3 school board seats go to 2 newcomers and 1 incumbent

Two incumbents remain on the boards in Boardman and Youngstown.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Two newcomers will join a 24-year veteran on the school board next year.
Joyce Pogany, the lone incumbent in the field of eight candidates vying for three available school board seats, received the most votes with 23 percent.
"I would just like to thank everyone who voted for me and I'm looking forward to four more years of working for the children, for the school system and for the community," said Pogany, 70.
She will be joined by Traci Morse Merlo, 31, an independent insurance agent who is pursuing a law degree, who garnered 16 percent of the vote, and Richard Zimmerman, 43, an assistant plant manager, who received 14 percent.
Board members Brad Gessner and Ray Slivochka did not seek re-election.
Busing issue
Zimmerman said he hopes to address the bus transportation issue and the district's budget.
The district this year changed the transportation for elementary school pupils who attend parochial and private schools. The pupils are bused to a central location before being bused again to their respective schools.
The idea was to save money.
"We need to do whatever it takes to get safety back and to still save money, but safety has to be first," Zimmerman said.
In Boardman, only one new face will be on the board next year.
Niklaus Amstutz, who ran for public office for the first time, earned 19 percent of the vote. Voters returned incumbents Kimberly Poma, 48, who is self-employed, and Mark Fulks, 49, a pilot with US Airways, with 22 percent and 19 percent, respectively.
Veteran board member Alfred Davis did not seek re-election.
Key issues
Both Poma and Fulks listed maintaining fiscal responsibility and returning the district report card rating to "excellent" as goals for their next terms.
The district's report card slipped this year to continuous improvement.
In Youngstown, incumbents Lock P. Beachum Sr. and Jacqueline Taylor will be joined by Dominic Modarelli, a political newcomer.
Beachum got 22 percent, Modarelli got 21 percent and Taylor got 19 percent of the vote.
Next year starts the third term for Beachum, 71, a retired Youngstown school principal.
"One of the main things before the board is getting the district out of academic emergency," he said.
That will help to stem the exodus of pupils who are leaving the city school district for other districts, Beachum said.
He also said the board needs to maintain fiscal solvency.
Taylor, 54, a research associate at Youngstown State University, begins her second term.
She also said the district's academic emergency rating on the most recent report card is an issue she wants to address.
Modarelli, 34, is waste collection maintenance operator for the city of Youngstown.