The Ocean City Board of Education will appoint a replacement for Pete Madden, who will resign his seat on June 30.
Madden was elected to a three-year term to the board in November 2013, but he was elected to City Council on May 13 (2014) and will take office on July 1. The law prevents him from serving in both seats.
The board voted 5-2 on Wednesday to make the new appointment after the third Monday in July — a decision that, in essence, determined that the appointee will serve 16 months before facing a potential election.
If the appointment were made earlier than that date, the appointee would serve only the four months until the next school board election in November 2014. State law designates the cutoff.
Board Solicitor Michael Stanton characterized the board’s decision as allowing the appointee time to complete a “learning curve” vs. allowing the people to decide who fills the seat at the earliest opportunity.
“We owe it to the citizens to let them vote,” board member Jacqueline McAlister said. “We are not an appointed board.”
But only Tom Oves joined McAlister in voting against a 16-month appointment. Board President Joe Clark, James Bauer, Jon Batastini, Cecelia Gallelli-Keyes and Madden vote in favor of the longer term for the appointee. Ray Clark and Tiffany Prettyman were not present.
The vote included only the Ocean City representatives on the board, because only Ocean City voters chose Madden, according to Stanton.
The district will advertise for candidates to fill Madden’s unexpired term, and all applicants will be interviewed at a subsequent public meeting. The board will then vote on who will fill the position.
The most recent vacancy included seven applicants.
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