“At a special meeting Tuesday night, the Affton Board of Education welcomed a new member, elected a new president and formed a new committee.

District secretary Carol Loehr swore in newly elected member Susan Casaleggi and re-elected board treasurer Tom Bellavia. Mike Alexander was also relected on April 5, but he was absent at the meeting. Alexander can be sworn in at any time at the district administration building.

Casaleggi replaced outgoing board president Ron Becher, who chose not to run for re-election. The board thanked Becher for his years of service and evenhanded guidance.

“It’s been a great two years, and it’s no accident that you were president,” board member Larry Knox said.

Becher, however, said the credit should be shared.

“I was steering the ship, but you guys were doing the work,” he said.

After taking Becher’s seat at the table, Casaleggi said, “I only wish, Ron, that I’d gotten to serve with you, after everything I’ve heard these guys say.”

Becher said he will continue to be active in the district, incuding heading the committee nowdeveloping the district’s early childhood education program.

The board then elected vice president Michael McNeil the new board president. McNeil nominated Doug Beck to replace him as vice president; the board approved.

Also on the agenda was a previously discussed plan to rearrange the board’s committees. McNeil said that the co-curriculum committee has suffered from a dearth of content in the last year. The board voted to roll up the activities of the co-curriculum committee into the curriculum committee and replace it with a new school improvement committee. The new committee is tasked with keeping the board on track with its school improvement plan and will begin by focusing on the early childhood education center the district has in the works. New committee assignments have not been chosen yet.”

Printed in the Affton-Shrewsbury Patch on April 13, 2011

Article by Andrew Dana Hudson

Original Article