Vern Sullivan will return for a third stint on the Fox C-6 Board of Education.
Sullivan, 72, of Arnold was appointed Monday (June 19) to fill a school board seat left vacant last month when Sherry Poppen resigned after moving from Imperial to Barnhart, which is in the Windsor C-1 School District.
Poppen was elected to a three-year term in April 2015, and her seat will be up for re-election in April 2018. Sullivan will serve the remainder of that term.
The school board voted 6-0 in a special meeting on Monday to appoint Sullivan, selecting him from a pool of six finalists, including Michael Booker, Vicki Hanson, Joseph Laurine, Nicholas Gill and Vonda Davis.
The board selected Sullivan after interviewing the six finalists. Sullivan was on vacation, so he was interviewed by phone.
When people applied for the vacant school board seat, they were told they could be interviewed by phone if the date conflicted with plans they already had scheduled, said Sam Rayburn, the district’s communications coordinator.
Eight people applied for the vacant seat, and a committee of three school board members narrowed those candidates to the six finalists, eliminating Paul Burch and Avery Fortenberry from consideration.
During the interviews, each finalist was given 15 minutes to answer seven questions that board president Dawn Mullins asked them to gauge the candidates’ background; knowledge about the district; feelings about how they would contribute to the board and how they would help the district continue delivering a top-rate education; and their ability to meet board responsibilities.
After the interviews, the board discussed the candidates for about 10 minutes and then chose Sullivan, who served on the board from 1977-1987 and was elected to a three-year term in 2014 but lost his bid for re-election in April in a five-way race for three open seats.
The board said Sullivan’s previous school board experience would allow him to quickly get up to speed. Sullivan is also a retired Fox district facilities director.
“Vern has many years on the board past and present,” board vice president Chris Hastings said. “He is involved in the community and gave good feedback and helped in making important decisions.”
The board also looked at Sullivan’s performance in the April election as an indicator that he was the right choice.
Sullivan garnered 19.16 percent of the vote to finish behind Mullins (23.73), Scott Stewart (22.66) and Steve Holloway (22.60).
“Vern ran and got votes; he is a logical choice,” board director Carole Yount said.
The board said Sullivan’s connections throughout Jefferson County also are a benefit.
Sullivan represents Ward 3 on the Arnold City Council, and he is a member of the Arnold Rotary Club, the Arnold Food Pantry board and the C-6 Educational Foundation. He is on the Jefferson County Boy Scouts Advisory Committee and the Arnold Performing Arts Council.
“He has a lot of connections, which allows him to go out and come back with good ideas,” board treasurer Dan Kroupa said.
The board had a regular meeting scheduled for this evening (June 20), but Sullivan wasn’t expected to attend, so he will be formally sworn in at the July 18 school board meeting, Rayburn said.