School Board Incumbents Secure Spots in Woodland Hills

residents voted to keep all of the familiar faces on school board this upcoming January, as incumbents Robert J. Tomasic, Marilyn W. Messina and Regis Driscoll secured their seats in Tuesday's general election.

Both Messina and Tomasic won a seat in the at-large races. Tomasic, listed on both the Republican and Democratic tickets, won with 39.19 percent of the vote (5,954 votes) and Messina on the Democratic ticket with 36.25 percent of the vote (5,507 votes). lost the at-large race with 23.99 percent of the vote on the Republic ticket (3,644 votes).

Tomasic also took home a win in Region 3, which covers , Braddock Hills, North Braddock and East Pittsburgh. He won on the Democratic ticket with 59.85 percent of the vote (1,817 votes) and Belmonte lost on the Republican ticket with 39.86 percent of the vote (1,210 votes).

Messina had already won the Region 2 race in the winning on both the Democratic and Republican tickets. She secured her seat Tuesday with 98.05 percent of the vote (2,314 votes). Region 2 encompasses Braddock, Rankin, and . 

“It’s a good feeling for the confidence and the trust that people put in me and I’ll continue to do what I’ve done,” Messina said of her win.

Because Messina and Tomasic won in two races, they will each have to choose which seat they want to fill, and the other seat will be declared vacant. The board will then have 30 days to appoint members to fill those two vacant seats in accordance with the school code.

Tomasic and Driscoll both said they believe the vacancies will be a topic of discussion at tomorrow night’s board meeting. Interested applicants will submit a letter of interest or resume to the board and the board will then make its decision.

Both Tomasic and Messina said they have not yet decided which seat they want to fill. Tomasic said he wants to wait to see who submits resumes or letters of interest to the board for appointment before deciding which seat he will fill.  Messina said she hasn’t had a chance to think about it yet.

Although he lost, Belmonte said he was glad to see the changes in the redistricting put into action.

“At least more people felt like they had a chance,” Belmonte said of the numerous candidates who ran for the board in the primary and general election.

Belmonte will continue to serve on borough council in Forest Hills, where he has held a seat for the past 10 years.

Driscoll, current vice president of the board, will keep his seat in Region 1, which includes Churchill, Wilkins, Chalfant and Turtle Creek. He won 60.76 percent of the vote on the Democratic ticket (1,897 votes). Sean Vinsick, the Republican candidate, lost the race with only 38.98 percent of the vote (1,217 votes).

“Well I’m obviously happy that the voters decided to give me four more years to keep us moving forward,” Driscoll said of his win.

Driscoll, of Wilkins Township, has sat on the board for the past four years. He said looking forward, he would like to see AYP scores improve in the district as well as safety in the schools.

When asked what the most pressing issue moving forward would be, Tomasic put it simply—“Money,” he said. “Everything’s finances. I’m waiting on the new assessments to come down to see how it’s going to impact our district. We have to go after the commonwealth to get more money."

Poll results are according to the unofficial returns posted on the Allegheny County Department of Elections website.