LCC1 Board Member Vacancy - Accepting Applications Now
The Lewis County C-1 Board of Education is looking to appoint a board member to fill the vacant spot created with the recent resignation from Luke Lay due to time commitment restraints. Board seats open annually, usually with either 2 or 3 seats open. For the April 2023 election there were exactly 3 candidates who filed to run for the 3 vacant seats. Typically, to save taxpayers' money, when the number of candidates equals the number of openings, school districts are not forced to hold and pay for an election. Recent statutory changes; however, now require a school to hold a school board election even if the number of candidates equals the number of open seats if there is also a school tax/bond issue on the April ballot.
When an unexpired term becomes vacant, as is the current case, and a single board vacancy exists, the Board of Education follows state statute and LCC1 Board Policies BBC and BBE-1. These policies are linked for your convenience, but can also be viewed in their entirety on the district’s website.
Essentially the board process in this case is as follows: the board will advertise the open seat, accept applications (Apply here: https://bit.ly/3OuoYWy), and then appoint someone to fill the opening until the following election. At that point, the seat is reopened for election by the community. The district is officially opening the application process today, Monday, 8/14/23 and will continue to advertise for this vacancy through September 1, 2023. The board will then either schedule a special meeting or appoint someone to fill the vacancy at the next regularly scheduled board meeting. The appointment will conclude in April, 2024. The board seat will then have 2 years remaining on its term and will reopen for election in April, with the filing deadline occurring in December.