Brzezinski, Schenley leave a financially stable district

The Erie School Board on Wednesday night said farewell to two longtime school directors who served during a period of precarious finances for the Erie School District.

Ed Brzezinski, a school director for 12 years, and Mary Frances Schenley, a school director for more than 15, did not run for re-election this year.

They leave the nine-member board less than a month after the Erie School District secured an additional $14 million in recurring state funding — an infusion that will allow the 11,500-student school system to stay solvent.

Now the board “can talk more about education” than finances, said Brzezinski, 71, a retired Erie School District counselor, teacher and coach. “It is going to be a very beautiful thing.”

Schenley, 68, participated in the board meeting, at East Middle School, by phone. She started to cry as she recounted her time on the board, which she described as “an asset” to the school district.

“I am going to miss everyone,” she said.

Four Erie School Board seats were up for election on Nov. 7. Incumbents Angela McNair and Tom Spagel were re-elected to second four-year terms and newcomers Darlene Feeney and Tyler Titus were elected. The new directors will take their seats at the board’s reorganization meeting on Dec. 6.

The School Board honored another group of people on Wednesday night: the elected officials who helped secure the state funding and helped organize the district’s efforts in Harrisburg.

The board thanked Gov. Tom Wolf and state Sen. Dan Laughlin, of Millcreek Township, R-49th Dist., as well as state Reps. Pat Harkins, of Erie, D-1st Dist.; Flo Fabrizio, of Erie, D-2nd Dist.; Ryan Bizzarro, of Millcreek, D-3rd Dist.; and Curt Sonney, of Harborcreek Township, R-4th Dist.; and Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper.