 's library in Kerman's memory. Kerman was an avid canoeist.