Pennsylvania School Code and the Pennsylvania Department of Education govern the nine-member Board of School Directors for the Derry Township School District. Directors act as the general agent for the people of the district in the manner of public education. They are charged with being constantly aware of the concerns and desires of the whole community regarding the quality and performance of the school system.
The Board establishes educational goals for district students and governs a program of education designed to meet those goals. The Board is committed to educating all students to the best of their individual abilities. Moreover, the Board assumes an educational leadership role and employs the Superintendent. Additionally, the Board adopts courses of study and textbooks; employs all staff members; and fixes and prescribes their duties, wages and salaries, and terms of employment.
Back row, left to right: Robert Bennett, Stewart McCarver, Tracey Royo, Honesta Romberger, Ericka Schmidt, Joshua Cysyk. Front row, left to right: Jennifer Renz, Lindsay Drew, Michael Rizzo, Stacy Winslow.
President: Ms. Lindsay Drew
Vice President: Mrs. Jennifer Renz
Treasurer: Mr. Michael Rizzo
Superintendent: Dr. Stacy Winslow
Board Secretary: Mrs. Michele Agee
District Solicitor: William J. Zee, Esq., Appel, Yost, & Zee, LLP
Mr. Robert Bennett+ rbennett@hershey.k12.pa.us
Dr. Joshua Cysyk* jcysyk@hershey.k12.pa.us
Ms. Lindsay Drew+ ldrew@hershey.k12.pa.us
Dr. Stewart McCarver* smccarver@hershey.k12.pa.us
Mrs. Jennifer Renz* jrenz@hershey.k12.pa.us
Mr. Michael Rizzo+ mrizzo@hershey.k12.pa.us
Ms. Honesta Romberger* hromberger@hershey.k12.pa.us
Mrs. Tracey Royo* troyo@hershey.k12.pa.us
Mrs. Ericka Schmidt+ eschmidt@hershey.k12.pa.us
School directors are elected on odd-numbered years to four-year terms. During the first week of December, the board elects a president and vice president to serve one-year terms starting immediately. The board also elects a treasurer and secretary in May to one and four-year terms respectively. Their terms begin in July.
+Board term expires 2025
*Board term expires 2027
The School Board is a policy-making body. Its primary role is to formulate and evaluate all policies needed for the operation of the school district. Directors design and set policies within the framework of the Pennsylvania School Code. These policies are then administered by district staff. All decisions must comply with state regulations and statutes. The Board has ultimate responsibility under Pennsylvania school law in the following areas:
Inquiries about an individual student or questions comments and concerns about day-to-day operations of the district and program administration should be directed to the specific department head or building administrator, following the processes outlined on the district's Contact Us page. School Board members set policy and establish the overall educational vision and goal for the school district. Public input on matters related to board policy, board meeting agenda items, budgeting, the district's strategic plan and overall direction are both welcome and encouraged. All board members receive copies of the online Community Correspondence Forms found on the Contact Us page
School Board members are public officials elected to represent a defined constituency. Since Derry Township School District is a relatively small, single-municipality school district, all board members are considered “at large” members - that is to say every board member represents all residents and taxpayers in the entire school district. (As compared to some school districts where seats on the board are assigned to geo-political sub-divisions such as wards or municipal borders.)
In order to keep its constituents informed about how they are being represented, the Derry Township Board of School Directors has decided to regularly post a report indicating the frequency with which board members attend and participate in the board’s business (“voting”) meetings. The figures shown for each board member represent the percentage of time that board member was able to be in attendance for meetings held during the reporting period. Attendance at individual board meetings is reflected in the official minutes for each board meeting.