Hannibal’s Board of Education decided to let a vacant board position remain vacant until next year’s elections.
In a special meeting Monday night, the board voted 4-2 to let the seat vacated by Linda Warrick earlier this month remain open rather than appoint a temporary board member or hold a special election to fill the seat until next April’s vote.
The board discussed the issue last week, ruling out a special election because of the cost of holding the election.
Board member Donna Ingersoll reiterated her view that the 6-month fill-in term would be an ideal opportunity for someone interested in being on the board to get an up-close look at the unpaid but time-consuming job. She said she also believes “we’re putting ourselves in a precarious situation with only six members” because of the risk of tied votes.
Last week, the board asked the district to produce a list of recent former board members from which a temporary member might be picked.
Board member Dale Young said that of the people on that list, only three had not left the board by early resignation and of those three, he said he had reservations about two of them.
The board also discussed sending out a notice asking the community for potential applicants.
In the end, however, board members Mike LaFurney, Young, Erin Hess and Madeline Pittorf voted to leave the seat vacant. Ingersoll and Mireille Watts voted to fill the position.
The vacant post will now be filled in April, on the statewide school budget voting day. There will be three positions available, as the terms of Ingersoll and Watts are expiring.
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