Jury selection was beginning today in the trial of Beverly Coon, the former Baldwin-Whitehall school board member accused of setting her boyfriend afire one year ago.

Ms. Coon, 48, is accused of drugging Ronald Grimm, 61, then-superintendent of schools in Bethel Park, during a visit to his Monroeville apartment, then lighting a fire that nearly killed him.

She is charged with stalking, arson and attempted murder. Her trial before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning is set to begin this week.

This morning, the defense requested a non-jury trial. But prosecutors said that while they had faith in the judge's impartiality, they believed the case should be decided by a panel of ordinary citizens.

The case created uproars in two school districts.

In Bethel Park, the victim, Dr. Grimm, resigned as superintendent a week after detailing his involvement with Ms. Coon.

In Baldwin-Whitehall, fellow board members banned Ms. Coon from school property and voters overwhelmingly rejected her bid for a second term.

Ms. Coon is being defended by attorney Robert Leight, and Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Tom Pratt is prosecuting. Both men declined to comment yesterday.

Testimony at a preliminary hearing in October depicted Ms. Coon, who is separated from her husband, as obsessed with Dr. Grimm after he attempted to break off a romantic relationship that began two years ago when the pair met at a school boards conference.

Dr. Grimm, who was separated from his wife, said he began to suspect Ms. Coon of following him, and that, on the night of Sept. 9 last year, she turned up at his apartment in Monroeville with a plate of pastries.

"You should try these ladylocks," he quoted Ms. Coon as saying.

"I ate two of them. The next thing I knew, I just fell asleep. I was out instantly. My next memory is waking up at the Mercy Hospital burn and trauma unit."

Doctors said they found traces of temazepam, a powerful sedative, in Dr. Grimm's bloodstream. Dr. Grimm testified that he did not use the drug.

Dr. Grimm spent seven days in the hospital for second- and third-degree burns and underwent extensive therapy.

An Allegheny County detective testified that Ms. Coon was spotted near the apartments. Her attorneys have called the case against her circumstantial.