I have finally been able to start reviewing the 01/25/2021 Board of Education meeting.
AASD Board of Education President Kay Eggert review the process the Board will use to fill the Board vacancy left by Leah Olson’s resignation and then Ed Ruffolo’s refusal to accept the appointment. This process was determined in consultation with legal counsel, to assure that it is in compliance with both district policy and state statute.
A new person will, ideally, be appointed by the Board on February 8, will take their oath and officially start on or before February 26, and serve until the end of the term on April 25, 2021.
Prior to the February 8 meeting, a vacancy notice will be posted prominently on the district website [Note: I don’t see it posted as of 01/27/2021]. This notice will provide applicants information on where and how to submit their Declarations of Interest. The deadline for applying will be 4pm on February 4, 2021.
The district will notify all candidates who previously applied to fill the Board vacancy of the approved process and request that any candidate still wishing to be considered communicate their interest to the office of the Superintendent for further consideration. Any new applicants who express an interest in consideration will be encouraged to file a letter of interest and a declaration of eligibility.
All applicants will be invited to the Board of Education meeting on February 8, 2021 and must attend that meeting in order to be considered for the appointment. Candidate packets will be distributed to Board members in advance of that meeting.
During the 02/08/2021 meeting, applicants will be given 3 minutes to make statements in support of their nomination and appointment to the Board. The board President will then open the floor to nominations. Each nomination will require a second in order to be considered. Each Board member may express their support (via nomination or seconding) for only one applicant. [With 6 board members that means there could be no more than three nominees; however given this Board’s history of voting in lockstep on major issues, I would be surprised if they end up with more than 1 nominee.]
Once the qualified nominees have been identified, the floor will be opened for discussion among board members. There is no provision in the procedures to allow the Board members to ask questions of the candidates other than clarifying questions to ensure an accurate understanding of an applicant’s application or opening statement. Board members will be asked to cast their vote based on information provided in the application and opening statement only.
If there is only one nominee the vote will be a roll call vote. If there are 2 nominees, Board members will vote via a Google form and their ballots will be read out and displayed on the shared screen.
Whichever nominee receives a simple majority (4 votes) will be the appointee.
[There is also a procedure if the Board deadlocks, but I don’t think anyone is expecting that to happen.]
The entire process will be held in open session unless they determine for some reason, due to unforeseen circumstances, that they need to go into closed session.
View full Board of Education meeting here: https://youtu.be/nN5QL_zMg6Q
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