The Cloverdale Unified School District released a new schedule for filling its soon to be vacant trustee spot on Wednesday. The revised timeline for appointing the position sets Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. as the new deadline for candidates to turn in applications, with candidate interviews and an appointment decision being made by the board of trustees during a public meeting on Dec. 15.
The trustee seat is opening up following current trustee Todd Lands being elected to the Cloverdale City Council. Lands has served on the school board for eight years. Whoever is appointed to fill the seat will be considered a “provisional appointee” and will serve for the remaining two years of the seat (Todd was re-elected in 2018), from December 2020 to December 2022.
According to information shared during the Nov. 18 school board meeting, incoming trustees will be sworn in prior to the start of open session on Dec. 15, so they will be involved in making the decision.
The district decided to appoint someone to the position rather than hold a special election because of the cost of a special election, which the district would be responsible for covering. According to board president Jacque Garrison, county Superintendent Steve Herrington said that the cost of an election can total $20,000 to $30,000.
Qualified candidates must be registered to vote and a resident of the school district.
Those interested in applying for the position can do so by filling out this form.
The board appointed another provisional trustee earlier this year, selecting Brandon Axell to fill former trustee Eric Higginbotham’s seat.
