Upper Darby School District board appoints Dr. Meredith Heg to fill one-month vacancy after member resigns

At its voting meeting the Upper Darby School District board accepted the resignation of board member Michelle Pentini Cal and appointed Dr. Meredith Heg to fill the remainder of the term.

Board Secretary Rogers read correspondence notifying the board of Michelle Pentini Cal’s resignation, described in the record as effective in late October 2025. The chair moved that the board accept Cal’s resignation; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote with no opposition recorded.

Members said the usual safeguards in the board’s vacancy-filling process were cumbersome for a term of about one month. Citing the board’s policies, a member moved to suspend the operating guidelines attached to policy 004 pursuant to policy 003, to permit an immediate appointment to the short vacancy. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote; no board member registered opposition or an abstention on the record.

The board then moved to appoint Dr. Meredith Heg to complete the final 32 days of the vacated term, with the appointment to begin Oct. 31, 2025. Board members noted Dr. Heg had recently served on the board and would require little time to re‑acclimate. The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. Board members asked staff to coordinate an oath of office for Dr. Heg in November.

The appointment followed standard procedural motions and voice votes recorded in the meeting; no formal roll-call tallies were entered into the transcript. The board did not receive any in‑person or online public comments during the allotted comment period.

The board concluded the item and continued with remaining procedural business.