School Board aims to fill open seat quickly

The open seat on the Sheboygan Falls School Board will likely not be open for long.

School Board President John Mauer said the board hopes to have a new member selected by the end of the month to fill the seat recently vacated by Greg Pribek.

“We would like to have Greg’s seat filled by the end of May for sure,” Mauer said. “It would be beneficial for us to have someone in place as quickly as we can.

“That doesn’t mean we want to rush through the process, but it is at the top of our priority list for sure.”

After serving four years on the board, Pribek submitted his resignation Tuesday, April 20. He was elected in 2006 and had just completed the first year of his second three-year term, prior to his resignation.

Pribek served as the chair of the board’s Policy Committee and was also a member of the Facilities Committee and School Foundation.

“Greg did a lot of great work as the chair of the Policy Committee and on the Facilities Committee,” Mauer said. “He is very busy with a lot of different things.

“Being on the board is a big time commitment, and I think he thought now was a good time to step away.”

At its upcoming meeting on May 17, the board will begin the reorganizing process for the 2010-11 term.

“The May meeting is when we get things in place for the new term,” Mayer said. “A new president will be chosen, and that president will work with board members to make committee assignments.

“It is important for us to have a full board of seven people to get those committee assignments in place in a timely fashion and get things up and running for the next term,” Mauer said.

Although Pribek’s term was not set to expire until April 2012, the new board member will be appointed to serve through April 2011.

The seat will then be placed on the ballot for the April 2011 spring election.

“We will have two three-year board seats up for election next spring, and now this seat will be added as well,” District Administrator Wessel said. “At that time, voters will be instructed to vote for three board members.

“However, only the top two vote-getters will earn three-year terms,” he said. “The third-place finishers will gain a one-year term that will run through April 2012.”

An advertisement for the position was placed in The Sheboygan Falls News last week and runs again in this week’s paper. The application deadline is Thursday, May 13.

Interested parties are invited to apply in writing with their name, address and phone number, along with a written statement indicating the reason for seeking the appointment.

Applications should be addressed to: Mr. John Mauer; School Board President; c/o The School District of Sheboygan Falls; 220 Amherst Avenue; Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085.

The board will conduct interviews to select the candidate, if warranted by the number of applications.

The board was faced with a similar situation in 2005, when board member Nellie Schmidt resigned, after serving one year on the board.

At that time, Kim Schmidt was appointed to the position for a one-year term, which expired in April 2006.

It was an appointment that drew fire, because a portion of the selection process was conducted in closed session.

“It is my understanding that all of the interviews and selection discussions we have must be held in open session,” Mauer said. “We are making an appointment to an elected position that serves the public. We aren’t talking about the salaries, disciplinary action, grievances of school personnel or anything confidential like that.”

The position does not require any special qualifications.

“The only limitations are that the person must be 18 years old and a resident of the district,” Mauer said. “I think this is a good opportunity for someone who may have never thought of running for School Board to get involved in the school district and serve their community for the next 11 months.”