A second attempt to fill a vacancy on the Delmar Board of Education falls flat, leaving the seat unfilled until next spring.
The board has been without a fifth member since the abrupt resignation of then-Vice President Shane Bowden in early July. An attempt to fill the seat in August fell short, when neither of the two applicants were able to get majority approval from the four remaining members.
Last week, board members were back for another try to fill the empty seat. Both applicants from August - Shawn Brittingham and Farrah Morelli - were back, as were two new applicants, Dawn Litchford and Bobby Stubbs.
The procedure followed what board members did in August, letting each candidate make a brief statement before answering questions from the board about things like the district’s finances, managing political pressure, and the challenges facing Delmar in the months and years ahead.
In her remarks, Morelli seemed skeptical about the process.
“I'm back again. Obviously, I care about this place,” she told board members. “Sometimes I question how smart I am coming back time and time again when I'm pretty sure I know the outcome, but I want to be here for these kids.”
After hearing from the applicants, board members went ahead with a vote on each member, and saw a repeat of last month’s deadlock. As in August, board President Raymond Vincent and board member Russell Smart voted against Morelli’s appointment, while the other two board members, Neil Baker and Jordan Johnson, voted against Brittingham. Baker and Johnson also voted against Litchford’s appointment. Bobby Stubbs did not get a formal nomination.
With two failed attempts in two months to fill the vacancy, Delmar Superintendent Chris Bleile said the district would let the voters decide instead of the school board.
“Each time we go through this process of trying to fill the vacancy, there is a monetary cost and allocation of time and resources that could be used for our students,” Bleile said. “Our efforts must remain on our students. I'm therefore not intending to run this process a third time. Instead, we will wait the May election run by the Department of Elections.”
The open seat leaves the board open to the possibility of future deadlocks on important issues, as the district reckons with its finances and a possible referendum on the horizon.
