2 school board members moving, will resign in August

A pair of Kimball school board members will resign next month.

Theresa Keller and Jarrod Schnell are both moving out of the district and their resignations will be effective in August. The board will appoint replacements until the next general election, which will be held in November 2016. Schnell’s resignation goes into effect after the Aug. 10 regularly scheduled board meeting, while Keller’s resignation takes effect Aug. 17. They were both excused from Monday’s emergency board meeting.

Information will be collected from interested parties and gathered by Aug. 21, at which time the board will consider its options during the work session/special meeting scheduled for Aug. 24.

“That time frame works out really well and it gives us an opportunity to talk to the new people before they are on for the Sept. 14 board meeting,” Superintendent Marshall Lewis said.

Harold Farrar, business manager for the district, reminded the board that the Aug. 24 meeting is also the budget work session, which is an intense work session on its own.

“If you are going to do interviews and a budget work session, it could get lengthy,” Farrar said.

The board and administration hope to have many candidates to choose from, and they encourage anyone interested in serving on the board to contact the school or a board member.

“I would like to know what causes them to run for the board. I think that is a fair question,” Lewis said. “But as much as anything, I want them to know what our expectations are. It is bigger than what most people think.”

“Hopefully we get half a dozen people of interest,” Lewis added. “I would like this to be an interview process.”

The superintendent said the board can choose to go into closed session to consider candidates and then either come out of closed session to make its decision immediately during the work session/special meeting or wait to name the new board members at the next regular meeting.

“Do we want to vote them in that night or do we want to wait until our next meeting which would be the first meeting they will be active?,” Lewis asked.

Board president Lynn Vogel suggested that the board choose the new members at the special meeting and inform the candidates, then swear them in at the next regular board meeting.

Anyone interested in being a board member should contact a current board member or Lewis at 308-235-2188. Those interested in should make that contact by Aug. 21, if possible.