The Pleasant Valley School Board selected its members for the newly created Citizens Advisory Committee during its meeting on Thursday night.

The manner in which they would be selected was discussed at the March 27 meeting. School board President Susan Kresge said at that meeting that they had 36 people fill out an application expressing an interest in being on the committee. The Pennsylvania School Board Association recommends keeping committee sizes to 12 people in order to keep it manageable and productive.

Kresge suggested they sort the candidates by the township where they live: Chestnuthill, Eldred, Ross and Polk townships. Chestnuthill would have five members because it is the largest; Polk would have three, and Ross and Eldred would have two each. From there, the candidates would be listed alphabetically in their group and assigned a number. A random number generator would select the committee members.

“I don’t know what you think about this process,” Kresge said. “I’m trying to be fair and equitable.”

Kresge also said that two of the people volunteering to be on the committee are running for school board, and didn’t know if they should be included.

School board Vice President Matthew Walters said, “I think somebody who is running should be able to be on the committee. I think that’s not going to be an issue.”

The other directors agreed. They also agreed that a random selection would be the most fair to everyone.

The idea wasn’t supported so much so by the public.

During public comment, Ron Reynolds of Chestnuthill Township said he was surprised by how the school board decided to select the members.

“I filled out the form,” he said. I know there was something in there about qualifications. So what was the purpose of requesting qualifications if it was going to be left in the hands, in the capable hands of Alexa or Siri? I’m trying to understand that.”

Antionette “Anne” Gravell of Polk Township said, “If 37 people want to be on the board, I think 37 people should come to the meetings. If you only want 15 people to make decisions, then fine, do it. But I think all 37 of us should be allowed to be here to be citizens.”

After the public comment period was done, Gesiskie said, “We are doing the best we can as a board to try to figure out what is the most fair way to pick a committee.”

Gesiskie said he has seen stay-at-home mothers who do a fantastic job with their kids and should have just as much opportunity to be on the committee as a business owner, for example.

Gesiskie added that the people not selected for the committee are still welcome to attend the meeting to listen and give feedback to the committee.

The directors opted to stick with the random selection of candidates, and select them at the April meeting.

At the April meeting on Thursday night, the school board followed the plan originally suggested by Kresge. A random number generator called Picker Wheel was used to select the candidates.

• Eldred Township — Two people volunteered, both approved. They are Timothy Hatcher and Mariclaire Hosking.

• Polk Township — Seven volunteered, three selected and one alternate. They are Antionette Gravell, Kristin Rudlitch and Frank Saffioti, with Jolene Piolic as alternate.

• Ross Township — Six volunteered, two selected and one alternate. They are Sandra Perry and Jennifer Rufo, with Marsha Overpeck as alternate.

• Chestnuthill Township — Nineteen volunteered, five selected and one alternate. They are Alison Fennell, Taisha Garcia, Lindsey Miller, Amanda Pagano and Nicole Serrano, with Jeremy Livingston as alternate.

School board director John Gesiskie will chair the committee. Director Melanie ZIpp will be a member. Walters will be the first alternate and Kresge will be the second alternate.

Gesiskie said the committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. monthly, and he will reach out to the members to decide on dates.