The Brainerd School Board met Tuesday to formally accept board member Ruth Gmeinder's resignation and also outlined its plans to name her successor.
Board members accepted Gmeinder's resignation with regret. Gmeinder submitted her resignation last week to board chair Reed Campbell. Gmeinder had served nearly 20 years on the board.
"She's a very, very intelligent gal, very classy gal and brought a lot of good decisions and policies to the board," Campbell said of Gmeinder. "She will be missed by the board very much. I tried to talk her out of it but she did make that tough decision and it wasn't easy for her because she's not a quitter."
Board attorney Tom Fitzpatrick (right) addressed questions from Brainerd School Board members during Tuesday's special board meeting about their plan to fill a board vacancy left by Ruth Gmeinder, who resigned last week. Board members Lew Hudson (left) and Ruth Nelson, Superintendent Steve Razidlo and board members Reed Campbell, Kent Montgomery and Bob Nystrom listened. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls » Purchase reprints of this photo.
The search is now on for Gmeinder's replacement. Gmeinder had three years remaining on her four-year term. Her successor would be appointed by the board as early as next month to a one-year term, which would expire at the end of December 2009. The board seat would then be up for election in November 2009 for a two-year special term that begins in January of 2010. Three other four-year terms also will be up for election next year.
Board members decided Tuesday that they will be accepting applications from interested and qualified district residents from now until noon Oct. 3. Those interested in serving a one-year term on the board are asked to drop off or mail a letter of intent and a resume to the district office at Washington Educational Services Building, Attn: Janet Horn, 804 Oak St., Brainerd, MN 56401.
Under Minnesota statutes, the names of applicants for appointment to a public body are public.
Applicants must be at least 21 and a resident of the school district and meet other eligibility requirements. The district has its existing school board policy manual posted on its Web site, www.isd181.org, under the school board link. This includes information about conflicts of interest that may exist with a potential board member. The person selected would be subject to a background check before being appointed to the board.
The school board will meet in a special meeting at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 6 to review the applications and narrow the list. Finalists will be called for interviews with the entire board scheduled to take place 6:30 p.m. Oct. 8-9. Finalists will be scheduled for individual interviews before the full board. Board members will then meet after the last interview on Oct. 9 and possibly select their newest board member. If this occurs, the new board member will be installed at the regularly scheduled Oct. 13 board meeting. All these special board meetings, including the interviews, are open to the public.
During the open forum portion of Tuesday's meeting, district resident Charles McQuinn spoke about his interest in the position and in finance. Board member Ruth Nelson said at least 10 people have already expressed interest in the board seat to board members and she suspected more would apply. Board chair Bob Nystrom noted that when former board member Bernie Roberts was first appointed to the school board in the early 1990s, the board received at least 50 applications.
In other school board news, the board finance committee will meet at 11:30 a.m. Thursday to discuss the fiscal year 2008 budget and fiscal year 2009 budget planning, along with a 403(b) process review and negotiations update. Superintendent Steve Razidlo said Tom Koop of LarsonAllen, the district's auditing firm, will present information to the committee.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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