Jim Leous Appointed to Fill State College Area School Board Vacancy

A former longtime State College Area School Board member is temporarily returning to the role.

The school board on Monday night voted to appoint Jim Leous to fill the vacancy created by Amber Concepcion’s departure to become a Centre County commissioner last month.

Board member Dan Duffy nominated Leous from among nine candidates who applied and the board voted 8-0 to approve his appointment. No other candidates were nominated and there was no discussion, except to praise the overall quality of the applicants and encourage them to continue engaging with the district.

A special meeting was held on Thursday to hear presentations from each of the applicants followed by board discussion.

“We’re really excited to welcome Jim back to the board,” Board President Jackie Huff said in a statement. “He was a very respected member during his tenure on the board, and he brings with him a lot of institutional knowledge that will help us with our current work.”

Leous, a cyberinfrastructure specialist who leads the Emerging Technologies Group for Penn State’s Information Technology Services, previously served three terms on the board from 2009 to 2021, including as vice president in 2011-12 and from 2014 to 2018. He ran for mayor of State College in 2021 and did not seek reelection to the board.

He was immediately sworn in on Monday by district solicitor Scott Etter and joined the board for the remainder of the meeting. His term will end with the November election, when his seat is one of five school director positions that will be on the ballot. The others are currently held by Amy Bader, Gretchen Brandt, Dan Duffy and Laurel Zydney.

Leous said he will not seek election to the school board or any other position this year, which Huff said helps the board avoid influencing the election by elevating one candidate over another.

“…I will be able to devote my entire energy toward fulfilling the remaining months of this term and ensuring that our team of 10 functions as efficiently as possible for the sake of our students, our teachers our staff and the larger State College Area school community,” Leous said during his presentation last week.

Leous noted that his tenure included the selection and onboarding of a superintendent — Bob O’Donnell — and that the board is now in a similar situation of finding a new top administrator following O’Donnell’s departure last summer.

“I believe I can leverage my existing relationships with the community to help onboard the new superintendent,” he said. “As you’re all aware, the hiring of a superintendent is probably the most significant decision a school board makes because the success of a superintendent is a large factor in the success of a school district.”

He cited his work on the finance and audit committee “to make sure that we were effective stewards of taxpayer funds” while helping develop budgets that reflected district priorities, and the adoption of the inclusive excellence policy that set the table for ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“One of the primary goals of [the inclusive excellence policy] was actually to close the achievement gap… both in the wealth and racial achievement gap,” Leous said. “I’ll make that a priority if I’m chosen to fill out the remainder of this term.”

Leous has two children who graduated from the district and one who is a current student.

“I want to ensure that all of our students receive the same kind of education and support that my children have received,” he said.

The other applicants for the vacancy were Nathan Bish, Susan Chyczewski, Ed Fuller, John Hook, Daniel Kolbe, Brian Renaud, Stephanie Taylor and Michelle Young.

The State College Area School Board’s next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Feb. 20.