Donna Urban was reelected president of the Coatesville school board tonight at its annual reorganization. She had no opposition. Rick Ritter was elected vice president. He beat out current Vice President Bob Knecht who voted for Ritter.

The school board also voted to maintain the current schedule for monthly board meeting. The school board meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Committee meeting are held the second Tuesday of every month. The meetings will remain at the 9-10 Center. Midway through this year the board voted to move the meetings out of the Benner Administration Center in Coatesville after a man and a woman were mugged in separate incidents.

Urban was sworn in tonight to a two-year term that was created when former board President John Zaleski resigned in 2006. Urban had completed a four-year term. She opted to run for the two-year term, allowing Ritter to run for her four-year seat. Ritter was appointed to the board when Zaleski resigned. Both Urban and Zaleski were elected from Region II which includes West Brandywine and Caln Township.

Neil Campbell was also sworn in tonight from Region II. Campbell is the only new member elected to the school board. The other five members elected had either been previously appointed to the school board due to resignations or were seeking reelection.

Paul Johnson and Diane Brownfield, both from Region I, which includes Coatesville and Valley, were also sworn in last night. Johnson is beginning his second term; Brownfield, her third. Donald Holt Jr., who represents East Fallowfield, Modena, Sadsbury, West Caln and South Coatesville (Region III), was also sworn in. Holt, too, had previously been appointed to the board due to a resignation.

As board president this year, Urban oversaw negotiations with CATA, the teacher's union, that resulted in teachers getting an average of a 4.5 percent salary increase each of the three years of the contract, but requires them to pay a larger share of their health costs.

Urban, Johnson and Brownfield are the only three board members remaining from the tumultuous years when Dr. James Scarnati was superintendent. It was during his tenure that a 24.6 percent hike in school taxes was proposed. The increase was eventually pared back to 9.6 percent, caused in part by a taxpayers revolt that saw the formation of the Coatesville Taxpayers Alliance (CTA) founded by Zaleski and Ritter, both of whom at one time served as the group's president.

For the last three years, the school district has either reduced taxes or held the line on taxes by tapping into budget surpluses. This year the school board approved a zero-tax increase budget by drawing down on a $22 million fund surplus. The previous two years saw taxes reduced by a total 2.25 mills. Coatesville is the only district in the county to have three consecutive years of either tax cuts or no tax increases.