The Champaign School Board held a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss not one, but two vacancies.
On Tuesday, the board called a special meeting to address the vacancy created by former Vice President Jamar Brown earlier this month. However, on Tuesday night, Mark Thies submitted his resignation letter to the Champaign School District Board of Education and Superintendent, leaving the district with two positions to fill. Thies stated in his resignation letter, “In my time on the board, it is clear that my vision is not aligned with the future direction and initiatives of Unit 4.”
While the school board president stated, “The Unit 4 Board of Education is very grateful to Mr. Mark Thies for his service. The board will now follow its policy for filling the vacancy.
The meeting on Wednesday night included a discussion of the next steps in filling both Brown and Theis jobs.
The board stated that Brown’s job must be filled by May 7, and Thies’ position by May 19. They promised to release more information about the application process for the opportunities soon.
Betsy Holder, a board member, stated that anyone interested in serving on the board should be committed to making a difference.
“It’s going to be hard to find people given the climate,” she told me. “They’re going to have to be wanting to come in here with a thick skin, not afraid of conflict and not afraid of being put in a situation where they’re not liked.” Holder is now the sole new board member remaining after last year’s swearing-in, following the resignations of Thies and Brown.
Five people remain on the board. Four persons are necessary to form a quorum.
On Thursday, the Champaign Unit 4 School District posted a notice of board education vacancy and application information on its website.