The Examiner U-46 News FeedDevereux confirmed to fill Dist. U-46 board seat By Seth Hancock
The Board of Education in School District U-46 officially confirmed John Devereux of Bartlett as the appointment to a vacant seat at its meeting on Monday, June 4.
The appointment came with a 4-2 vote as Phil Costello and Jeanette Ward voted no citing philosophical disagreements with Devereux. The seat will fill the remainder of Traci Ellis’ term, which ends next April, after she resigned this April. Board member Veronica Noland, who voted in favor of the appointment, voted via phone as she was not in attendance at the meeting.
The board had 45 days to fill the spot with a June 7 deadline.
Devereux was not in attendance at the meeting as Donna Smith, the board’s president, said he had a “prescheduled vacation,” and she said he’d be sworn in at the June 18 meeting. Ward asked if Smith had confirmed that the board could vote to confirm him at the meeting but swear him in after the deadline, and Smith said she did confirm that with the regional office of education.
There were 17 candidates who applied for the spot and 10 were interviewed, and Ward suggested another candidate was originally chosen by the board but ultimately couldn’t serve.
“I was disappointed that a candidate on whom the whole board could agree was not able to serve because of legal and employer related restrictions,” Ward said. “There remained no other candidate on whom the whole board could agree.””
On social media, Devereux has called Ward “anti-LGBT” and “anti-science,” and he has questioned her motives on the board.
Ward said that Devereux recently reached out to her to “suggest ways in which we can work together.” She said that there are “substantial philosophical differences” between her and Devereux, but “should he become the appointee, I hope to work toward a productive and collaborative relationship.”
Costello said there was “tremendous output of candidates and expertise” among the candidates including Devereux, who is professionally an actuary, but he did not see enough independence from Devereux. During the application process and interview, Devereux suggested a desire to maintain the status quo in the district.
“While I won’t be voting in favor of the candidate, I think he has good expertise but not in what I was looking for in an independent voice,” Costello said.
On the process itself, Ward said it was collaborative and she thanked the board for that.
“I really appreciated it,” Ward said. “The discussions we had were productive and collaborative… in both open and closed (session).”
Board member Sue Kerr thanked all of those who applied and said there were “many great candidates, and I hope some of them consider running for the board in the future.”
Costello agreed with Kerr as well as Ward’s assessment on the process saying there was “great conversation with the six of us.”
.
.
.
|