The Cazenovia Board of Education currently has a vacant seat, and a special committee is working on whom to appoint to fill the place.
After seven years on the board, member Kathy Hahn resigned recently after accepting a new job in the Albany area. Her last meeting as a BOE member was Sept. 18.
“I am truly sorry to be leaving the school board; it’s an incredibly cohesive group despite each of us being from diverse backgrounds professionally and personally,” Hahn said. “The cohesion stems from the current members of the board being dedicated to making the Cazenovia school district the best it can be for our children, even during difficult fiscal situations. … The administration’s and teachers’ dedication to our students also has made the role of being a board member easy — it’s easy to support people who are doing great work.”
Hahn was first elected to the school board in 2010, and was reelected two times.
Hahn has been a senior environmental health and safety (EHS) compliance specialist at GHD in Cazenovia for two years, and prior to that was GHD’s health, safety and environmental manager for North America for five years. She has been with GHD for 10 years.
She is now moving to Albany to accept a position with Albany Molecular Research, Inc., as a senior EHS manager overseeing their Drug Development and Drug Products divisions.
Current BOE President Jan Woodworth said Hahn will be missed on the board.
“Kathy always brought a fresh perspective to the board; her experience in environmental issues has been very helpful,” Woodworth said. “She also brought history to the board — at this point she is our longest serving member.”
To fill Hahn’s vacated seat, the board has created a three-member committee to collect and entertain names of individuals who could be appointed to fill the seat until a special election can be called next May. Whoever wins the special election will fill out the remainder of Hahn’s term, which expires in 2019. At that time, the regular election for the three-year term for that seat will be held.
Woodworth said the appointment committee is considering all names for potential appointment to the vacated seat, but is especially interested in former board members who would already know how the board works, and who have already received the approval of the community through a public election. She said the committee plans to meet in early October to decide on an individual to recommend to the full board for appointment.
