Three Veterans Vie for AASA Presidency in 2012 Election

AASA members will have a choice from among three veteran school system leaders when they vote for the next AASA president.

Balloting in the 2012 election opens at 8 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 29, and continues until 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, April 6.

The three contenders for president-elect are Joseph J. Gertsema, Amy Sichel and Robert M. Slaby. They emerged as the three leading vote getters in balloting on Wednesday afternoon by the AASA Governing Board, which heard responses to two questions posed to each of four members who earlier were certified as declared contenders. AASA election regulations allow just three candidates in a presidential election, which necessitated the runoff in front of the governing body.

Jack McCulley, an AASA member since 1996 and superintendent of the Sterling Regional School District in Somerdale, N.J., was eliminated by the Governing Board’s vote count.

For the presidential election, ballots will be distributed via e-mail to all eligible AASA voters for whom the association has an e-mail address. Voting forms will be mailed to those without an e-mail address, and any e-mail bouncebacks or e-mail undeliverable will be mailed a paper ballot. Once an electronic vote has been recorded, that voter is not allowed to vote again on paper.

The election results will be posted on the AASA website by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10.

What follows are brief biographical summaries of Gertsema, Sichel and Slaby.

Sichel is superintendent of the Abington School District in Abington, Pa. She worked from 1993 to 2001 as assistant superintendent in Abington. She has been an AASA member since 2001 and has served since 2006 as a member of the AASA Governing Board.

Gertsema is superintendent of the Yankton School District 63-3 in Yankton, S.D. He worked as superintendent of the Canton School District 41-1 in Canton, S.D., from 1987-90. He has been an AASA member since 1987. He has served since 2009 on the AASA Executive Committee and from 2006-09 on the AASA Governing Board.

Slaby is superintendent of the Storey County School District in Virginia City, Nev. He was superintendent of the Salinas City Elementary School District in Salinas, Calif., from 1998 to 2004. He has been an AASA member since 1986. He was on the AASA Governing Board from 2009-11 and on the AASA Executive Committee since 2011.

The top vote getter will serve a year as president-elect, beginning July 1, and fulfill a year as AASA president between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014.