After an eventful few weeks, Philly’s new school board elected its leaders

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s school board met publicly for the first time Thursday, electing leaders after some dissension in the ranks over who would serve as vice president.

Reginald Streater was unanimously reelected as president. Three candidates emerged for vice president: returning board members Sarah-Ashley Andrews and ChauWing Lam, and new board member Wanda Novales.

Ultimately, Novales won the No. 2 spot after a runoff vote. She garnered five votes to Andrews’ four.

Despite the contested election, the tone was civil, with members saying they believed the new board was made up of talented people who all could do the job well.

But board member Crystal Cubbage said she was supporting Novales “for balance’ sake” — both because Novales is new to the board and because she has experience as a district and charter teacher and administrator.

Board member Joan Stern said she believed it was important to have consistency, with a returning board member in the vice president slot, and she initially supported Lam because she “has a precision and a command of information and facts that will be immensely useful to us.”

Lam’s candidacy did not make it past the first round of voting; in the second round, Stern and Lam’s support of Novales clinched the spot for her.

Novales said she was honored to be elected.

“I am so excited to serve the students of the greatest city in the U.S.,” she said. “I’m so excited to work with our superintendent, our president, and with the rest of the board.”

The reorganization capped an eventful few weeks for the board. Parker chose nine board members — Andrews, Lam, Cubbage, Cheryl Harper, Whitney Jones, Novales, Stern, Streater, and Joyce Wilkerson — but City Council rejected Wilkerson’s nomination over concerns about her position on charter schools and other issues.

But Parker made an end-run around Council, asking Wilkerson to serve indefinitely until the mayor names Wilkerson’s replacement.