VACANT SEAT UPDATE
Ten people applied for the school board seat in Rockwood that will become available in May when Jessica Clark steps down. The deadline to apply was yesterday, May 6th, at 4:00 pm.
Tom Dunn, who ran unsuccessfully in the April election, is NOT one of the 10 that applied. Rockwood's school board will appoint one of those ten, rather than Dunn, per district policy. More on that can be found here.
Parents are curious if another former educator will be chosen. This is the list of applicants, according to Rockwood:
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| As seen on Rockwood's website. |
If the school board chooses an applicant this time that is a former educator, 6 of the 7 school board members will be former educators, or married to one. Currently, 5 of the 7 are either former educators or, as in the case of Bob Cadigan, married to a current Rockwood teacher.
NEUTRAL?
Parents have questioned whether former teachers and former RNEA members can be neutral when voting on RNEA contracts or other teacher related matters. RNEA is the district's teachers union and stands for Rockwood National Education Association.
Note: Board members have abstained from votes when family members are named in the item being voted on, to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, but not because they are former educators. When a board member abstains, it reduces how many are voting, often to an even number (six).
CONTROVERSIAL VOTES
The community is paying closer attention to who the school board appoints, after recent school board votes were controversial:
*Ending the open patron comment section of board meetings. Now, the community can only speak about items that are on the agenda.
*Approval of a policy that gave permission for a new middle school grading policy: Teachers can no longer give a grade less than 50% on any assignment, even if it's not turned in. There are several articles related to this topic on this site.
THREE CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS APPOINTED, NOT INITIALLY ELECTED
After an applicant is appointed this time, the makeup of the 7 member school board will include 5 who were elected to their seat after receiving an endorsement from the RNEA, and 3 who first got their seats without being elected.
Two of the three, current board members Tamara Rhomberg and Lynne Midyett, also initially got their seats by being appointed to a vacant seat. Both went on to be elected in subsequent years, with an endorsement from the RNEA. Rhomberg is now the board's Vice-President and Midyett is the board's President.
8 TIMES: MORE COMMON THAN YOU THINK
According to information on Rockwood's website, since 2011, board members have been appointed, rather than elected, 8 times.
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| The school board members who initially got their seats by being appointed, rather than elected. |
WHEN?
The new appointee will be sworn in at the June 6th board meeting and serve for one year, which is the remainder of Ms. Clark's term.