NEW BERLIN – The Unadilla Valley Board of Education unanimously appointed recently-retired Superintendent of Sidney Central Schools Sandra M. Cooper to fill a vacant board seat Tuesday.

Cooper’s appointment came after Vice President Brian H. Burchill announced her recommendation on behalf of the advisory committee assigned to screen possible candidates.

The board appointed Cooper, of South New Berlin, as an interim board member to fill a vacancy left by Stanley Foulds. Foulds resigned his seat Aug. 16 so he could accept a position as the school’s head varsity football coach.

Burchill said Foulds was elected in 2010 to a three-year term, but explained Copper would only serve on the board for the next four months and could run for the open seat during the next regular election in May.

Burchill said the committee searched for candidates with prior experience in school finance and management so they could quickly adapt to an increasingly hectic budget planning period in the next few months.

“We were looking for someone who could get running with the budget right out of the gate,” he said.

Cooper said the committee initially asked her if she had an interest in accepting the seat and cited her 38 years in education as the most compelling reasons she was qualified for the position.