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3 By Dane Anderson, Staff Writer
Applications for appointment to the Eanes school board have not been flooding into administrative offices during the last few weeks. One application was received prior to the July Fourth holiday weekend, according to board members.
Board member Gail King announced in June that she would be resigning her seat for her newly won third term in August when she moves with her family out of state. School board members voted on June 17 to appoint an interim replacement for King rather than hold a special election in November.
E-mail applications for the open board seat are being directed to Joani Miles, assistant to Superintendent Nola Wellman. Miles is on vacation until Monday.
Board president Jim Strickland said he is unclear at this time whether additional applications have been received since July 3.
An application for the position is available online at eanesisd.net. Those without Internet access can mail a hard copy of the application to Board of Trustees, Eanes ISD, 601 Camp Craft Road, Austin, TX 78746. The school board will accept applications for consideration of appointment through July 31.
To be eligible as a candidate for the board, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen who has resided in Texas for the last year and within the school district for the last six months. An applicant must also be 18 years of age or older, never convicted of a felony for which he has not been excused and not determined to be mentally incapacitated. Board members receive no financial compensation.
Board members expect to interview candidates and appoint a replacement for King in August. By state law, the board has until Dec. 14 to appoint a replacement for King’s empty seat.
Makes you wonder why they didn’t appoint Sharman Reed after she showed her willingness and 600+ voters asked them to.
I think it’s clear why the board didn’t appoint Sharman Reed. Over 1000 citizens voted for her and 600 signed the petition. As board president Strickland so boldly announced — the board wants a member who thinks as they do. Exactly as they do.
SW: Having attended the board meeting where this was discussed, I can say that Jim Strickland did not vote as his previous comments in the Picayune would have suggested. He was one of two votes, with Clint Sayers against appointing a replacement. (Voting for the appointment process were Ellen Balthazar, Mike Monnig, Paul Stone and Rob Durkee.) We don’t know what he would have voted for, but he did publicly vote against the appointment process. Having said all that, it still would have been cheaper, faster, and more effective to appoint an interested and committed person than to start a process akin to a popularity contest.