New faces on New Castle school board

By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Voters were assured a bevy of new faces on the New Castle School Board with only one incumbent up for re-election.
Fred Mozzocio, a first-time candidate, came out on top of the eight-person race with 15 percent of the vote.
He said he hopes to bring respectability back to the board.
Board members have been under fire after a state auditor's report revealed that several board members went to New Orleans for a conference for school boards and were given complimentary rooms by a casino in exchange for gambling time. The board members never officially registered for the conference, according to the report.
Karen Humphrey, the only incumbent in the race, came in second with 13 percent of the vote. She could not be reached to comment.
Charlotte Sheffield, a former educator turned funeral director, got 12.92 percent of the vote.
She believes voters agreed that she has something new to bring to the board.
"New energy, honesty and integrity," she said.
Mark Kirkwood is the fourth new board member and received 12.75 percent of the vote. He also could not be reached by telephone Tuesday night.
cioffi@vindy.com