After admittedly making candidates “jump through hoops,” the Orange County School Board has opted to not fill the District 4 vacancy.
On April 24, the board held a special called meeting to interview potential candidates for the vacancy created by District 4 board member Chelsea Quintern’s March resignation. Three candidates were interviewed–Jenelle Cooper, Tina Whittington and O’Brian Martin. Following the interviews, the board had planned to host a public hearing, which is required by code prior to making an appointment, on May 12. That meeting was then moved up to May 1.
During the public hearing, only Martin attended in-person while Whittington and Cooper opted to attend virtually.
In speaking about his desire to fill the vacancy, Martin said he has a vested interest in the success of the schools, believes in the power of community and the promise of every single Orange County student. He said it’s the school division’s duty to prepare students to thrive and be the most competitive from a college and career perspective. Martin said he would invest in students by “doubling down” on career and technical education and workforce education, empowering and supporting teachers and division personnel. He said it was time to “turn the page on divisive politics and get back to what’s important.”
Cooper, who noted she had just arrived home from work, said she would be an advocate for students and teachers, making decisions so students could have a competitive edge when they graduate. She said she’d like to help the board move forward and be successful while providing safety within the schools.
Whittington said she was invested in the education children receive and would utilize her 14+ years of experience in nonprofit management to serve on the board and contribute to its work. She said she’d like to create a positive and supportive learning environment for all students with the hope they would at some point return and invest in the local community.
Meanwhile, resident Sarah Jaegar questioned the board’s revised timeline. She encouraged the board to remain at four members, which would offer an opportunity for those elected to show they can work together. She also advised board members to sit aside politics until November when District 4 residents could vote in a representative.
Larry Scott spoke in favor of Whittington, who he said “most closely represents” the ideals voters chose when electing Quintern. Ryan Soon also voiced support for Whittington.
Board members thanked the applicants for their participation before heading into a closed session meeting with the promise of an announcement at a special called meeting May 2. That meeting was cancelled less than five hours before it was to begin.
On Monday, the school board again discussed the matter in its work session. During public comment, resident Tracy Laughlin spoke in favor of Martin. Ken Wyvill spoke in favor of the board choosing an interim member.
“How can you expect to conduct business over the next eight months without a fully functional board,” he asked. “How hypocritical to the candidates if you choose to not fill the seat. Twenty percent of Orange County will be without a representative voice on the school board.”
District 2 board member Darlene Dawson agreed. She said a lot of people had invested a lot of time into the process of selecting an interim member and she felt “duty bound” to make an appointment. She acknowledged those who have said making an appointment would be inserting politics into the situation, but countered that to not make an appointment would be doing the same.
“I think it’s incredibly disrespectful to the candidates who have jumped through hoops to now decide to leave [the seat] vacant and do nothing,” Dawson said.
District 3 board member Jack Rickett disagreed. He apologized if his opinion was disrespectful to the candidates, but said the reality is politics is in everything the board does.
“I find it disrespectful to forgo the voters of District 4 and for us to put our finger on the scale,” he said, noting that the election is only months away. “I don’t want the school board to be used as a campaign prop and I believe it will. I hope I would be wrong.”
He advocated to leave the seat vacant until the voters of District 4 were able to decide in November.
District 5 member Susan Harrington agreed, stating that she has never seen anything like the politics that go on in the county.
District 1 board member and chair Melissa Anderson disagreed. She said the board had three well-spoken, qualified candidates who were interviewed with beautiful resumes, each who bring something different to the table. She cautioned that the board could find itself at a stalemate, unable to pass important items without a fifth member. She also said with the beginning of the school year in August, having a fifth member at such a busy time would be beneficial.
“I feel we should fill the seat, but here we are, 2-2,” Anderson said.
Dawson made a motion to fill the District 4 vacancy which was seconded by Anderson, but failed 2-2 with Rickett and Harrington dissenting. According to code, the circuit court judge could opt to appoint someone to fill the seat.
Rickett concluded that two of the three candidates interviewed have already made known their intention to be candidates in the upcoming election.
“We wish them well,” he said.
