WSD working to fill vacant seat

SILVERTON — In the wake of tragedy, the Wallace School District has found themselves in a difficult position.

When Dave Rounds passed away suddenly late last month, it was a shock to the entire community — including the Wallace School Board who suddenly had a vacancy on their active board of trustees, as well as no one running for the spot, since Rounds was seeking re-election and was running unopposed.

“Mr. Rounds' passing was unexpected and will have a negative impact for the foreseeable future,” said WSD Superintendent Todd Howard. “His knowledge of the district, commitment to education, and focus on ‘what is best for students’ will be difficult to replace.”

Both Idaho code and the district itself have very specific steps for how to navigate this situation, but having the right person in that position can be difficult. Howard explained the steps, but the process is anything but easy.

“The first step is to have the board declare a vacancy. We accomplished that at our regularly scheduled meeting (held last Monday, Nov. 8),” Howard said. “Then we posted the vacancy on Wednesday. The posting informs patrons of the WSD that there is a vacant trustee position. Patrons that qualify to hold a position as a trustee, are asked to state their interest through a letter to the Wallace School District Office.”

As applications come in, the district will look at the interested candidates, conduct interviews (if necessary), and then appoint a person to that position.

The newly appointed board member would serve in that position until the end of the term — which in this situation only constitutes the end of the current calendar year.

‘There is a specific time line that we must follow. We have 90 days, from the time of the posting, to appoint a person from Zone 4 to fill the open position,” Howard told the News-Press. “In those 90 days, if a person can’t be found from Zone 4, the board has an additional 30 days to find a candidate from any zone in the district. After the 120-day time period, the Shoshone County Commissioners can appoint a candidate of their choice. For the next 90 days, we will be focused on finding interested candidates from Zone 4.”

Following that appointment, the school district will be able to run a special election for the position.