Public school board opts to open applications, appoint new trustee to fill vacancy

The next trustee of the Greater Essex County District School Board will apply and be appointed to the job by the current board, trustees decided Tuesday, in part because of a budget crunch that has absorbed hours of meeting time in recent months. 

At a special meeting, trustees formally accepted the resignation of Sarah Cipkar. She notified board members of her resignation, citing personal and professional reasons, earlier this month. 

With the acceptance of Cipkar's resignation, the clock to fill the seat starts ticking and the board has 90 days — until Feb. 16, 2025 — to get someone in the role. 

"There is a recommendation that it be filled by appointment through an application process," said Gale Hatfield, chair of the board. "Because we don't have any money to pay for a byelection, quite frankly."

From there, trustees hammered out a timeline for filling the role. Several dates were discussed, but trustees ultimately voted to have applications due by noon on Dec. 10.

Staff will give trustees a longlist of candidate applications to review over the holiday break. Trustees will select a shortlist of candidates to be interviewed.

Trustees will interview candidates and review applications in private sessions of the board, and vote on the replacement by secret ballot. 

Cipkar was elected to the role in 2018 and represented wards 3, 4 and 10 with fellow trustee Christie Nelson. 

The application and appointment process will closely follow the last time the board used an application process, in 2009. A vacancy in 2014 was filled by appointment from interested parties. 

In 2009, the board's process was reviewed by legal counsel and found to be sound. 

The application process will be open to everyone with a few restrictions — candidates do not need to live in the specific ward but must reside within the school district and must be a Canadian citizen. 

It's about two years until the next municipal election, during which school board trustees are also elected. For previous vacancies, trustees have discussed how to fill the job to avoid giving the trustee an unearned advantage if they were to later seek election  — but trustee Julia Burgess noted that two years is long enough to avoid the issue. 

"Two years back is enough time ... those folks can put in an application and two years of active service in the role is enough to actually establish an incumbency on their own merit," she said. "It's not something that because somebody just knows the name, they actually have a chance to perform."

The application process will include a list of eligibility criteria and an application. There will also be a required essay of 1,000 words and an outline of the interview process. Trustees added language to the process to allow them to select a shortlist of applicants. 

"Because I mean, we could have 40 applications, we could have 400. This is the first time we've dealt with a two-year vacancy," she said. "So I would assume that the number will be high."

Hatfield told the board she expects an application to be posted within the next couple of days.