Mary Figura was appointed by a 6-1 vote Wednesday night to serve as president of the Jim Thorpe Area School District board of directors for the next year.

Jim Thorpe’s outgoing board president, Dennis McGinley, said he wouldn’t have accepted the nomination to serve again in 2025 for a very special reason.

“Some people don’t understand how much we put up with as board members,” McGinley said. “But there are a few special things that some people can do as a board member. We have a member of the board (Figura) who has a daughter that is a senior in high school this year. Any board member has the opportunity to hand their child a diploma at graduation, but the board president also gets to sign that diploma. There is nothing better than to give your child a diploma knowing that no matter where they go, they take that with them and their family member signed it.”

Figura, who is the assistant to the superintendent in Lehighton Area School District, was elected to the board in 2023 and has a term running through 2027. She served as board vice-president

“I want to thank my fellow board members for voting for me to serve as president,” Figura said.

The only Jim Thorpe director to vote against Figura’s appointment was Gerald Strubinger.

Strubinger nominated himself to serve as president, but the nomination died for lack of a second.

McGinley was unanimously appointed as board vice-president for 2025.