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School Board Plans To Fill Seat

FALCONER – The Falconer Central School Board of Education came to a consensus during a regular meeting that it will seek to appoint an interim board member to fill its current vacancy.

At the previous Nov. 6 meeting, the 7-member board approved a resolution that vacated Jennifer Olsen’s position. Citing absences and public statements indicating her intention to resign, the board stated it was operating within state and board law to vacate her position. School boards are given 90 days to fill a position from the date it was vacated. During that meeting, Superintendent Stephen Penhollow told the board it could either appoint a candidate, with varying options as to who that could be, or hold a special election within the given 90 days.

During the Tuesday’s meeting, the board agreed that it would look to appoint a qualified community member who expressed interest in the position. Penhollow said there have already been three individuals who have reached out to the district expressing their interest. Two of those individuals have submitted the required letter of interest and application.

The district set a deadline of Nov. 26 at 3 p.m. for all interested individuals to submit a letter of interest and application. The board hopes to hold an open session interview with the candidates at the scheduled Dec. 4 meeting. The board is planning to then use the Dec. 18 meeting for additional interviews or appoint a new member. If the board needs more time to consider the candidates, it will appoint a board member at the Jan. 15 meeting.

Penhollow said the district attorney recommended that the interviews be held in open session as opposed to holding them in a closed committee meeting as the district has done in the past.

While the board did agree on the time line of how to proceed, Penhollow noted that it was “fluid” and could change. He said, after speaking with the district attorney, approving a board member by the Jan. 15 would be suitable.

The appointed member will serve until the next board election on May 21, 2018. The individual could then run for election for any open board seats. With the vacated position, the district is anticipating three open seats for the 2018 election. Penhollow said the candidate who receives the third most amount of votes during the future election would be assigned to the vacated position and serve out the remainder of that term of three years.

Penhollow said the potential candidates will simply be asked why they want to be a Falconer board member.

“It’s an open ended question (and) it’s a thought-provoking question,” Penhollow said.

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