Petitions filed as Harrisburg school board seat remains vacant

People in Harrisburg are taking their fight to fill a vacant school board seat to the Dauphin County courthouse. Petitions were recently submitted and now a judge will sift through a 23 page petition while supporters wait for the verdict.

Cornelius Chachere and Ralph Rodriguez are in the running for the Harrisburg school board. This comes after the recent death of board member Melvin Wilson, Jr.

It was a shouting match between school board members at Thursday’s meeting after a split vote on who should fill Wilson’s seat.

Pennsylvania state law requires school board vacancies to be filled within 30 days. That deadline has since passed and a judge will now make the decision instead of the school board.

That decision is between Ralph Rodriguez, a parent of five kids in Harrisburg schools and Cornelius Chachere, a former Harrisburg substitute teacher.

Chachere spoke with CBS21 News Sunday as his supporters met to sign a petition to send to the court.

“I just think that this in some ways could be a turning point. The community is engaged and empowered and they’re paying attention to everything that’s going on in the school,” said Cornelius Chachere, Harrisburg school board candidate.

CBS21 News reached out to Rodriguez Monday and several times over the past few days but he was not available for an interview.

The judge is expected to make a decision within the next few weeks.