Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Harrisburg School Board director Melvin Wilson passes away.

Harrisburg School Board president Danielle Robinson (left) and former director Melvin Wilson (right.)

The president of the Harrisburg School Board choked back tears tonight as she announced that board director Melvin Wilson died over the weekend.

Wilson passed away suddenly on Sunday, Dec. 16, board president Danielle Robinson said. She did not disclose his cause of death.

“He will be missed,” Robinson said during her emotional announcement, which she delivered at the beginning of the board’s December meeting.

Wilson won a seat on the Harrisburg school board in 2015 and was up for reelection in 2019.

During his tenure, he served as the board’s delegate to the Capital Area Intermediate Unit, Harrisburg Area Community College and the Dauphin County Technical School.

A bouquet of flowers lay at Wilson’s empty seat at tonight’s board meeting.

The board recognized him with a prayer and moment of silence, as they also mourned the recent deaths of two students, Kobe Santiago and Donnell Williams, and a member of the district’s teaching staff.

State law requires the Harrisburg School Board to appoint Wilson’s replacement within 30 days. Robinson did not announce any details of the appointment process tonight.

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