2 Quaker Valley school board members honored for years of service

Two Quaker Valley School Board members were recognized by a state organization for their years of service to the district.

Pennsylvania School Boards Association member outreach manager-west Lena Hannah honored Geoff Barnes for his five years of service and Gianni Floro for his 24 years.

Board members are placed on the PSBA’s Honor Roll starting at five years via certificate, and then again for 10 and 15 years. Those with at least 20 years receive a plaque.

“It gives us an opportunity to thank those individuals who volunteer their time,” Hannah said after the presentation Oct. 29. “It gives us a chance to recognize them for the hard work that they do. We know that they are instrumental in helping their districts and moving their districts forward and working in partnership with their superintendent and administrative team.

”It’s a collaborative effort because they are the team of 10 as we call it, meaning nine voting members as the board and superintendent.”

Barnes and Floro also received congratulations from fellow board members and Superintendent Tammy Andreyko.

Hannah manages the western side of the state, which includes 170 school districts.

She said between 500 to 1,000 board members are recognized yearly in her area alone.

Years of service are tracked by the PSBA. Board members do not need to be nominated for the Honor Roll.

Get to know Barnes

Barnes, 52, of Sewickley, was first elected to the board in December 2019. He was reelected for a second term last year.

Barnes is a former health and safety committee chair and member of the public relations committee. He currently serves as board treasurer and finance committee chair and vice chair of facilities and operations.

“I appreciate the support that the PSBA gives and the recognition is very kind and generous,” Barnes said.

Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Barnes graduated from Cistercian Preparatory School in 1990.

He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago and a master’s from the University of Oregon, both for painting.

Barnes taught at the Savannah College of Art and Design and at Robert Morris College prior to its change to a university. He helped develop RMU’s web design program and left teaching to practice design full-time in 2005.

Barnes said in his Quaker Valley career he is most proud of the cooperation and collaboration among his fellow board members.

“I am in general just very impressed with this board’s collegiality and mission focus,” he said. “All the work that we do is about the kids and family and community. It has not been politically fractious to serve on this board, even during really fraught times. I’m grateful and impressed by that over and over. You can call it a high point, but it’s one that’s lasted the entirety of five years.”

Barnes is employed as a designer for Google working on artificial intelligence projects.

Get to know Floro

Floro, 52, of Bell Acres, was first appointed to the board in 2001 to fill the unexpired term of the late Rev. Melvin Meade.

He was reelected several times, including November 2023 and plans to make this his last term on the board.

“The next generation can come fill my seat,” Floro said. “As any organization, you need new people to come in and take things over and move things forward. I’m looking forward to that time when I can see the new faces step into that role.”

Floro chairs the facilities and operations committee, vice chair of the finance committee and is a member of the policy and government affairs committee.

He said he was proud of all the work done to maintain and improve district schools with the major accomplishment of helping push a proposed high school in Leet.

Township commissioners recently approved Quaker Valley’s land development plans.

The district still needs to secure multiple third-party approvals including permits from Allegheny County and the state before construction can begin.

“It has been terrific to work with the different facility people that we’ve had (through the years),” Floro said. “It’s just been wonderful, especially working with a lot of the people in the municipalities as well that house our buildings. That’s been a wonderful experience to get to learn and know a lot of good people. When everyone paddles in the same direction, you can really accomplish a lot for the good of the district.

“Maintaining these buildings for our students and the working environment for our teachers has been one of the most important things that I’ve worked on in the district.”

Growing up in Sewickley, Floro graduated from Quaker Valley in 1990. He went on to earn a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in environmental sciences and management from Duquesne University. He later graduated from the university’s law school in 2000.

Floro worked for the now-defunct law firm Tarasi, Tarasi & Fishman and launched his own practice in 2008.

Floro serves as a civil litigator when not handling school district business.