Charleroi Area school board fills open seat, swears in new member

Dan Degnan was selected to fill a two-year vacancy that became open when Larry Hopkins resigned in November.

Leadership in the Charleroi Area School District will look a little different next year, along with the addition of two new members.

During Tuesday’s annual reorganization meeting, incumbents Barbara Pepper and Joe Caruso were sworn into office, along with newcomer Adam Wilkinson.

Wilkinson, a Republican, won his seat in the November general election with 1,569 votes. He joined incumbents Caruso, who earned 1,621 votes, and Pepper, who received 1,498.

Incumbent Larry Hopkins also won one of the four open seats with 1,710 votes, but he vacated the position at November’s board meeting because he plans to move out of the district to be closer to family.

The district sought letters of interest to fill the vacancy last month and received seven applications. Six candidates agreed to be interviewed, and five took part in formal interviews before Tuesday’s reorganization meeting.

The board voted to appoint Dan Degnan, a Monessen school teacher, to fill the two-year vacancy. Wilkinson and Charlie Yakich voted no, but Pepper, Caruso, Elaine Pappasergi, Heather Keranko, Adele Hopkins and Antonia Pellegrini voted yes.

Aside from the two new faces on the board, most district operations will remain the same in 2026.

Pepper will continue as board president, with Pappasergi serving as vice president. The district retained cfsbank in Charleroi as its depository and kept Weiss Burkardt Kramer LLC as solicitor.

Caruso will continue to chair athletics and extracurriculars. Pappasergi will lead education, curriculum and personnel. Hopkins will oversee budget and finance, and Pepper will head building, grounds and transportation.

Yakich will chair safety. Caruso will continue to head the Charleroi Area Education Association committee, and Pappasergi will lead the bus driver committee.

Keranko will chair the administrative assistance association committee. Pappasergi will also lead a new AI committee with Pepper and Wilkinson.

Pappasergi will serve as the district’s representative to the South Hills Area School Districts Association. Wilkinson will represent the district on the IU1 board.

Regular business meetings will continue on the third Tuesday of each month, except in June and again in December, when the board meets early for reorganization. Business meetings will begin at 7 p.m., with committee meetings held beforehand.